Africa

Egypt Radical fundamentalists intent on creating a Muslim theocracy founded on Islamic law, or sharia, threaten Egypt’s secular government with bombings in Cairo and assassinations of government officials. Since December 1992, military courts have sentenced to death more than twenty-five fundamentalists for violent antigovernment acts.

North Africa Several North African governments, particularly that of Algeria, face threats of coups by fundamentalist Muslim groups. In Algeria, a 1992 military coup prevented the freely elected Islamic Salvation Front, since banned, from coming to power. In response, fundamentalists blew up an airport terminal and assassinated Algeria’s president. In 1993, a former prime minister was also assassinated. Algeria has sentenced to death more than one hundred fundamentalists.

South Africa Despite the scheduling of first-ever multiracial elections and the establishment of government goals to abolish apartheid (South Africa&rsquo...