It’s the classic tight spot between the devil and the deep blue sea. Afghans are caught between having a corrupt and election-cheating Karzai as president and a historical scenario dominated by the likes of Mullah Omar, languishing in a civil war, or the Soviet regime. By Afghan standards, these are better times in Afghanistan. In [...]

The alleged masterminds and perpetrators of 9/11, headed by Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, are finally facing a civilian court in New York City. In a stroke of agit-propaganda genius, the 9/11 suspects will be tried in a court that is ‘just blocks from where the World Trade Center once stood.’ The decision by US Attorney General [...]

Radical Islamists have moved beyond Algeria where the al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) is principally based. These militants have now found support among the Saharan citizens of Mauritania, Mali, and Niger. It has been observed that al-Qaeda rebel movement has been ‘increasingly threatening Africa’s Sahara belt, scaring away investors and tourists as they undercut [...]

The Mehsud tribes are some of the fiercest militant fighters and Islamist gangs in Pakistan’s North-West Frontier Province (NWFP). The Pakistani army has vowed to attack the lairs of the Mehsud militants and crush them. At the behest of the United States and the West who have held Pakistan primarily responsible in solving its insurgency [...]

Islamist groups launched new attacks against security forces in northern Nigeria, a day after nearly 40 people died in bloody clashes between police and a radical Islamic group in Bauchi.
The BBC also reported a tally of ‘100 bodies, mostly of militants, near the police headquarters in Maiduguri, Borno State, where hundreds are fleeing their homes.’ [...]

On June 22, Nicolas Sarkozy declared the burqa as not welcome in France. The French president regards the Muslim dress not as a religious symbol but a sign of subservience and degradation of women.
The al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) has threatened to take revenge against France after Sarkozy banned the wearing of the burqa [...]

There have been other genocides apart from the one in Sudan. There had been systematic killing of populations in Germany, Cambodia, and Rwanda. The difference with the genocide in Darfur is that Omar al-Bashir, the perpetrator of the genocide, carries on his mockery of the justice system, ignores his arrest warrant for crimes against humanity and war crimes issues [...]

A threat letter from the Taliban reads: “We have warned you. If we now kill schoolgirls, you shouldn’t be surprised.” In a Taliban-controlled area in northern Afghanistan, civilians are faced with the prospect of going against the Taliban all by themselves should they dare to as Afghan police and military are afraid to go to [...]

The very recent elections in Kuwait is proof that Islamists are not bound to succeed in this country. Four women were elected to parliament out of the 50 seats up for voting, and by all indication, the country is headed towards greater democracy.
The Kuwait elections may just be an auspicious start of the reinvigorated democratic [...]

This Saturday, the Pakistani army was able to enter Mingora, the main town of the Swat valley in the northwest. Confrontations with the Taliban militants continue. According to a spokesman for the army, Major General Athar Abbas, the insurgents were driven from several quarters, and 17 rebels, including an important commander, were killed over the [...]