Persecuted for generations, the Yazidis have weathered their latest storm with astonishing resolve.
The use of Incirlik airbase by Turkish warplanes launching attacks across the border and its re-opening to the US Airforce reflect the domestic and international goals of Turkey’s campaign.
FlickrUS Airforce
What prompted Turkey’s punishing campaign against both Islamic State and Kurdish forces in Iraq and Syria? The explanation for this sharp reversal of policy may lie in calculations for fresh elections.
Saudi citizens supporting Islamic State are not the result of a coherent plan directed by its rulers, but the overflow of a long-standing system used to maintain its domestic legitimacy.
Turkish troops patrol the Syrian border as airstrikes begin.
EPA/Deniz Toprak
We need political and civil society leaders to reflect on the language that they use, and to strive to shape a civic narrative with which we can all engage.
A struggle is underway for the heart and soul of Islam. Moderate Muslims need to engage in the contest to ensure their view of Islam is the one that prevails.
The continual use of colourful language when talking about terrorism exaggerates the threat in Australia and could play into the hands of Islamic State’s sophisticated recruitment strategies.
Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull said counter-terrorism measures should be right and effective, not just tough.
AAP/Mick Tsikas
Malcolm Turnbull has warned against overestimating the Islamic State threat and amplifying its significance, in a speech contrasting sharply with Tony Abbott’s declarations.
One needs to understand the differences in their Islamic movements to make sense of events over recent decades in Egypt and Iran.
EPA/Mohamed Messara
People sometimes overlook their profound differences if social forces unite them in a common, often ill-defined desire. Hostility to Muslims is creating an imagined solidarity that Islamists can exploit.
The London bus blown up by one of the 7/7 attackers.
PA/Fiona Hanson