Al-Shabaab’s evolution over nearly two decades has been centred around three major goals.
Indonesia runs the world’s largest network of madrasas (Islamic schools). They have contributed significantly to girls’ enrolment, and can serve as a model for the Taliban government.
(ANTARA FOTO/Sahrul Manda Tikupadang)
Indonesia can serve as an important model for the Taliban of how Muslim nations and faith-based organisations can play a big role in expanding girls’ education.
A gathering during the 73rd anniversary of the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), in Jakarta, Indonesia in 2019.
Eko Siswono Toyudho/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Day 6 of our Understanding Islam series. Sharia constitutes a broad set of rules that guide Muslims on how to lead an ethical life. The way Sharia is interpreted depends on who is using it and why.
Students on the campus of Darul Uloom, the Deoband school of Islam located in a small town, Deoband, in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
Sajjad Hussain/AFP via Getty Images
Deobandi Islam, the religious school that the Taliban draw their ideology from, was set up in 19th century India to educate Muslim youth.
Personnel were evacuated from the U.S. embassy in Kabul on Aug. 15, 2021, as Taliban insurgents broke through the capital city’s defensive line.
AP Photo/Rahmat Gul
The Taliban ‘expect a complete handover of power.’ Experts explain who the Taliban are, what life is like under their rule and how the US may bear responsibility for Afghanistan’s collapse.
In early 2021, some Taliban fighters surrendered their weapons to support peace talks with the Afghan government. Today the Islamic extremist group is battling government forces to control the country.
Xinhua/Emran Waak via Getty Images
Two decades have passed since the US invasion of Afghanistan toppled the Taliban’s Islamic extremist regime. Despite efforts to update its image, the group still holds hard-line views.
Muslim women in India protesting against the use of Sharia as a tool for oppression.
anjay Purkait/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images
Sharia is often portrayed as being brutal and barbaric. However, in many parts of the world, women are using Sharia to stop oppressive practices.
Audience members listen to Afghan parliamentarian Fawzia Koofi speak in 2014. Women’s access to politics increased greatly after the Taliban’s 2001 ouster.
Sha Marai/AFP via Getty Images
Afghan women interviewed about current talks between the government and the Taliban say, ‘There is no going back.’ Taliban fundamentalist rule in the 1990s forced women into poverty and subservience.
Tribal members in a jirga, or circle – one traditional avenue for justice in Afghanistan.
Lizette Potgieter/Shutterstock
In countries where people access different justice providers, a hybrid model could pull them together and ensure better oversight and human rights.
The Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque, one of the landmarks in Brunei. Brunei recently announced punishing gay sex by stoning offenders to death.
AP Photo/Vincent Thian
Jessica Marglin, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
Some Islamic nations, including Brunei, have harsh punishments under Sharia. In pre-modern times, Sharia was rarely used as criminal law, and standard of proof for any prosecution was very high.
Brunei’s Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah has long been known as a party boy. Now, he’s imposing strict Islamic religious rule on the people of Brunei.
Reuters/Ahim Rani
Brunei’s new anti-gay Sharia laws are the harshest in the world. Yet few countries have publicly condemned them, and an international boycott could backfire.
Conservative lawmakers in dozens of U.S. states have raised fears that Islamic fundamentalists want to impose Sharia on Americans.
Reuters/David Ryder
There is no inherent tension between Islam and democratic values. Like any use of religion in politics, the application of Sharia as law depends on who is using it – and why.
Muslims can pray anywhere in the world using the prayer carpet.
AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes
Trump recently tweeted about prayer rugs being left along the border. Many may not know the role and history of Muslim prayer rugs and why they are not likely to be left behind.
The first Islamist attack carried out by Mozambicans in the country is particularly surprising given the pride the country takes in its sound and relaxed inter-religious relations.
Activists protesting against the recently banned triple divorce.
AP Photo/Altaf Qadri
Muslim women in India struggle with a host of challenges, such as widespread poverty and lack of access to education. Arbitrary divorce was only one of many injustices.
Contemporary Indonesia is heading down the path of conservative Sunni Islamism.
Reuters/Beawiharta