Saturday, November 07, 2009
Fort Hood Updates
Friday, November 06, 2009
Fort Hood Shooting - Nidal Malik Hasan
Guardian, Fort Hood gunman shouted 'Allahu Akbar' as he opened fire, 6 No v09
"Family and fellow officers said Hasan had complained of harassment by other troops about his Middle Eastern ethnicity and Muslim faith.
"The FBI was last night going through Hasan's phone and computer records to see if a motive could be identified. Agents were checking back on website postings by a man who identified himself as Nidal Hasan that appeared sympathetic to suicide bombings."
Times Online, Web post by Fort Hood gunman Major Nidal Malik Hasan could shed light on motives, 6 Nov 09, "Investigators trying to understand why a US army psychiatrist launched into a shooting spree on a military base in Texas will be poring over an internet posting he is thought to have made comparing the sacrifice of Islamist suicide bombers and American military heroes."
Obviously, this event has been picked up by various jihadi oriented sites, which I'm looking at at present.
"Family and fellow officers said Hasan had complained of harassment by other troops about his Middle Eastern ethnicity and Muslim faith.
"The FBI was last night going through Hasan's phone and computer records to see if a motive could be identified. Agents were checking back on website postings by a man who identified himself as Nidal Hasan that appeared sympathetic to suicide bombings."
Times Online, Web post by Fort Hood gunman Major Nidal Malik Hasan could shed light on motives, 6 Nov 09, "Investigators trying to understand why a US army psychiatrist launched into a shooting spree on a military base in Texas will be poring over an internet posting he is thought to have made comparing the sacrifice of Islamist suicide bombers and American military heroes."
Obviously, this event has been picked up by various jihadi oriented sites, which I'm looking at at present.
Labels: American Muslims, Fort Hood, Nidal Malik Hasan
Thursday, November 05, 2009
As7ab
Ghaith, arabcrunch.com Yahoo!Maktoob’s Launches Workplace and University Friend Finder Alert for its Arabic Social Network “As7ab”, 4 Nov 09 "As7ab which means Friends in Arabic is one of first Arabic social networks owned now by Yahoo! Maktoob, the social network was launched around 2 years ago by Maktoob, since then it has been adding features gradually."
See As7ab for more
Labels: Maktoob, social networking, Yahoo
Napoleon TV
Mona Moussly, alarabiya.net, Mutah Beale launches TV show to present "true Islam": US rapper to expose "media lies" about Islam, 04 November 2009
"Islam is backward, breeds terrorists and suppresses women, are just some of the lies the media promotes about Islam, says American rapper and convert to Islam Mutah Beale, who is set to launch a TV show next month to counter the negative stereotypes about Muslims.
"Beale, who shot to fame as a member of the "Outlawz" formed by hip hop legend Tupac Shakur, is set to launch Napoleon TV on Dec. 1 to introduce people to the "true" Islam and counter what he terms "media lies about Islam." "
"Islam is backward, breeds terrorists and suppresses women, are just some of the lies the media promotes about Islam, says American rapper and convert to Islam Mutah Beale, who is set to launch a TV show next month to counter the negative stereotypes about Muslims.
"Beale, who shot to fame as a member of the "Outlawz" formed by hip hop legend Tupac Shakur, is set to launch Napoleon TV on Dec. 1 to introduce people to the "true" Islam and counter what he terms "media lies about Islam." "
Labels: American Muslims, Music, rap, television
Iran protests: update
# Ian Black and Saeed Kamali Dehghan, Guardian, Iran protesters hijack 30th anniversary of US embassy seizure: Pro-Mousavi demonstrators are met with militia violence after taking to the streets against Ahmadinejad regime, 4 Nov 09 "Video footage on the internet showed supporters of Mir-Hossein Mousavi, who claims he won the presidential race, stamping on images of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, and denouncing him as a "murderer". Others criticised the president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Many wore wearing green scarves, ribbons or wristbands."
