Topic: Sunni Islam

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Osama bin Laden papers: top 5 revelations

A new trove of letters seized during the Osama bin Laden raid paint an intimate picture of the inner workings and struggles of Al Qaeda, from its dabbling in the stock market to practices that would make any Mafia don proud.
5 reasons US must avoid war with Iran

Do the drumbeaters calling for ‘war with Iran’ never learn from history? It is tempting to dismiss their hot air as an attempt to score political points, but its sheer volume is worrying. Two former US hostages in Iran, L. Bruce Laingen and John Limbert, say Obama must ignore the war talk, and offer five key points for Washington to keep in mind.
Shiite and Sunni: What are the differences?

While the two sects share the same basic beliefs, differences in hierarchy and doctrine make Catholics and Protestants an apt comparison.
Who's who in Iraq after the US exit?

The next year is probably going to be the most crucial for determining the future of Iraq since the US-led invasion of 2003. Here are a few of the major players.
What is Somalia's Al Shabab?

The international community has more questions than answers about the Somali militant group Al Shabab, the target of Kenya's military incursion into Somalia. But they know how it affords food for its troops – and it's not from piracy.

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Syrian spillover: Beirut sees worst clashes in four years

The killing of a Sunni cleric at a Lebanese Army checkpoint yesterday ignited widespread protests among aggrieved Sunnis. (+video)
Sectarian violence in Lebanon echoing Syria's conflict

The past three days have witnessed fierce sectarian fighting in Tripoli, Lebanon's second city, where tensions have been exacerbated by Syria's yearlong crisis.
Osama bin Laden papers: top 5 revelations

A new trove of letters seized during the Osama bin Laden raid paint an intimate picture of the inner workings and struggles of Al Qaeda, from its dabbling in the stock market to practices that would make any Mafia don proud.
Backchannels
Weapons flowing from Iraqi Sunnis to Syria's rebels?

So says a fairly credible CNN report.
Terrorism & Security
After UN condemns Syria abuses, Assad rains artillery down on Homs

Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad redoubled his assault on the city of Homs after a symbolic UN General Assembly vote calling on him to step down.
5 reasons US must avoid war with Iran

Do the drumbeaters calling for ‘war with Iran’ never learn from history? It is tempting to dismiss their hot air as an attempt to score political points, but its sheer volume is worrying. Two former US hostages in Iran, L. Bruce Laingen and John Limbert, say Obama must ignore the war talk, and offer five key points for Washington to keep in mind.
Shiite and Sunni: What are the differences?

While the two sects share the same basic beliefs, differences in hierarchy and doctrine make Catholics and Protestants an apt comparison.
Terrorism & Security
Iraq bombings, political crisis raise concerns of renewed civil war

Bombings in Iraq targeted two Shiite neighborhoods of Baghdad today. The violence, coming amid a Sunni-Shiite political crisis, threatens to inflame the tensions that led to civil war in 2006-07.
Who's who in Iraq after the US exit?

The next year is probably going to be the most crucial for determining the future of Iraq since the US-led invasion of 2003. Here are a few of the major players.
Backchannels
Iraq's Maliki threatens, Sunnis grumble, and Baghdad goes boom

The death toll in a string of attacks in Baghdad, mostly against government and Shiite targets, is up to 68. The attacks follow days of political threats against Sunni politicians by Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
Backchannels
Iraq's Sunni-Shiite tensions have long been building

A trawl through US diplomatic cables released by Wikileaks this year shows growing alarm over Iraq's political divides.
Backchannels
Could Iraq descend into a civil war again? (VIDEO)

The scars of Iraq's painful bloodletting are deep, and a powerful disincentive against a return to open warfare. But Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is moving against Sunni Arabs, his political enemies.
What is Somalia's Al Shabab?

The international community has more questions than answers about the Somali militant group Al Shabab, the target of Kenya's military incursion into Somalia. But they know how it affords food for its troops – and it's not from piracy.
Who backs Syria's Assad? Top 4 sources of support

Syria’s uprising is more than six months old and more than 2,700 people have been killed – yet President Bashar al-Assad is still in power. Here's a look at his key sources of support.
Women's voting rights in Saudi Arabia: a blow to medieval brands of Islam

The Saudi king's decree allowing women to vote in local elections shows the influence of the Arab Spring – and decline of a radical, repressive version of Islam.
Backchannels
Death comes again to Iraq's 'Mother of all Battles' mosque

The Baghdad mosque, where 28 people were killed in a suicide bombing Sunday, is tied to some of the biggest failures, and a few of the successes, of post-Saddam Iraq.
Africa Monitor
Is Nigeria's Boko Haram a Wahhabi group?

The founder of Boko Haram could be labeled a Wahhabi for his opposition to secular governance, Western education, and other Islamic interpretations – but so could other Wahhabis in the country.
Salafis 101: 5 key facts

Salafi Muslims are often associated with militant Islam and violent groups such as Al Qaeda, though most Salafis disavow violent jihad. Repressed for decades by secular dictators such as Hosni Mubarak of Egypt and Zine Abidine Ben Ali of Tunisia, Salafis may find new breathing room now that the Arab Spring has ousted such leaders. Here are five facts to help you understand them.
Syria 101: 4 attributes of Assad's authoritarian regime

How have authoritarian regimes remained in control so long in the Middle East? In Syria's case, a critical factor is the concentration of power in a single family, political party, and religious sect.
This time, murder of Pakistan minister spurs condemnation from Islamic clerics

Many Islamic clerics criticized the murder Tuesday of Shahbaz Bhatti, a Pakistani Christian who called for blasphemy law reform. Two months ago several hundred lauded the murder of another politician who strongly advocated reform.
Photos of the Day: Photos of the Day 02/22
Lebanon 101: Why Hezbollah hates the Hariri tribunal.

The collapse of Lebanon's coalition government has pushed the country, once again, to the brink of upheaval. The heavily-armed Hezbollah is furious that Prime Minister Saad Hariri is coperating with a United Nations tribunal investigating the assassination of his father Rafik. Here's what the tribunal is all about, and why Hezbollah opposes it:
What Salman Taseer's assassination could mean for Pakistan

The outpouring of praise for the killer of Salman Taseer, the former governor of Punjab who was assassinated in Islamabad Tuesday, is intensifying concerns in Pakistan about deeply rooted religious intolerance.
Who are Egypt's Copts, and the Middle East's other Christian populations?

Recent attacks against Christians in Egypt and Iraq have drawn attention to the Middle East's Christian populations, which are dwindling as Christians flee violence, political strife, and persecution.
In Pakistan, militant attacks on Sufi shrines on the rise

Al-Qaeda-linked militants are stepping up their attacks on Sufi shrines, possibly as part of an effort to impose a more fundamentalist Islamic practice on the country.