Global Scans · Religion · Weekly Summary

---

WHAT'S NEXT?: Huge growth is expected over the next several decades as the world's Muslim population grows faster than every other major religious demographic, and as urbanization and rising incomes in developing countries with large Muslim populations mean more will be buying, rather than producing their own food.

• [New] In a scenario of increased military confrontation, the Islamic State could enhance its propaganda by highlighting the suffering of Muslims in Africa (a theme often invoked by the Islamic State), launching new recruitment campaigns, and calling for action against the West. SpecialEurasia
• [New] The United States will withdraw 1,000 troops from Niger in a major blow to U.S. counterterrorism efforts in the Sahel, a vast semiarid region of western and north-central Africa where jihadist groups linked to al-Qaeda and Islamic State predominate. The Soufan Center
• [New] A notable contrast is drawn between the fear instilled by the Islamic State and the perceived indifference towards other jihadist groups among infidel nations. SpecialEurasia
• Israel, which lost substantial portions of its international legitimacy following the continuous war in Gaza, could use the momentum of international support not only to respond to Iran kinetically but to label the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps diplomatically and legally as a terror group. Time
• In the coming days, the United States will impose new sanctions targeting Iran, including its missile and drone program as well as new sanctions against entities supporting the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Iran's Defense Ministry. CNN
• Life More Difficult Many Afghans are worried that a possible war between Iran and Israel will worsen the already dire economic situation in the Islamic republic, which has witnessed soaring inflation, rising unemployment, and growing poverty in recent years. RFE/RL
• Even the threat of an Israeli attack on Iran's nuclear sites made it possible and conceivable that the doctrine and nuclear policies of the Islamic Republic of Iran will be reviewed to reverse the declared considerations of the past. RFE/RL
• Iran funds, trains, and arms terror proxies across the Middle East and beyond, adding that the Islamic republic does not just threaten the people of Israel, Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria, but fuels the war in Ukraine and beyond. Al Jazeera
• In recent years, Christian nationalism has received a great deal of attention as an ideology that some critics have said could threaten American democracy. Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project
• The portrayal of the recent attack in Moscow as a religiously sanctioned act of retribution against Christians has the potential to exacerbate religious tensions and provoke retaliatory violence. SpecialEurasia
• The United States will continue to take action against entities that transport cargoes or facilitate transactions in support of MODAFL and the AFGS, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or Iran's foreign proxy and partner groups. The Iran Primer
• Drone strikes have come to support a strategy to combat al Qaeda and the Islamic State predicated on local partners conducting ground operations and U.S. drone strikes or counterterrorism raids against imminent threats. Critical Threats
• In response to the growing threat of Islamic State group affiliates, the United States has adopted a comprehensive strategy combining military, intelligence and law enforcement efforts. The Conversation
• The U.S. response is expected to be multi-tiered and unfold over weeks, targeting an array of groups that form part of Iran's so-called axis of resistance, including militias in Iraq and Syria that operate under the umbrella of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq. The Soufan Center
• The rapid development of Islamic finance in various jurisdictions offers excellent opportunities for Islamic finance and its continued prosperity in the world. SpringerLink
• Jihadist organizations will further decentralize over the next year, the byproduct of a successful counterterrorism campaign by the U.S. and its allies against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. Foreign Policy Research Institute
• Today's counterterrorism approach will not deliver the decisive victory against groups like al Qaeda or the Islamic State that has eluded the United States for decades. Critical Threats
• Though increased strike precision and reduced resource commitments are attractive, the resulting U.S. counterterrorism approach replaces a strategic aim of defeating al Qaeda and the Islamic State with one that instead manages the terrorist threat they pose - a future problem for the United States. Critical Threats
• Regional groups linked to al-Qaeda or the Islamic State of Iraq and the L evant could recruit from oppressed Muslim minorities in China and Russia. War on the Rocks
• The terrorist threat from al-Qaeda, the Islamic State group and their affiliates remains high in conflict zones in Africa and in Afghanistan - and threat levels have risen in some regions including Europe. The Times of Israel
• The claim of responsibility for the (Moscow) attack by a branch of Islamic State that planned attacks in European countries including France prompted us to increase the Vigipirate (security threat assessmment) to its highest level. www.euractiv.com
• Niger replacing the United States with Russia as its primary security partner will degrade the Nigerien military's effectiveness and strengthen Islamic State and al Qaeda-affiliated insurgents. Institute for the Study of War
• Another major challenge faced by Christians in Uzbekistan is the threat of violence from extremist groups who view them as a threat to their Islamic way of life. The Witness

Last updated: 06 May 2024