The Words that Armed Anders Breivik

How much we should blame extreme political rhetoric for the actions of Anders Breivik? Did words help pull the trigger?

Peacekeepers killed in Somalia

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Four African Union peacekeepers were killed when a mortar hit Somalia’s presidential palace, officials say. Islamist insurgents continue to battle government forces in the east African nation which has been in a state of near-anarchy for almost 20 years now. The Washington Post’s Sudarsan Raghavan has been filing from Mogadishu over the weekend. Download MP3

• BBC coverage
• Mortar Hits Somali Presidential Palace

Sharia arbitration in Britain

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Two years ago Britain’s Archbishop of Canterbury provoked a storm of criticism by suggesting it might be necessary for the British legal system to incorporate certain aspects of sharia for its Muslim citizens. Britain allows arbitration panels to rule according to Islamic law on some issues. And the founders of arbitration say they’re getting business from an unexpected quarter: non Muslims. The World’s Laura Lynch reports. Download MP3

• BBC coverage
• Muslim Arbitration Tribunal
• Religion coverage on The World

Somalia food aid reportedly bypasses needy

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Food aid to Somalia is being diverted and stolen on a massive scale, according to a leaked United Nations report. Anchor Marco Werman gets the details from Jeffrey Gettleman, East Africa correspondent for the New York Times. Download MP3 (Photo courtesy of World Food Program)

• Jeffrey Gettleman’s story in the New York Times
• World Food Program – Somalia
• BBC World Service Africa

Islamic scholar issues anti-terrorism fatwa

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An influential Muslim scholar has issued a global ruling against terrorism and suicide bombing. Dr Tahir ul-Qadri says his fatwa completely dismantles al-Qaeda’s violent ideology. The scholar describes al-Qaeda as an “old evil with a new name.” Dr Qadri’s organization, Minhaj ul-Quran, is growing in Britain. Marco Werman talks with The World’s religion editor Jane Little about the fatwa. Download MP3

• BBC coverage
• Minhaj ul-Quran website
• Religion stories on The World
• Science Forum: how our unconscious brain controls political decisions

Interview with Pervez Musharraf

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The former president of Pakistan was America’s ally in fighting Muslim extremism. Many in Washington said he did too little. Many Pakistanis said he bowed to western pressure. Now, as Pakistani troops battle militants along the Afghan border, he talks with Marco Werman about the delicate balance of leading Pakistan. Download MP3 (Photo: Catherine Murphy)
Web extra: Marco asked Musharraf about his stay in the US:

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• Musharraf profile
• Musharraf’s facebook page

Egypt to ban full women’s veils

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Egypt’s highest Muslim authority has said he will issue a religious edict against the growing trend for full women’s veils, known as the niqab. The practice is widely associated with more radical trends of Islam. Reporter Aya Batrawy has the story. Download MP3

• BBC coverage
• The niqab in Islam

Hamas releases video of captured Israeli soldier

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Israel has freed 19 Palestinian female prisoners in exchange for a new videotape of an Israeli soldier captured more than three years ago near the Gaza border. Correspondent Linda Gradstein reports from Jerusalem.

Top al-Qaeda suspect killed in Somalia

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Somali Islamists will avenge the killing by U.S. forces of a top al-Qaeda suspect in Somalia, a top al-Shabab commander has told the BBC. Kenyan-born Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan is believed to have been killed in a U.S. military helicopter raid. American agents had been hunting Nabhan for years. Jason Margolis reports. Download MP3 (AFP/Getty photo shows Islamist fighter in Mogadishu)

• BBC coverage
• Profile: Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan

Shattered Somalia

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Somalia has experienced almost constant conflict since the collapse of its central government in 1991, and Mogadishu is ground zero for the failed state in East Africa. Writer Robert Draper visited the country for National Geographic Magazine. Katy Clark talked with Draper about his experience in Somalia. >>>View pictures from Mogadishu (courtesy of National Geographic)

Somalia in ruins

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Anchor Katy Clark speaks with Robert Draper, author of an article on Somalia that appears in the September issue of the National Geographic Magazine. Draper travelled to Somalia to document the violence and chaos that have plagued the country for nearly two decades.

Pictures from Mogadishu for this story at nationalgeographic.com