Islamic State systematically militarised the education systems of captured Iraqi and Syrian territory to turn the region’s children into ideological timebombs.
Schools and students are often targeted during times of armed conflict. Abducted children can be recruited as soldiers and schools are ideal locations for military headquarters.
Ghouta, Syria is being destroyed. The latest news tells of at least 40 residents killed in a chemical weapons attack. But Ghouta’s past was all about beauty, and its very name meant “green oasis.”
Russia is a major global power in outlook and reach, locked in a values-based confrontation with the West. But it still lacks all elements of a developed superpower.
Was the early conception of IS a branching-out of the old Baath party? Or was it, as some argue, completely separate with no connection at all? Reality is probably a bit of a mix of both.
To avoid another refugee ‘crisis’ that would take the world by surprise, East Asia would do well to be prepared for an influx of people from North Korea.
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