Religion

commentary

The Important Role of Faith-Based Organizations in the Context of COVID-19

Maintaining social and spiritual connections in the midst of COVID-19 are not the only challenges facing communities of faith. Congregations play critical roles in providing social services within communities. How can their services, such as food assistance, be delivered safely?

Kathryn Pitkin Derose, Michael Mata

commentary

Counterproductive Counterinsurgency: Is Mozambique Creating the Next Boko Haram?

Despite recent claims of ties to the Islamic State, the threat in Mozambique from the Islamist insurgent group al-Sunnah wa Jamaah appears to be domestic, with scarce evidence of direct ties to international extremist groups. But if the Mozambique government continues to respond in a heavy-handed manner, the threat is likely to grow, with potentially devastating effects for the country and region.

Hilary Matfess, Alexander Noyes @alexhnoyes

blog

Border Wall, Student Suspension, Syria: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on what a border wall can accomplish, reducing student suspensions, confusion over the U.S. withdrawal from Syria, and more.

essay

Faith-Based Organizations Promote Well-Being in Underserved Communities

Kathryn Derose, a senior policy researcher at RAND and an Episcopal deacon, works with Latino and African-American churches to address health issues in their communities. Her research has shown the power of the pulpit to fight health disparities, counter stigma, and encourage healthy living.

commentary

Politics in India—Not Business as Usual

India's ruling party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has suffered recent, self-inflicted electoral setbacks. But it is still the best-organized and richest political party in the country. Can opposing alliances defeat the BJP?

Rafiq Dossani

commentary

Taiwan Should Not Worry About the Vatican

Concerns are growing in Taipei over whether the Holy See intends to switch its diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China. Beijing could be entertaining Vatican requests not out of genuine interest in reestablishing relations, but to put Taiwan on edge.

Derek Grossman @DerekJGrossman

blog

Orlando Nightclub Shooting: RAND Experts React

RAND experts provide perspective on the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history, what it likely means within the context of the campaign against ISIS, and more.

commentary

How to Defeat a New Boko Haram in Mali

While there is a need for stepped up military and police efforts against the self-proclaimed Macina Liberation Front, Mali's policymakers and their international partners need to focus on countering revivalist Islam, ideally by promoting Mali's other Islamic traditions, while finding ways to calm the inter-communal competition.

Michael Shurkin

commentary

Faith-Based Organizations as Force Multipliers

Faith-based organizations are an important community-based resource for veterans who are adjusting to civilian life. What current and potential roles can they play in reintegration?

Laura Werber

commentary

The Allure of ISIS for Young Recruits

Poverty and oppression may explain why people in some countries embrace violent extremism, but it does not account for the flow of Western volunteers or the dreamy allure of fighting for a faraway cause. Biographies of those who have reached out to participate in jihad suggest a variety of motives, including alienation, personal crises, dissatisfaction with empty spiritual lives, and adolescent rebellion.

Brian Michael Jenkins @BrianMJenkins

commentary

Tackling Radicalization Before It Begins

Why not turn the question of violent extremism inside out and develop programs that reinforce non-radicalization? That is, rather than eliminating drivers, focus instead on strengthening the factors that inhibit violent extremism.

Kim Cragin

commentary

Vive France's Defense of Its Jewish Citizens

France is not the problem when it comes to defending Jewish lives and Jewish rights. With a few exceptions, the French state and nation have been stalwart on these issues, if only because the French government has understood that those who strike at Jews usually are striking at values dear to France.

Michael Shurkin

q&a

Experts React to ISIS's Gruesome Execution of Jordanian Pilot

A grisly video released yesterday by ISIS appears to show Jordanian pilot Muath al-Kasaesbeh burned alive in a cage. Why the shift away from beheadings? What does the execution mean for Jordan? What implications will it have for ISIS?

q&a

Terror in Paris, Answers from RAND Experts

The attack that claimed the lives of 12 people in the offices of a Paris-based satirical magazine sent waves of terror and disbelief across France today. RAND experts discuss what the terrorists stand to gain from the attack, what it could mean for Muslims around the world, and more.

commentary

The Tortured Roots of Sectarian Violence

The recent increase of sectarian terrorism is best understood as a product of the ancient Sunni-Shiite divide, the growth of modern-day extremist groups, the Iranian-Saudi rivalry, and the growing phenomenon of fractured states.

Rick Brennan, Jr. @rickbrennanjr

commentary

A Milder Modi?

Narendra Modi, India's most polarizing political figure in a generation, will become prime minister with a virtually unchecked mandate.

Jonah Blank

commentary

The Foreign Policy Essay: Evangelicals, Israel, and U.S. Foreign Policy

The religiously grounded pro-Israel viewpoint distorts American policy towards Israel with an unhelpful inflexibility and exaggerates the political importance of the country (indeed, the whole region) to the United States, says Paul Miller.

Paul D. Miller

commentary

What's Next for the Muslim Brotherhood?

Some believe the Muslim Brotherhood should stay in the political game, adopting the role of loyal opposition. The Brotherhood would remain a minority party, but it could continue to hold offices, provide social assistance that the government does not, and demonstrate its continuing strength at the polls.

Brian Michael Jenkins @BrianMJenkins

commentary

Obama's Burmese Gamble

A year ago, the United States and Myanmar (Burma) did not even have ambassadors in each other's capitals. In May, President Thein Sein became the first leader from Myanmar to visit the White House in nearly a half-century. Has Obama's administration been too quick to embrace what was one of the world's most repressive regimes?

Jonah Blank

commentary

What Bangladesh — and US Retailers — Must Do to Prevent Man-Made Tragedies

Perhaps most tragic of all are the disasters that are wholly preventable: the deaths, maimings, and crushed livelihoods that result from human callousness or indifference, writes Jonah Blank.

