Religion and Press Freedom in the Digital Age – Part Three: Interview with Kassahun YilmaAugust 13, 2014The third in a series of posts on issues at the intersection of press freedom, religion, digital media and...
Nigeria: An Ephemeral PeaceJuly 22, 2013By Alex Thurston A ceasefire between the Nigerian authorities and Boko Haram in early July brought short-lived hopes for...
Ahbash Rising: Religious Freedom in Ethiopia, Part 2January 18, 2013Protests in Ethiopia could have profound ramifications for Muslim-state relations in Ethiopia and beyond, writes Alex Thurston in the...
Ahbash Rising: Religious Freedom in Ethiopia, Part 1January 7, 2013In the first of two posts on the deterioration of religious freedom for Ethiopia's Muslims, Alex Thurston looks at...
To Hajj Without an EscortOctober 16, 2012By Alex Thurston During the week of September 24, Saudi Arabian authorities detained and subsequently deported over 1,000...
African Responses to "Muslim Innocence"September 25, 2012by Alex Thurston Protests against the Innocence of Muslims film have taken on a global scope...in sub-Saharan Africa, responses...
Are Salafis "Conservative"?August 21, 2012by Alex Thurston The media’s use of the term “ultraconservative” is also connected with some Salafis’ support for implementing...
Salafism for DummiesJuly 26, 2012by Alex Thurston Suddenly, Salafism seems to be everywhere: mainstream Salafism, political Salafism, Wahhabist Salafism,
Of Shrines and SyncretistsJuly 20, 2012by Alex Thurston Teju Cole analyzes the destruction of the shrines by analogy: Mali is premodern Europe; Mali is...
Bad Sudanese? A "Marginal Revolt" is UnderwayJuly 12, 2012by Alex Thurston Should Sudan’s protesters topple President Omar al Bashir, I believe the media would get excited, but...
Kenyan Muslims Debate Anti-Terror LawJuly 7, 2012by Alex Thurston AMOK turns the logic of the law’s critics around: the bill will not target Muslims but...
Rethinking Mali's Political CultureJune 28, 2012by Alex Thurston The MNLA and Ansar al Din have dominated the headlines about Mali this spring and...
Mauritania: Islamic Response to the Sahel DroughtJune 15, 2012By Alex Thurston 9/11 changed the trajectory of Islamic humanitarian agencies in Africa and around the world...The US government...
Mass Wedding in KanoJune 11, 2012by Alex Thurston A recent story from Nigeria, one that touches on both marriage and shari’a, offers the possibility...
Al Shabaab: Where Do They Go From Here?June 7, 2012Joe McKnight Ever since Somali President Siad Barre’s government was removed from power in 1991, Somalia has lacked an...
Schooling Muslims in Northern Nigeria: Politics, Policies and ConclusionsJune 6, 2012by Alex Thurston Government-run Islamic schools, then, are to be a source of “counter-radicalization” as well as a means...
Nigerian Universities: Islamic Studies in Secular UniversitiesJune 4, 2012By Alex Thurston Nigeria has around 100 universities, most of them public, and many public and private colleges. Various tertiary...
Feature Nigeria's Islamiyya Schools: Global Project, Local TargetMay 18, 2012By Alex Thurston This is the fourth post in a series on Islamic education in Northern Nigeria. The first post...
Feature "Traditional" and Reformist Practices: Advanced Islamic Education in Northern NigeriaMay 15, 2012This post is the third in a series on Muslim schooling in Northern Nigeria. The first post gave an...
Feature Northern Nigeria: Qur'anic Schooling and the AlmajiraiMay 1, 2012by Alex Thurston This is the second post in a series on Muslim education in Northern Nigeria. Read the first...
Education as Battleground: Schooling Muslims in Northern NigeriaApril 10, 2012by Alex Thurston This post is the first of a series on Muslim schooling in Northern Nigeria. Steady acts of violence...
Feature Identity, Crisis: Shari'a Law in Nigerian PoliticsMarch 5, 2012 by Alex Thurston In 1999, Nigeria...
Feature Boko Haram in National PerspectiveFebruary 15, 2012 By Alex Thurston Violence by Boko Haram,...