Extremism - Global Experts

A Murder in Woolwich

May 29th, 2013, Comment & Analysis

Some things change, some stay the same. For the first time in eight years, after the London bombings of July 7, 2005, a British citizen has been killed on British soil in a radical extremist attack — this time in the gruesome slaying of an off-duty soldier in southeast London on May 22. Video footage of the bloodstained perpetrators and multiple eyewitness accounts suggest British citizens were again guilty of the crime. In both cases, the attackers’ motivations were expressed in the language of religion — specifically, Islam.

Why “militant Islam” is a dangerous myth

February 11th, 2011, Comment & Analysis

Right-wing pundits in the U.S. and Europe sometimes argue that it is misguided to avoid religious language when describing terrorists. They point out that members of Al-Qaeda and its affiliates call themselves “jihadists”, a derivative of the Arabic noun “jihad” meaning a struggle for God. They explain that it is therefore accurate and fair to refer to Al-Qaeda and its affiliates by the same term.

Christophe Jaffrelot

Senior Research Fellow, CERI

December 6th, 2010, Asia, Author/Novelist, English, Europe, Europe, France, French, India, Law and Human Rights, Pakistan, Paris, Religion, Terrorism, Think tank/Research center, War and Conflict

Christophe Jaffrelot is a French political scientist and expert on South Asia, particularly India and Pakistan. He is the former director of CERI at SciencesPo in Paris, France’s foremost center for research on international politics, and served in this role from 2002-8. He has written frequently about nationalism in India and Pakistan, and the political roots of Hindu-Muslim conflict. He chairs the Asia Group at the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and is frequently called upon to provide policy-level advice on developments in South Asia.

Hassan Abbas

Professor at Columbia University South Asia Institute

September 28th, 2010, Asia, English, Panjabi, Religion, Terrorism, Urdu, War and Conflict

Dr. Hassan Abbas is a former Pakistani government official who served in the administrations of Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto (1995-6) and President Pervez Musharraf (1999-2000).He is currently Quaid-i-Azam Chair and Professor at Columbia University’s South Asia Institute.

A Muslim’s Plea for Gay Rights

September 22nd, 2010, Comment & Analysis

Lately I’ve been hearing a lot about how much my people are under attack in America today. The thing is, though, as an American Muslim, I don’t really feel under attack. Annoyed? Sure. But attacked? No.