Islamic Extremism

Qatar Cut Off by Neighbors

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Saudi Arabia and other neighbors of Qatar have accused Qatar of supporting terrorism and embracing Iran, and have cut it off.

Diplomatic communications and air transport was halted. Embassies, borders, air space, and maritime access (40% of Qatar’s food supplies come from Saudi Arabia by boat) were shut off.

It is considered a dramatic escalation to a longer-term issue in the region.

Qatar says they are not sponsoring terrorism, but the nation does regularly (and currently) host prominent extremists.

Analysts have called it “almost an Arab region Cold War.’

Kuwait is seen as trying to mediate a solution to the crisis, and if they do, citizens of Qatar might not be expelled from their neighboring countries.

Teresa May Says Internet Must Now Be Regulated, Following Violent Muslim Attacks

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The British PM called the internet a safe space for ideas to breed, and, she said, we cannot allow that:

“We cannot allow this ideology the safe space it needs to breed – yet that is precisely what the internet, and the big companies that provide internet-based services provide.”

Therefore, and in the wake of the recent violent Muslim attacks in the UK, democratic governments should work together to “reduce the risks of extremism” by making new international agreements to regulate the internet, May said.

However, during the same speech, she noted that the three recent attacks were not linked by “common networks” but were “bound together by the single evil ideology of Islamic extremism.”

UK: After Telling People There Are 3,000 Terrorists, Actually 23,000

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20,000 “subjects of interest” posing “residual risk” plus 3,000 judged to be a threat and currently under investigation or active monitoring. That’s the most recent piece of information given by UK’s security services.

Authorities had previously reported to the public a figure of 3,000.

The new information was released following the Manchester bombing, which security services said they were expecting and were just not able to prevent because “you can’t stop them all.”

Trump Calls Killers of Christians in Egypt “Organizations”

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Trump continues to not use the term he frequently challenged others to use during his campaign, “radical Islamic terrorism,” when commenting this week on the attack on Christians in Egypt that killed 25 and wounded as many others.

Attacks on Christians by Muslims are common in Egypt and other Muslim-majority countries in the area.

Trump called those responsible for the attacks “evil organizations of terror with a thuggish ideology.”

Islamist Militants Seize Philippines City

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After a siege that began yesterday, the militants gained control of Marawi, a city of 200,000 in the south of the country.

President Duterte spoke publicly of how anyone who fought against the government would fare, saying, “You will die.”

Duterte declared martial law in the south yesterday. He said he will extend martial law to the rest of the country if the militants expand.

Islamist militant communities have long been a problem for the Philippines, although mostly confined to the south.

Manchester Bombing Aftermath: Police and Special Forces Hunt Terrorist Group Active in Manchester

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The man who blew himself up and killed and injured dozens of others at the Ariana Grande concert this week was a 22-year-old British-born man of Libyan descent. He had recently returned from Libya.

Libyan authorities arrested family members of the man in that country, and UK police and special forces forced their way into residences in Manchester, making multiple arrests of family members and other relations.

Authorities have commented that the man was from Moss Side, Manchester, where they have thwarted a large number of recent attempts from the largely Muslim immigrant population (34% Muslim VS 36% Christian VS smaller numbers of other religious affiliations).

Authorities are of the opinion that the man was not alone, and may not have made the weapon himself. They consider another attack “imminent.”

The army was brought in to protect key landmarks like Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abby, and Piccadilly Circus — a very rare occurrence.

British citizens expressed fear and a sense that Manchester “feels like a different place,” testimony to the success of the Islamic extremists involved, whose goal includes just that.

Theresa May’s ‘War on Terror’

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British media are referring to the UK PM’s recently toughened stance as her “war on terror,” using the same term used previously by President Bush and PM Blair.

The UK’s terrorist threat level has been “severe” for a long time now, but after the Manchester bombing May raised it to “critical,” concerned about another attack.

Although the UK is not as dangerous as mainland Europe due to residents having lesser connections to Islamic militant groups, UK security officials’ comments on Manchester were about only-a-matter-of-times and can’t-stop-them-alls. Security forces there prevents dozens of attacks per year, reportedly.

The change in tone comes at a time when May was being criticized for being too “weak and unstable.”

Trump’s Statement on Manchester Attack Includes No Mention of ‘Radical Islamic Terrorism’

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Although during the campaign trail Trump used the term frequently, and criticized other politicians for never uttering it, he did not use the term or even make reference to “Islam” or “Muslim” while making his statement on the attack — now confirmed by police to have been perpetrated by a Muslim extremist. Instead, he said he would refer to the perpetrators as “losers.”

Statement on C-SPAN’s YouTube