YouTube, Iran Tehran 4 Nov 09 Shariati St Seyed Khandan Protest P37
Also see Ali Akbar Dareini, Associated Press, Rival marches in Iran mark U.S. hostage anniversary: Opponents defied threats to protest as supporters praised the 1979 revolution, 4 Nov 09
Jillian York, ONI, Is Iran Cracking Down On the Internet Again?, 4 Nov 09
YouTube, Iran Tehran 4 Nov 09 Shariati St Seyed Khandan Protest P37
Also see Ali Akbar Dareini, Associated Press, Rival marches in Iran mark U.S. hostage anniversary: Opponents defied threats to protest as supporters praised the 1979 revolution, 4 Nov 09
Jillian York, ONI, Is Iran Cracking Down On the Internet Again?, 4 Nov 09
Labels: Iran bloggers, Iran internet, YouTube
Egypt cellphones
Joseph Mayton, bikyamasr.com, Egypt: Is the government getting your personal information?, 30 Oct 09 "When Rashad Mahmood’s mobile phone stopped working earlier this month, it came as a surprise. But when a text message was sent asking him to update his personal information with Vodofone Egypt, he was confused. The staff writer for Business Monthly – a publication run through the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt – didn’t know what was going on."
Labels: Cell phones, censorship, Egypt, Egyptian internet, privacy
AQAP
AFP, Qaeda blasts Saudi king over mixed university: SITE, 5 Nov 09 "Ibrahim al-Rubaish, a Saudi member of Al-Qaeda on the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), said in an audio message posted on the internet that the new King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, where post-graduate science students and researchers will work together, violated Islamic shariah law."
Labels: al-Qaeda, Al-Qaeda on the Arabian Peninsula, education, Saudi Arabia
Qur'an resources
baltimoresun.com, Walters Art Museum puts Islamic texts online for all; Digitization revolutionizes scholarship, experts say
"In a quiet, windowless room deep inside the Walters Art Museum, a digitization specialist places a 900-year-old Quran into the cradle of the Stokes Imaging System.
"She turns a page, lowers a wedge to hold the book in place, and snaps a picture."
I'm looking for a direct link to this, and will update when I receive info. The Walters Art Museum's general page is here
"In a quiet, windowless room deep inside the Walters Art Museum, a digitization specialist places a 900-year-old Quran into the cradle of the Stokes Imaging System.
"She turns a page, lowers a wedge to hold the book in place, and snaps a picture."
I'm looking for a direct link to this, and will update when I receive info. The Walters Art Museum's general page is here
Labels: Islamic digital libraries, Qur'an online, Qur'anic Studies
Tuesday, November 03, 2009
Bismillah Raven
Just saw this, when looking for something else ....
Sourced from Islamicate, Bismillah Raven
Sourced from Islamicate, Bismillah Raven
Labels: Islamic Art, Native American
Commentary: al-Qaradawi and 'Fiqh al-Jihad'
Nelly Lahoud, Qaradawi on Jihad this is the first of a three parter available on jihadica.com "Youssef al-Qaradawi’s recent book Fiqh al-Jihad (Jurisprudential Reasoning and Jihad), excerpts of which are available here, has received considerable attention in the Arabic press and for good reason. Al-Qaradawi commands significant influence among Sunni Muslims in the Arab world and beyond, not least because he reaches a wider audience through his television shows on al-Jazeera (”Huda al-Islam” and “al-Shari‘a wa-al-Hayat”) and his two websites, one dedicated to his work, the other, Islamonline, designed to serve as a news service about the Muslim world, a religious guide to Muslims and a window to the Islamic faith and civilization to non-Muslims."
I haven't read this closely yet, but it looks useful. The article links through to the other two sections.
I haven't read this closely yet, but it looks useful. The article links through to the other two sections.
