Extremism is "the quality or state of being extreme" or "the advocacy of extreme measures or views". The term is primarily used in a political or religious sense to refer to an ideology that is considered to be far outside the mainstream attitudes of society. It can also be used in an economic context. The term may be used pejoratively by opposing groups, but is also used in academic and journalistic circles in a purely descriptive and non-condemning sense.
A hate group is a social group that advocates and practices hatred, hostility, or violence towards members of a race, ethnicity, nation, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, or any other designated sector of society. According to the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), a hate group's "primary purpose is to promote animosity, hostility, and malice against persons belonging to a race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, or ethnicity/national origin which differs from that of the members of the organization."
The Henry Jackson Society (HJS) is a trans-Atlantic foreign policy and national security think tank, based in the United Kingdom. While describing itself as non-partisan, its outlook has been described variously as neoliberal and as neoconservative. The Society identifies itself with a "forward strategy" to spread democracy and liberal values globally. It is currently focused primarily on supporting global democracy in the face of threats from China and Russia. The Society is also known for its reports related to Islamic and far-right extremism. The Society is named after the American politician Henry M. Jackson.
Right-wing terrorism, hard right terrorism, extreme right terrorism or far-right terrorism is terrorism that is motivated by a variety of different right-wing and far-right ideologies, most prominently, it is motivated by neo-Nazism, anti-communism, neo-fascism, ecofascism, ethnonationalism, religious nationalism, and anti-government patriot/sovereign citizen beliefs, and occasionally, it is motivated by opposition to abortion, tax resistance, and homophobia. Modern right-wing terrorism largely emerged in Western Europe in the 1970s, and after the Revolutions of 1989 and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, it emerged in Eastern Europe and Russia.
The Phineas Priesthood, also called Phineas Priests, are American domestic terrorists who follow the ideology which was set forth in the 1990 book Vigilantes of Christendom: The Story of the Phineas Priesthood by Richard Kelly Hoskins.
Radicalization is the process by which an individual or a group comes to adopt increasingly radical views in opposition to a political, social, or religious status quo. The ideas of society at large shape the outcomes of radicalization; for example, radical movements can originate from a broad social consensus against progressive changes in society or from a broad desire for change in society. Radicalization can result in both violent and nonviolent action – academic literature focuses on radicalization into violent extremism (RVE) or radicalisation leading to acts of terrorism. Multiple separate pathways can promote the process of radicalization, which can be independent but are usually mutually reinforcing.
Maajid Usman Nawaz is a British activist and former radio presenter. He was the founding chairman of Quilliam. Until January 2022, he was the host of an LBC radio show on Saturdays and Sundays.
The Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) is a think tank founded in 2006 by Sasha Havlicek and George Weidenfeld that specialises in research and policy recommendations. It is heavily funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; it is headquartered in London, United Kingdom.
Stop Islamization of America (SIOA), also known as the American Freedom Defense Initiative, is an anti-Muslim, pro-Israel American counter-jihad organization known primarily for its controversial, Islamophobic advertising campaigns. The group has been described as extremist and far-right. The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) lists SIOA as an anti-Muslim hate group.
Islamic extremism in the United States comprises all forms of Islamic extremism occurring within the United States. Islamic extremism is an adherence to fundamentalist interpretations of Islam, potentially including the promotion of violence to achieve political goals. In the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terror attacks, Islamic extremism became a prioritized national security concern of the U.S. government and a focus of many subsidiary security and law enforcement entities. Initially, the focus of concern was on foreign Islamic terrorist organizations, particularly al-Qaeda, but in the course of the years since the September 11 terror attacks, the focus has shifted more towards Islamic extremist and jihadist networks within the United States. Although the number of U.S. citizens or long-term residents involved in extremist activity is small, their recruitment and participation in criminal activities organized by Islamic terrorist groups on the U.S. territory is considered a national security threat by U.S. authorities.