Jonah Blank

commentary

Searching for Clues on the Brothers Tsarnaev

One doesn't need a clear link to a global terror group to carry out an attack; one needs only the resources, the means and an Internet connection. But the global nature of these communities and their online links also create openings police can exploit.

Olga Oliker

commentary

Can Catholic Colleges Block Free Condom Distribution?

If this issue were to be decided on the basis of public health benefits, the outcome would be clear: Condoms indisputably prevent both unintended pregnancies and the spread of sexually transmitted infections, writes Chloe Bird.

Chloe E. Bird @ChloeBirdPhD

blog

New RAND Study Examines Voting Patterns in Post-Mubarak Egypt

While much has been written on the electoral strength of Islamists in Egypt, most of the analysis has been done at the national level, ignoring regional divides within the country. A new report identifies the areas where Islamist parties run strongest, and the areas where non-Islamists are most competitive.

commentary

Is Asia's Forgotten Revolt About to Explode?

This is why teachers are so often the targets of attack. In the rebels' view, schools aren’t neutral places for children to receive an education. They are seen as government-run indoctrination centers, propagating an exclusionary history and an alien language, writes Jonah Blank.

Jonah Blank

commentary

The Winners and Losers from the Syria Conflict

Although outside efforts to arm the rebels would help level the playing field in Syria, such a strategy would not ensure victory, and the weapons could fall into the hands of extremists for use against Israel, Jordan and other neighboring countries, writes William Young.

William Young

commentary

Generations of Terrorism

Whatever its eventual outcome, Syria's civil war has already produced thousands of experienced jihadists who will continue to threaten the region for years to come, writes Brian Michael Jenkins.

Brian Michael Jenkins @BrianMJenkins

commentary

Obama and Myanmar (Burma): Four Points About Conflict There

We can expect to see continued jockeying for scarce resources among vulnerable populations around the globe, attempts by majority communities to disenfranchise powerless minority groups, and episodes of extreme weather to blow away any notion that disasters—whether natural, man-made, or both—can't happen here, writes Jonah Blank.

Jonah Blank

commentary

Difficult Questions on Today's Terrorist Threat

Much like the struggle against the Soviet Union and Communism during the Cold War, it appears increasingly likely that the struggle against radical Islamic groups will last several decades, writes Seth G. Jones.

Seth G. Jones

commentary

Muslim Brotherhood Failing to Learn from Mistakes

The Muslim Brotherhood is falling into the same trap of overreach exhibited by the Egyptian military when the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) held the reins of authority during the first 16 months of the transition, writes Jeffrey Martini.

Jeffrey Martini

commentary

Headscarves on Egyptian Newscasts Are a Victory for Tolerance

Lifting the Egyptian ban on headscarves on TV newscasts can be seen as a positive development. It ends state discrimination against those who wish to show their faith outwardly.

Jeffrey Martini

commentary

How Does Arab Spring Compare to Third Wave Transitions?

The changes underway in the Arab world may lead to various possible destinations that differ both from their points of departure and from liberal democracy, write Laurel Miller and Jeffrey Martini.

Laurel E. Miller, Jeffrey Martini

commentary

Victims of Terrorism-by-Mistaken-Identity

Perpetrators of hate-crimes against Sikhs often think they're attacking Muslims. This may not make the slaughter any more or less heinous, but it's another example of hatred flowing from ignorance, writes Jonah Blank.

Jonah Blank

commentary

Awlaki's Death Hits al-Qaeda's Social Media Strategy

Though Awlaki will be difficult to replace—since he effectively coupled both propaganda and operations—al-Qaeda will continue to plan attacks overseas against Western targets, writes Seth Jones.

Seth G. Jones

commentary

Do Higher Crime Rates Cause a Decrease in Religiosity?

If we observe that high crime and low levels of religious belief or high levels of belief and low crime go hand in hand, how should we interpret that correlation? asks Paul Heaton.

Paul Heaton

commentary

The Great Silencing: Intolerance and Censorship in the Arab World

Cynthia P. Schneider, Nadia Oweidat

commentary

Backlash Against Terror

The recent terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India, are part of a disturbing trend across the Muslim world of groups that target civilians in the name of Islam. Less visible to Western eyes, but potentially just as significant, is a growing backlash among Muslims who condemn such attacks as unethical, writes Seth Jones.

Seth G. Jones

commentary

Colonel Cardinal's Iceberg Theory

As we continue to pour invaluable resources into our sixth year in Iraq, and the U.S. public and politicians wonder what we should do next, now may be a good time to revisit the overarching theory of our campaign plan in the Pacific: Colonel Cardinal's Iceberg Theory, writes Dick Hoffmann.

Dick Hoffmann

commentary

Danish Cartoons Doom Us All

Like two years ago, last week's rage in Pakistan over reprints of cartoons and a forthcoming Dutch film that insult Islam's holy book once again entangles Muslims and the West in a fury over freedom of speech, writes Farhana Ali.

Farhana Ali

commentary

A War of Nerves in Turkey

A War of Nerves in Turkey in Project Syndicate (an association that distributes commentaries to 291 newspapers in 115 countries)

F. Stephen Larrabee

commentary

Cartoons and Terror

Published commentary by RAND staff: Cartoons and Terror, in United Press International.

Farhana Ali

commentary

Unavoidable Clash of Islam and the West?

Published commentary by RAND staff.

Steven Simon

commentary

Social Studies: 21st Century Tribes

Published commentary by RAND staff.

David Ronfeldt

commentary

A Chance to Overcome Religious Divisions

Published commentary by RAND staff.

Rollie Lal

commentary

Religion Isn't Sole Motive of Terror

Published commentary by RAND staff.

John V. Parachini @JohnParachini