Holy Wars
“Holy war” is not a term limited to militant jihadists; it’s a crucial lens through which to understand many of the world’s conflicts, from those where religion is front and center, such as Northern Ireland, to those in which religious belief adds to friction in more subtle ways, such as Congo. Following is The Revealer‘s guide […]
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AFGHANISTAN
The Taliban keep fighting as the world’s attention is diverted to Iraq.
Ploughshare’s Armed Conflict Report
Human Rights Watch 2003 Report (PDF)
“Afghanistan: At the Crossroads of Ancient Civilizations” (a BBC project)
Rebuilding Afghanistan (a PBS project)
ALGERIA
Islamic rebels clash with Algerian security forces in an effort to forge a Muslim state.
Ploughshares 2003 Armed Conflict Report: timeline and synopsis.
Algerian government homepage (in French and Arabic only)
Islamic Salvation Front (FIS): Islamic nationalist group pushing for independent Muslim state
Council on Foreign Relation’s Algeria site: profile of the GIA (Armed Islamic Group) and more
Human Rights Watch 2003 Algeria report
Amnesty International’s 2003 Algeria report
Algeria Watch International: enormous Algeria links page
CHECHNYA
Muslim separatists seek to establish Muslim government independent of Russia.
The Chechen Press: News agency of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria
Human Rights Watch Russia and Chechnya reports
Kavkaz Center: Chechen independent international Islamic Internet agency
Embassy of the Republic of Haiti in Washington, D.C.
Amnesty International’s Haiti Page
Haiti: A Slave Revolution. An online book available through the International Action Center website.
Haiti Progres. The largest Haitian weekly, available in English and French.
Haiti Star. A digest of Haitian news from the World News Network.
Le Nouvelliste. A private, French-only daily.
BBC News country profile of Haiti
The Economist’s Latin America page
INDIA (GUJARAT)
Intermittent Muslim/Hindu violence continues in this western Indian state.
Ploughshares’ Armed Conflict Report
Bajrang Dal: Militant youth wing of the VHP
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (National Volunteer Corps, a Hindu nationalist party)
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP): Hindu nationalist party currently in nationwide leadership
INDIA (KASHMIR)
Rival territorial claims on predominantly Muslim Indian state of Kashmir continue.
Ploughshares’ Armed Conflict Report
Jammu & Kashmir information portal
Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF): Muslim group led by Yasin Malik fighting for an independent Kashmiri state. There are actually two groups who identify themselves by this name—Malik split from the original JKLF after renouncing violence.
Virtual Homeland of Kashmiri Pandits
INDONESIA (GENERAL)
BBC’s Indonesia page
The Economist’s Indonesia page
BBC: “Indonesia’s Militant Muslims”
Human Rights Watch’s Indonesia page
The Children and Armed Conflict Unit’s Indonesia page
Amnesty International’s 2003 Indonesia Report
Tapol: The Indonesia Human Rights Campaign
Laskar Jihad, a Java-based Muslim fundamentalist group.
INDONESIA (ACEH)
Muslim separatists battle government forces
Ploughshares’ Armed Conflict Page on Aceh
U.S. Congressional Research Service project on the Free Aceh Movement
Aceh/Sumatra National Liberation Front (ASNLF): Guerilla liberation group (“sometimes referred to as an Islamic group, ASNLF insists it is inspired by secular nationalism”—Christian Science Monitor, July 24, 2002)
INDONESIA (KALIMANTAN)
Although violence has ebbed, some fear a resumption of this long-running conflict between Dayak (Christian) and Madures (Muslim) ethnic groups.
Kalimantan government homepage
Ploughshares’ Armed Conflict Page on Kalimantan
INDONESIA (MOLUCCA ISLANDS)
A 1999 traffic dispute between a Christian and a Muslim in this eastern province quickly spread into a religious and class conflict which has claimed upwards of 10,000 lives.
Ploughshares’ Armed Conflict Page on the Molucca Islands
Cry Indonesia: Chrstian watchdog on events in Maluku
Ambon Berdara: news and pictures from the Maluku tragedy
INDONESIA (SULAWESI)
Violence between Muslims and Christians continues on Indonesia’s forth-largest island.
Ploughshares’ Armed Conflict page on Sulawesi
Time article: “Indonesia’s Dirty Little Holy War”
NORTHERN IRELAND
Roman Catholics dispute British support for Protestant militias.
Democratic Dialogue: Belfast-based think tank with scholarly reports and excellent links page
Conflict Archive on the Internet (CAIN): Northern Ireland portal from the University of Ulster.
Labour Party: Britain’s main political party, led by Tony Blair
Sinn Fein: Democratic Socialist party traditionally associated with the Irish Republican Army, a Catholic militant group.
Ulster Unionist Homepage: Ireland’s Unionist political party, associated with non-militant Protestants.
Fianna Fail: Homepage of the Irish Republican Party
Irish Labour Party, Ireland’s oldest political party
Socialist Worker’s Party of Ireland
Police Service of Northern Ireland
The Blanket: an Irish republican e-journal
Pat Finucane Center: Site dedicated to the memory and legal fight of Pat Finucane, a Belfast human rights attorney killed in 1989, with reports on hate crimes against Catholics from 1999
Victims and Survivors Trust: West Dublin charitable organization memorial with links to essays on the conflict
British Ulster Alliance: mainland UK organization supporting Ulster loyalism
Loyalist and Orange Information Services: Personal site with extensive Loyalist links
1998 PBS Frontline interactive project on the IRA & Sinn Fein
PAKISTAN
A moderately Islamic dictatorship faces challenges from radical Islamic activists over governance and how to deal with India’s Hindu nationalists (Pakistan maintains low-intensity warfare with India).
Ploughshares’ Armed Conflict Report on Pakistan
The Pakistan Observer: Independent daily from Islamabad
Al-Muhajiroun: News from the Islamic movement of the same name
Human Rights Watch 2003 Pakistan Report
Muttahida Quami Movment (M-Q-M) led by Altaf Hussain (in exile in London since 1992). Anti-government faction representing Mohajirs (migrants) who moved to Pakistan in 1947 when India was partitioned.
SRI LANKA
Tenuous ceasefire signed in February 2002 between Hindi Tamil rebels seeking a homeland in the north and east, and Buddhist government forces.
The Economist’s Sri Lanka page, with updates on the current peace process
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE): Sri Lanka’s Hindu minority rebel group.
Government of Sri Lanka’s homepage
Society for Peace, Unity, and Human Rights in Sri Lanka
UGANDA
Attacks against the government and civilians increase as Joseph Kony’s Lord’s Resistance Army continues its attempt to rule the country according to its interpretation of the Ten Commandments.
The Monitor: Uganda’s independent newspaper
Ploughshares’ Armed Conflict Report on Uganda
Government of Uganda’s home page.
Human Rights Watch 2003 Uganda report
Amnesty International’s 2003 report
YUGOSLAVIA (KOSOVO, MONTENEGRO, SERBIA)
Despite the presence of NATO troops, violence continues between Muslims and Christians, more along ethnic lines than religious ones.
Former Yugoslavian government homepage
Human Rights Watch 2003 Yugoslavia Report
Amnesty International 2003 Yugoslavia Report
Ploughshares’ Armed Conflict Report on Kosovo
United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo
Borba: daily news from Yugoslavia
Kosova Live: independent news agency funded by the UN Mission in Kosovo
European Union’s Kosovo portal
Serbia and Montenegro Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Institute for War and Peace Reporting’s Balkans page
United States Institute for Peace Kosovo links page
Alternative Information Network: collective of independent journalists from the Balkans