An open and honest discussion about radicalisation cannot ignore the alienating impacts of racism and Islamophobia, starkly on display at this vandalised Muslim prayer centre in Brisbane.
AAP/Tertius Pickard
A frank debate about the causes of extremism and terrorism would acknowledge uncomfortable issues like the alienating impacts of racism, Islamophobia and Western military actions and foreign policy.
IS claims responsibility for series of assaults. President Hollande says it is an ‘act of war’.
Reclaim Australia is attracting a broad assortment of supporters based on a loosely defined platform of anti-Muslim, anti-immigration and economic protectionist sentiment.
AAP/Mick Tsikas
Reclaim Australia is not the first radical nationalist movement to emerge in Australia, and it has applied the lessons of past groups’ mistakes to attract a broader range of people to its rallies.
Reclaim Australia supporters at the April rallies displayed a mix of liberal and anti-Muslim slogans.
Irfan Ahmad
If Reclaim Australia were rallying Muslims, the liberal media would examine its religious inspirations. Yet the media treat its supporters as disgruntled individuals rather than Christian representatives.
A far-right protestor carries a noose through the streets of Prague.
Islamic State is symptomatic of a disturbed and troubled social order. The vast crisis of dislocated people and communities is being expressed in anger, intolerance and perverted notions of honour.
There are no easy ‘tell-tale signs’ of radicalisation.
Students via Intellistudies/www.shutterstock.com
Michel Houellebecq’s Soumission has been greeted by a predictable mix of anger and uncritical bias toward the author, a typical reception for the most controversial French author of the past two decades…
France has had a long and troubled relationship with its Muslim populations. French armies faced down Muslim leaders during the expansion of the country’s empire in Africa in the 19th century. And in the…
There was no sense of recrimination at the Paris solidarity march in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo attacks.
AAP/Francois Pauletto
On Sunday, millions of people turned out to reaffirm the unity of France in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo attack. About 1.5 million people came to the march in Paris. For two hours before the march started…
Papers across France have shown their solidarity.
Sebastien Nogier/EPA
Jean-Marie Charon, École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS)
The shock across France at the terrorist attack on the offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and the hostage situations that have followed have been met with incomprehension. The barbarity of the…
Michel Houellebecq’s latest novel, Soumission, was published just hours before the attacks on the office of Charlie Hebdo. It consolidates his reputation – for better or worse – as one of the few contemporary…
Division is what the Charlie Hebdo attackers want.
Emma Foster/EPA
The attack on Charlie Hebdo was an abominable tragedy. It struck the heart of one of our capitals and symbols of our democracies as terrorists attacked our freedom of the press. It is now essential to…
When violence erupts, we can be tempted to make judgements about collective responsibility based on our own allegiances, rather than consistent moral principles.
EPA/Ian Langsdon
When should we hold a group morally responsible for a member’s evil? In the wake of the Charlie Hedbo attacks, many will demand answers about Islam’s role in promoting violence. As we brace for the inevitable…
Anti-Islamic protesters on the march in Berlin.
Bernd Von Jutrczenka/EPA
A rally in Dresden has attracted some 18,000 people, all marching under the banner of Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the Occident. The sudden appeal of this group, known as PEGIDA, has…
The internet has become a safe haven for racial and religious abuse.
Shutterstock
In late 2013 I was invited to present evidence, as part of my submission regarding online anti-Muslim hate, at the House of Commons. I attempted to show how hate groups on the internet were using this…
Associate Professor in Islamic Studies, Director of The Centre for Islamic Studies and Civilisation and Executive Member of Public and Contextual Theology, Charles Sturt University