In Britain, there is now a cycle of Islamic scare stories so regular that it is almost comforting, like the changing of the seasons. Sadly, this rotation is not as natural, or as benign, although it is beginning to feel just as inevitable. We had the niqab winter last year, as the country lurched into the niqab debate for the second time in three years. Now we are in the spring of halal slaughter.

Saudi Arabia's grand mufti, the top religious authority in the birthplace of Islam, has condemned Nigeria's Boko Haram as a group "set up to smear the image of Islam" and condemned its kidnapping of over 200 schoolgirls.  "This is a group that has been set up to smear the image of Islam and must be offered advice, shown their wrong path and be made to reject it," he told the Arabic-language newspaper al-Hayat in an interview published on Friday.

After warning that Islamic extremism is the “most deadly” threat to charities in Britain, the UK’s Charity Commission on Wednesday detailed its proposed crackdown on groups of concern to it. In statements earlier this week, the Charity Commission’s chairman William Shawcross told the Sunday Times the regulator is taking action against charities sending money to various groups in Syria.

Mohammad Amin Pandith, a smallholder and father-of-three from Indian-controlled Kashmir, was lured from his home at night by a man in army uniform, dragged along a potholed lane and shot in the back of the head.

Former UK prime minister and crusader against the "Axis of Evil" Tony Blair delivered a speech Wednesday calling for Western powers to "take sides" in Middle East foreign policy and to move the issue of "religious extremism" to the top of their agenda.

"We don't negotiate with terrorists," has long been the standard refrain of governments when it comes to violent extremists. But these days, in the realm of social media, at least, they are talking to them.

One of Pakistan’s leading women’s rights campaigners saysMalala Yousafzai is a victim of the West. Humaira Awais Shahid, a former politician, Harvard fellow, and newspaper editor, said the schoolgirl has been badly damaged by Britain and America, who are taking advantage of her survival story. 

The humid Tuesday evening wanes as Akeel Shaikh, 19, spews a blend of Hindi and Urdu commands into his cell phone, rounding up members of his Muslim political group from the narrow booth of a Mumbai bakery and milk bar.