For 20 years, ISD has delivered field-leading threat detection, analysis and real-world strategies to combat terrorism, extremism and authoritarianism - in all their ideological forms.

Islamist Extremism

Islamist Extremism presents a politicised supremacist vision of Islam that is antithetical to democracy and human rights. Since the Islamic State (IS) and Al Qaeda’s high water mark a decade ago, Islamist Extremist movements are in a state of flux, spreading across a broad range of violent and political groups globally. We track and respond to these evolving threats using a range of tools and approaches, as well as trying to reach an increasingly young cohort of digital supporters.”

September 17, 2026

25 years after 9/11, al-Qaeda remains perennially online: The group’s digital ecosystem in 2026

Twenty-five years after 9/11, al-Qaeda remains online, adapting its decentralized ecosystem across platforms, messaging services and AI.

Islamist Extremism, Tech Accountability and Safety, Threat Analysis and Prevention

September 8, 2026

Generation ‘Slop Jihad:’ The decentralized ‘media jihad’ gets sloppy

Islamist Extremism, Terrorism and Extremism

July 29, 2026

Five lessons from the Islamist extremist attack on Berlin Pride

Anti-LGBTQ+, Islamist Extremism

March 11, 2026

Islamic State group activity in the US in 2025

Islamist Extremism, Terrorism and Extremism, Threat Analysis and Prevention

March 10, 2026

The 2025 Annual Review of Plots and Attacks Across the US

Hybrid Extremism and Nihilistic Violence, Islamist Extremism, Terrorism and Extremism, Threat Analysis and Prevention

February 26, 2026

Coordinating Through Chaos: The State of the Islamic State Online in 2026

Islamist Extremism, Terrorism and Extremism

February 26, 2026

As platforms pull back moderation, Islamic State contents grows in reach

Islamist Extremism

January 17, 2026

Morocco’s Religious Diplomacy: Soft Power, Sovereignty and the Politics of Faith

Islamist Extremism

December 23, 2025

Bondi Beach: The hallmarks of an Islamic State attack 

Antisemitism, Islamist Extremism, Threat Analysis and Prevention

Further Reading

August 2, 2022

PC Mag reports on ISD’s findings about moderation gaps and terrorist content proliferation

PC Magazine features ISD's findings about how moderation gaps in non-English language allow for the proliferation of violent and terrorist content.

Islamist Extremism, Tech Accountability and Safety

July 31, 2022

AI falling short in moderating extremist content on Facebook

ISD's Moustafa Ayad spoke to the Washington Post about the problem of extremist and terrorist content on Facebook in Kenya.

Islamist Extremism, Tech Accountability and Safety

July 31, 2022

Facebook’s structural struggle in flagging terrorist content in Kenya, African countries

Moustafa Ayad spoke with the WaPo about ISD's two-year investigation into the online media ecosystem of al-Shabaab and the Islamic State in Africa.

Islamist Extremism, Tech Accountability and Safety, Terrorism and Extremism

June 14, 2022

Under-Moderated, Unhinged and Ubiquitous: Al-Shabaab and the Islamic State Networks on Facebook 

This report outlines networks of Somali, Kiswahili and Arabic pages and profiles on Facebook which are supportive of al-Shabaab and the Islamic State.

Islamist Extremism, Tech Accountability and Safety

February 15, 2022

Nuanced text analysis at scale: Toxicity detection and digital Salafism

ISD outlines its approach to applying toxicity analysis to Salafi online content and the development of automated toxicity detection tools.

Islamist Extremism, Tech Accountability and Safety

February 14, 2022

‘Sophisticated’ tactics by online ISIS groups evade platform policies

Moustafa Ayad spoke to POLITICO about ISD's research into online Islamist networks on mainstream social media.

Islamist Extremism

December 22, 2021

Generation Z & Das Salafistische Online-Ökosystem: Executive Summary

Eine digitale Momentaufnahme des sich schnell verändernden Online-Ökosystems des Salafismus, mit Fokus auf die Schnittstellen zu Generation Z.

Islamist Extremism

December 20, 2021

Islamic extremists troll each other online and manage to stay under Facebook’s radar

Our Moustafa Ayad shared exclusively with POLITICO evidence exposing how several groups supporting the Islamic State and the Taliban managed to go undetected for months on Facebook. 

Islamist Extremism, Tech Accountability and Safety

December 20, 2021

Islamic extremists troll each other online and manage to stay under Facebook’s radar

Our Moustafa Ayad shared with POLITICO evidence of extremist groups posting propaganda and hate speech for months.

Islamist Extremism, Terrorism and Extremism

November 24, 2021

Gen-Z Salafi followers turn to far-right memes further reinforcing dividing lines

ISD's Milo Comerford and Moustafa Ayad spoke with MEL magazine about Gen-Z and the digital Salafi ecosystem.

Hybrid Extremism and Nihilistic Violence, Islamist Extremism

Previous 1…34567…9 Next