Maulana Syed Mohammad Ashraf Kichhouchhwi is a prominent Indian Sufi leader and spiritual master from Kichchouchcha Sharif, the famous Sufi shrine of Ashraf Jahangir Semnani in Ambedkar Nagar in Uttar Pradesh. Kichhauchhwi is a patron of various social, academic and other developmental activities of Sufi Sunni Muslims in India. He is the Founder and National President of the All India Ulema and Mashaikh Board (AIUMB), a Sufi movement in India.
Violent extremism is a form of extremism that condones and enacts violence with ideological or deliberate intent, such as religious or political violence. Violent extremist views can manifest in connection with a range of issues, including politics, religion and gender relations. Though "radicalization" is a contentious term, its general use has come to regard the process by which an individual or group adopts violence as a desirable and legitimate means of action. According to the RAND Corporation, extremism is a term used to characterize a variety of attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors that often are on the extreme end of the political, religious, or ideological spectrum within society.
The 2015 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, also known as CHOGM 2015 was the 24th Meeting of the Heads of Government of the Commonwealth of Nations. It was held in Malta from 27 to 29 November. Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena handed the position of Commonwealth Chair-in-Office to Maltese prime minister Joseph Muscat at the meeting.
Moderate Islam and moderate Muslim are labels that are used within counterterrorism discourse as the complement of "Islamic extremism" and imply that supporting Islamic terrorism is the characteristic of a "radical" faction within Islam, and a "moderate" faction of Muslims denounces extremist violence such as Islamic terrorism, militant jihadism and radical Islamism.
Imams Online is a project of Faith Associates, a global consultancy, that aims to provide a voice for Islamic religious leaders. Imams Online has been involved in counter-extremism work. It is affiliated with Faith Associates which has been linked to the Home Office Research, Information & Communications Unit (RICU).
Muslim engagement and development (MEND) is a UK NGO. It focuses on media monitoring, advocacy in Westminster and improving the media/political literacy of British Muslims. The aim of the organisation is to tackle Islamophobia and to encourage political, civic and social engagement within British Muslim communities.
The Christchurch Call to Action Summit, was a political summit initiated by New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern that took place on 15 May 2019 in Paris, France, two months after the Christchurch mosque shootings of 15 March 2019. Co-chaired by Ardern and President Emmanuel Macron of France, the summit aimed to "bring together countries and tech companies in an attempt to bring to an end the ability to use social media to organise and promote terrorism and violent extremism". World leaders and technology companies pledged to "eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content online"; Seventeen countries originally signed the non-binding agreement, with another 31 countries following suit on 24 September the same year. The pledge consists of three sections or commitments: one for governments, one for online service providers, and one for the ways in which the two can work together.
The Makkah Declaration (2019) also known as the Charter of Makkah, is a document that was endorsed on 28 May 2019 in Makkah, Saudi Arabia. Its creation was largely conceived and realized by the Muslim World League and it was presented by Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. It was written to create a pan-Islamic set of principles that supported anti-extremism, religious and cultural diversity, and legislation against hate and violence. The document was declared at the end of the four-day conference organized by the Muslim World League conference in Makkah. It was approved by Islamic leaders of 139 countries and signed by around 1,200 prominent Muslim figures.
Far-right terrorism in Australia has been seen as an increasing threat since the late 2010s, with a number of far-right extremist individuals and groups, including neo-Nazis and other hate groups, becoming known to authorities, in particular the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) and the Australian Federal Police (AFP). In early 2021 the first far-right extremist group was added to the list of proscribed terrorist groups, this group being the Sonnenkrieg Division.
Nonviolent extremism is the expression of extremist ideas through nonviolent means, without the use of terrorism or political violence. It can be contrasted with violent extremism. Nonviolent extremism manifests from the same ideologies as violent extremism, including right wing extremism, left wing extremism, and religious extremism. Much of the study of nonviolent extremism focuses on its potential to produce or incite violent extremism.
