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.
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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.
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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.
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Who's who in Iraq after the US exit?
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What is Somalia's Al Shabab?
All Content
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Backchannels Are tit-for-tat sectarian killings enough to tilt Iraq back to war?
Bouts of sectarian fighting have worried observers many times over the past few years, but so far the worst has not come to pass.
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Christian homes torched by Pakistani mob
Dozens of Christian homes were torched by a mob of hundreds in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore on Saturday, after a Christian man was accused of blaspheming the Prophet Mohammad.
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Pakistan anger grows after sectarian terrorist attack kills 81
After the latest bomb by a Sunni militant group killed dozens of Pakistan's minority Shiites in western Pakistan accusations the government is turning a blind eye rang out.
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Another Syria blast kills 11, state media reports
Syrian officials blamed 'terrorists' for a Damascus gas station explosion that left 11 dead and 40 injured.
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In Egypt and Tunisia, Salafis move from prisons to parliaments
After the Arab Spring uprisings, it's inevitable that Salafis will help steer the evolution of North Africa's new governments. The challenge is to make sure they do so peacefully.
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Focus Syria's rebel fighters vow no mercy for their own pro-regime family members
Free Syrian Army fighters told the Monitor that bringing down President Assad trumps family ties, and that they are willing to fight, or even kill, brothers and cousins fighting for the regime.
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Backchannels Iraq's exiled vice president sentenced to death as violence grows
In an interview before he was sentenced to death in absentia, Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi warned Iraq is on a slippery slope to more violence.
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Jordanian militant threatens Assad regime in Syria
A militant leader in Jordan, who has been linked to al-Qaida and several high-profile attacks, warned Syrian President Bashar Assad, 'our fighters are coming to get you.'
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Syria has 'chosen the path of war', says U.N. (+video)
Without a peace to monitor, U.N. peacekeepers will leave Syria by August 24. Diplomats will meet at the United Nations in New York on Friday to discuss next steps.
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UN ends observer mission in Syria, but isn't giving up
A small civilian office will replace the observer mission, and former Algerian foreign minister Lakhdar Brahimi has reportedly agreed to replace Kofi Annan as Syria envoy.
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Syria's Assad gets Iran backing as fighting continues (+video)
Iran pledges support for Assad's government in Syria. In the meantime, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warns against 'sectarian warfare' and hundreds more deaths mount.
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Will Ethiopian crackdown stir Islamist backlash?
Peaceful protests continue in Addis Ababa this week among Muslims angry over what they see as Ethiopian government interference. The government sees foreign extremist threat.
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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)
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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.
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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.
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Backchannels Weapons flowing from Iraqi Sunnis to Syria's rebels?
So says a fairly credible CNN report.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Who's who in Iraq after the US exit?
The US troop surge in 2007 helped quiet Iraq's bloody civil war. But it failed to deliver on what US officials and officers said was crucial for Iraq's future at the time: sectarian reconciliation. Rather than forging a new national identity out of the horrors of Iraq's war, Iraq's Shiite and Sunni Arabs and ethnic Kurds sullenly retreated to their own sectarian corners, and the country's political parties remain vehicles for ethnic or sectarian interests. The next year is probably going to be the most crucial for determining the future of Iraq since the US-led invasion of 2003, as Iraq's various political factions compete for power and influence without foreign troops getting in the way. Here are a few of the major players.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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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