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 to holy wars world-wide, including Afghanistan,AlgeriaChechnya, Congo, HaitiIndiaIndonesia, Iraq, the Middle East, Nepal, Nigeria,Northern IrelandSri Lanka, Sudan, Uganda, and Yugoslavia.

AFGHANISTAN
The Taliban keep fighting as the world’s attention is diverted to Iraq.

Afghan Daily

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)

The Hazara Party 

Watan Afghanistan

ALGERIA
Islamic rebels clash with Algerian security forces in an effort to forge a Muslim state.

Ploughshares 2003 Armed Conflict Report: timeline and synopsis.

The Algeria Daily.

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

The Economist’s Algeria page

BBC’s Algeria profile page

CHECHNYA
Muslim separatists seek to establish Muslim government independent of Russia.

The Chechen Press: News agency of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria

BBC’s Chechnya page

Human Rights Watch Russia and Chechnya reports

Kavkaz Center: Chechen independent international Islamic Internet agency

Moscow Times

HAITI

Embassy of the Republic of Haiti in Washington, D.C.

UN News: Centre Americas Page

Amnesty International’s Haiti Page

Human Rights Watch: Haiti

Haiti: A Slave Revolution. An online book available through the International Action Center website.

Haiti ProgresThe 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

BBC’s Gujarat Page

Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP—World Hindu Council), Hindu nationalist organization accused of violence against Muslims in the region

VHP America

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

Kashmir News

The Kashmir Herald

CNN special report

BBC: “Kashmir Flashpoint”

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.

Rival JKLF faction

Virtual Homeland of Kashmiri Pandits

INDONESIA (GENERAL)
BBC’s Indonesia page

The Economist’s Indonesia page

The Jakarta Post

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.

BBC Northern Ireland news

Belfast Telegraph

Irish Times

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).

Government of Pakistan

Ploughshares’ Armed Conflict Report on Pakistan

The Pakistan Observer: Independent daily from Islamabad

Dawn: English daily

Al-Muhajiroun: News from the Islamic movement of the same name

BBC’s Pakistan page

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

Sri Lanka Police Service, including the Special Task Force (SPF), a paramilitary arm of the Sri Lankan government

Sri Lanka Army’s homepage

Lanka: A daily news portal

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

BBC country profile

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

Serbian government homepage

Human Rights Watch 2003 Yugoslavia Report

Amnesty International 2003 Yugoslavia Report

BBC Balkans portal

Ploughshares’ Armed Conflict Report on Kosovo

United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo

Borba: daily news from Yugoslavia

Radio 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

Blogroll The Revealer

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