Religious Education & Security

 by Paula Sullaj

Albania, as a rather new NATO member, has been contributing to an international battle against violent extremism by sending troops to Afghanistan and collaborating with other member countries to the fight against ISIS.  Efforts to resist the so-called Islamic State of Syria and Iraq have only intensified after key events in 2015. The ones most significantly impacting the public were a hostile e-mail sent to the Albanian Interior Minister, Saimir Tahiri, signed by members of a terrorist group called the Red Brigade and a YouTube video threatening the Balkan region and Albania made by a jihadist named Almir Daci, a former Albanian Imam.  Daci is being tried in absentia for advocating terrorism and for recruiting persons to conduct (more…)

by Lesmore Gibson

Telling the Horrendous Reality

From West Africa to Central and East Africa sub-regions the challenges that inhibit experiencing sustainable peace are evident. These sub-regions have been confronted with the menace of violent religious extremism that has led to wanton destructions of human lives, sources of livelihood and other properties and valuable assets. For instance, the current terror situation perpetuated by al-Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and the Jabhat Ansar al-din operating predominantly in greater Sahel countries. The terror activities of the two religious extremist groups have created situations of abject fear and suspicion among people of different religious belongs within the region. (more…)