The recent release of an animated video by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Assam official X handle, showing Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma firing a gun at characters identified as Muslims under the caption “No Mercy,” is not merely a political gaffe or a social media error but is a calculated manifestation of a “Hindu regime” that has moved beyond dog-whistle politics to the open celebration of violence.

The U.S. has significantly increased its military presence across the Middle East as tensions with Iran intensify. Satellite imagery and flight-tracking data show a major surge of U.S. air power at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan, with the number of aircraft at the base roughly tripling compared with normal levels and transport aircraft movements also rising sharply.

US Special Envoy to Syria, Tom Barrack, tweeted on 20 January 2026: “The original purpose of the SDF as the primary anti-ISIS force on the ground has largely expired.” (Aleppo Today, January 19, 2026) Meanwhile, the US military is amassing an unprecedented naval force in the waters of the Middle East, coinciding with an escalation in US threats against the Iranian regime, which has long served US policy in the region.

On Sunday, February 15, 2026, the first conference of the Ministry of Religious Endowments, entitled “Unity of Islamic Discourse,” commenced at the Damascus Conference Palace. The conference was held under the auspices of the Presidency and the Supreme Fatwa Council, and was attended by official and religious figures, including scholars and preachers from various schools of thought and religious outreach...