Explore profiles of key jihadist movements, terrorist organizations, and enabling state actors. Each card provides an overview of their ideologies, activities, and documented impacts on affected communities. Click to read more in-depth analysis.
Founded in Egypt by Hassan al-Banna, the Brotherhood is the progenitor of modern political Islam. It pursues Sharia-based governance through institutional infiltration, political participation, and in some contexts, support for armed factions. Its global influence networks span Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, and North America, financing mosques, schools, and political lobbying operations.
Read MoreAt its peak, ISIS held territory across Iraq and Syria, governing millions under a brutal interpretation of Sharia and carrying out mass executions, genocide against Yazidis and Christians, sexual enslavement, and coordinated terror attacks across Europe, Africa, and Asia. Although its territorial caliphate collapsed in 2019, ISIS retains active affiliates in West Africa (ISWAP), the Sahel, Mozambique, Afghanistan, and Southeast Asia, continuing to inspire and direct attacks globally.
Read MoreAn offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas has governed the Gaza Strip since 2007. Designated a terrorist organization by the United States, European Union, UK, and others, it conducts rocket attacks against Israeli civilian populations and suicide bombings, most recently carrying out the October 7, 2023 massacre — the deadliest attack on Jews since the Holocaust. It opposes any two-state settlement and uses civilian infrastructure as cover for military operations.
Read MoreCreated by Iran's Revolutionary Guards following Israel's 1982 incursion into Lebanon, Hezbollah has grown into a state-within-a-state. It maintains a larger arsenal than most national armies, operates globally, and has conducted terrorist attacks in Argentina, Bulgaria, and across the Middle East. Designated a terrorist organization by the US, EU, UK, and Arab League, it serves as Iran's primary proxy for destabilizing Lebanon, Syria, and Israel, and supplying arms to the Houthis.
Read MoreFounded by Osama bin Laden in 1988, Al-Qaeda orchestrated the September 11, 2001 attacks and multiple mass-casualty bombings worldwide. Operating through a decentralized network of regional affiliates — including AQIM (Maghreb), AQAP (Arabian Peninsula), and Al-Shabaab (Somalia) — it continues to plan attacks and inspire lone-wolf operatives globally. Its core ideology calls for violent global jihad against the West, Israel, and moderate Muslim governments.
Read MoreHaving retaken Afghanistan in August 2021, the Taliban enforce one of the world's most repressive regimes — banning women from education and public life, executing dissidents, and harbouring Al-Qaeda operatives. The Pakistani Taliban (TTP) continues cross-border attacks into Pakistan. The group's rule has precipitated economic collapse and mass displacement, while Afghanistan once again serves as a sanctuary for global jihadist planning.
Read MoreOperating across northeast Nigeria and the Lake Chad basin, Boko Haram — whose name translates broadly as "Western education is forbidden" — has killed tens of thousands and displaced millions. Its 2014 mass abduction of 276 schoolgirls from Chibok drew global attention. A splinter faction, ISWAP, pledged allegiance to ISIS in 2015 and now rivals the original group in violence, targeting Nigerian military, Christian communities, and civilian infrastructure.
Read MoreAl-Shabaab ("The Youth") controls large swathes of rural Somalia and continues to threaten the Somali Federal Government. An Al-Qaeda affiliate since 2012, it carries out suicide bombings, targeted assassinations, and attacks in Kenya (Westgate Mall, 2013; Garissa University, 2015) and Ethiopia. It imposes a brutal version of Sharia in controlled areas, banning music and executing those accused of apostasy, while extorting businesses and taxing civilian populations for revenue.
Read MoreIran-backed Houthi forces control northern Yemen and have launched ballistic missiles and drone attacks against Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and commercial shipping in the Red Sea, disrupting global trade routes. Their slogan — "Death to America, Death to Israel, Curse the Jews, Victory to Islam" — reflects their explicitly antisemitic and jihadist ideology. They have forcibly conscripted children, targeted Yemeni Jewish communities, and carried out mass executions of political opponents.
Read MoreThe world's foremost state sponsor of terrorism, Iran funds, arms, and directs a regional network of proxy militias — Hezbollah (Lebanon), Hamas (Gaza), the Houthis (Yemen), and Shia militias in Iraq and Syria. Iran's IRGC-Quds Force has directed assassinations on European soil, developed a nuclear programme in violation of international agreements, and systematically oppresses its own population, brutally suppressing the 2022 Women, Life, Freedom uprising.
Read MoreQatar finances Islamist movements globally through its sovereign wealth fund, Al Jazeera media network, and direct government transfers. It has hosted senior Hamas political leaders in Doha and funded Muslim Brotherhood-linked institutions in Europe and North America. Qatar's Al Jazeera Arabic serves as a propaganda platform amplifying Islamist narratives. A 2017 blockade by Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, and Egypt cited its terror financing as a primary cause.
Read MoreUnder President Erdoğan, Turkey has backed Muslim Brotherhood-aligned governments, deployed Syrian proxy militias in Libya and Azerbaijan, and blocked NATO enlargement. Turkey facilitated the transit of foreign fighters into Syria and Iraq, supported Hamas politically and logistically, and has conducted military operations against Kurdish populations in Syria and Iraq — communities documented by IFC's Northern Middle East Desk. It hosts Hamas military leadership and has cracked down on domestic secular and Kurdish minorities.
Read MorePakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) has a documented history of harbouring and supporting jihadist groups as instruments of foreign policy. Osama bin Laden was found living in Abbottabad, a military garrison town, until his 2011 elimination. Pakistan has sheltered Taliban leadership, the Haqqani Network, and Lashkar-e-Taiba — responsible for the 2008 Mumbai attacks. Its nuclear arsenal in proximity to an increasingly unstable state presents a long-term global security threat.
Read MoreThe Assad regime's collapse in December 2024 ended decades of Ba'athist rule, during which Syria served as a transit corridor for jihadist fighters into Iraq and Lebanon and deployed chemical weapons against its own population. The post-Assad transitional authority, led by HTS (Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham) — a designated terrorist organization — now controls Damascus, raising questions about Syria's future and the safety of minority communities including Alawites, Druze, Christians, and Kurds.
Read MoreIFC's library is continuously updated. If you have verified research, testimony, or documentation relating to any listed actor, contact our research team.
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