Labels: al-Jazeera, Islam Online, Yusuf al-Qaradawi
Commentary on aQ
Leah Farrall, All Things Counter Terrorism, Al Qaeda’s As Sahaab brand value slipping? is commented on at Internet Hagahan, Whither the as-Sahab brand? [thread picked up at jihadica.com]
Saudi Arabia
Yves Gonzalez-Quijano, saudiwave.com, Sex and the Arab City : les vents du changement soufflent dans le monde arabe, 2 Nov 09, "A voir le nombre de commentaires qu’elle a suscités sur le Net, la vie sexuelle des Arabes, en particulier en Arabie saoudite, est un sujet qui passionne ! Rappel pour ceux qui n’ont pas suivi cette affaire: en juillet dernier, un Saoudien a eu la malheureuse idée de faire état de ses aventures galantes dans le cadre de « Ligne rouge » (الخط الأحمر), une émission tapageuse – et à succès – de la chaîne libanaise LBC (contrôlée par le milliardaire saoudien Al-Waleed Ibn Talal)."
Labels: Saudi Arabia
Malaysians go shopping online
Star, Malaysians still big on online shopping, 3 Nov 09, "Despite the weakened economy, Malaysians are entering into the festive spirit, with 6 in 10 shoppers expected to spend more or the same amount during the upcoming holiday season, as compared to last year."
Labels: Malaysian internet, online shopping
Phone code in Egypt
BBC News, Egypt seeks ethical mobile users, 29 Oct 09 "A code of ethics for the use of mobile phones has been launched by Egypt's official telecoms regulatory body.
"The 16-point guide includes advice about when to switch phones off and warns against annoying others with ringtones and loud conversations."
No specific references to religion in this guide.
"The 16-point guide includes advice about when to switch phones off and warns against annoying others with ringtones and loud conversations."
No specific references to religion in this guide.
Labels: Cell phones, Egypt
'Love Jihad' update
hindustantimes.com, 'Love Jihad' a mis-information campaign, say Muslim outfits, 2 Nov 09, "Muslim outfits in Kerala today said the 'Love Jihad', where girls from other religious background are allegedly lured to marriage and converted to Islam, is a "malicious-and mis-information campaign" by Sangh Parivar outfits."
Labels: Indian cyberspace
Australian Security Intelligence Organisation
The Australian, ASIO busy fending hostile cyber probes, 28 Oct 09
"A sharp increase in cyber attacks including internet probes by "hostile foreign intelligence services" marked the busiest year since 2005 for the country's peak security service, the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation.
"ASIO's annual report to federal parliament released yesterday, cited "new layers of complexity" to the standard fare of terrorism threats, espionage and foreign interference.
"The most serious national security challenge in 2008-09 was the thwarting by ASIO of an alleged plan by Melbourne-based Islamic extremists for an armed suicide assault on an Australian Defence Force facility, the report said."
"A sharp increase in cyber attacks including internet probes by "hostile foreign intelligence services" marked the busiest year since 2005 for the country's peak security service, the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation.
"ASIO's annual report to federal parliament released yesterday, cited "new layers of complexity" to the standard fare of terrorism threats, espionage and foreign interference.
"The most serious national security challenge in 2008-09 was the thwarting by ASIO of an alleged plan by Melbourne-based Islamic extremists for an armed suicide assault on an Australian Defence Force facility, the report said."
Labels: Australian Muslims, Security Issues
'Ibn Sina' the Robot
AFP/asiaone.com, Robots primed for 'are you being served' role in Arabic, 3 Nov 09 "A laboratory in the UAE has built what it says is the world's first Arabic-speaking robot which could soon go into mass production to serve as staff in shopping malls.
"Ibn Sina, named after the 11th century Islamic philosopher and scientist commonly known in English as Avicenna, was designed by a team at UAE University in the city of Al-Ain, which is part of Abu Dhabi emirate.
""It is the world's first Arabic-speaking conversational humanoid robot," Nikolaos Mavridis, assistant professor of computer science at the university who led the team, told AFP in an interview."
