20-year-old Mohamud Mohamed Mohamud, a native of Hamilton who had been recruited by extremist group Islamic State (IS), was reportedly killed in fighting in Syria last week, his family said. Earlier in the week, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) had unofficially told his family that he was killed in the anti-IS military campaign, battling Kurdish troops in northern Syria. …

As a part of a report called ( A State of Mind ) Lebanon in Number Introduction Access to reliable data on socio-economic and political issues in Lebanon has been a rare and seasonal privilege, more often than not restricted to private circles. As a result, statistics offering a quantitative perspective on current affairs have been largely absent from the …

An Iranian court last Friday sentenced seven people to prison for making a viral video earlier this year in which they danced to American singer Pharrell Williams’ hit song “Happy”. Last Wednesday, a defense attorney explained that six of the defendants were handed six-month jail sentences and 91 whiplashes as punishment. Additionally, the seventh defendant was given a year-long prison …

On Tuesday, Israel shot down a Syrian warplane over Golan Heights airspace, the first such incident in over three decades, and warned that it will respond “forcefully” in case of any security threat. The last time Israel had shot down a Syrian warplane was in 1985, drawing a sharp response from the then Syrian government. Israel has said that the …

A political coalition on Monday said that an Iranian lawmaker, a close associate of Ali Hosseini Khamenei, made remarks which revealed the regime’s role in developments in Yemen and plans for “exporting terrorism and fundamentalism”. The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) quoted Alireza Zakani referring to the Islamic Republic’s plan of “’unifying Muslims by Islamic Revolution”. On its …

The United States, along with its Arab allies, on Tuesday unleashed deadly missile and bomb strikes on Islamic State (IS) militants in Syria, opening a new battlefront for the extremist group. Several dozens of al-Qaeda and IS were reportedly targeted in the raids, which the US has said partly targeted militants plotting an “imminent attack” against the West. The United …

Abu Mohammed al-Adnani, spokesman for extremist group Islamic State (IS) threatened Canada, among other Western powers, in a global call for Muslims to kill citizens of countries joining the fight against his group. In a long-winded, 42-minute audio message, he makes mentions of Canada, and said that the US-led coalition won’t defeat the IS. “If you kill a disbelieving American …

On Monday, France urged French citizens living in or travelling to certain countries to exercise “utmost caution” after extremist group Islamic State (IS) called on Muslims all over the world to kill citizens of countries whose government are a part of the coalition against the group. The French Foreign Ministry said sent a warning to its embassies “in around 30 …

Eleven Iranians who have been accused of sending insulting texts about Islamic republic founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini were arrested in the province of Shiraz on Monday. “After monitoring social network applications on mobile phones like WhatsApp, Viber, Line and Tango… 11 people were arrested”, General Esmail Mohebipour, the provincial Revolutionary Guards chief”, said. “They recognized the error of their ways”, …

On Friday, around 2,000 mosques in Germany were called on by top Muslim clerics in the country to use the Friday’s rituals to rally support against extremist group Islamic State (IS) and speak out against the beheadings in Iraq and Syria. Aiman Mazyek, the chairman of the Central Council of Muslims in Germany, urged the nation’s Muslim population to speak …