"Ibn Sina, named after the 11th century Islamic philosopher and scientist commonly known in English as Avicenna, was designed by a team at UAE University in the city of Al-Ain, which is part of Abu Dhabi emirate.
""It is the world's first Arabic-speaking conversational humanoid robot," Nikolaos Mavridis, assistant professor of computer science at the university who led the team, told AFP in an interview."
Labels: Abu Dhabi, Arabic resources, Arabic software, robotics
Sada al-Malahem
Al Qaeda calls for home-made bomb attacks in West, 2 Nov 09 "Abu Basir Nasser al-Wahayshi, in an article in the e-magazine Sada al-Malahem, also urged militants to assault secular media figures and columnists who promote the policies of rulers in the world's top oil exporting region.
""You do not need to exert great effort or spend a lot of money to make 10 grams of explosives, more or less. Do not spend a long time searching for materials as they already exist in your mother's kitchen," Wahayshi wrote in the article, posted on an Islamist website on Sunday."
Also see jihadica.com, Magazines and Waq al-Waq.
""You do not need to exert great effort or spend a lot of money to make 10 grams of explosives, more or less. Do not spend a long time searching for materials as they already exist in your mother's kitchen," Wahayshi wrote in the article, posted on an Islamist website on Sunday."
Also see jihadica.com, Magazines and Waq al-Waq.
Labels: al-Qaeda, internet jihad, magazines
Monday, November 02, 2009
Hossein Derakhshan: update/reminder
Robert Mackey, The Lede, News of Iran’s Detained ‘Blogfather’, 23 Oct 09 "After a long silence, there is suddenly news on the fate of Hossein Derakhshan, an influential Iranian blogger with Canadian citizenship who was detained in Tehran almost a year ago."
Labels: Canadian internet, censorship, Hossein Derakhshan, Iran bloggers
ICANN IDN non-Latin characters
ICANN, ICANN Bringing the Languages of the World to the Global Internet, Fast Track Process for Internationalized Domain Names Launches Nov 16, 30 Oct 09 "The first Internet addresses containing non-Latin characters from start to finish will soon be online thanks to today's approval of the new Internationalized Domain Name Fast Track Process by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers board.
""The coming introduction of non-Latin characters represents the biggest technical change to the Internet since it was created four decades ago," said ICANN chairman Peter Dengate Thrush. "Right now Internet address endings are limited to Latin characters – A to Z. But the Fast Track Process is the first step in bringing the 100,000 characters of the languages of the world online for domain names.""
See Paul Suarez, pcworld.com, ICANN OKs International Domains: The Pros and Cons, Nov 1, 2009
"ICANN's approval of non-Latin character domains undoubtedly is a game-changing decision in the history of the World Wide Web. With scheduled [sic] to start popping up in the middle of next year, many people are debating if this digital support for more distinctly international sites balances with potential security threats and fragmentation of the Internet."
Also see the thread on slashdot.org, ICANN Approves Non-Latin ccTLDs
I talk about this is iMuslims and elsewhere, in terms of potential impact in Islamic contexts.
Labels: Arabic resources, digital divide, domain names
Tiba3a
Gaith, arabcrunch.com, Tiba3a: Unleashing the Beauty of Arabic on the Web, 26 Oct 09 "No one can deny that Arabic is one of the best looking written languages out there, it’s considered a highly sophisticated art form in addition of it being a communication medium.
"Yet the amount of Arabic fonts that are available on Windows, Mac, Linux and the Web is very few. This problem was a discussion topic about between some of the participants -including me- at BarCamp Lebanon event, we tried to do something to solve this problem, but not much work was done!"
More info: tiba3a.com
Labels: Arabic resources, Arabic software
'The Arab Knowledge Report 2009'
arabcrunch.com, Arab Knowledge Report 2009: Towards Productive Intercommunication for Knowledge
"HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation has launched The Arab Knowledge Report 2009: Towards Productive Intercommunication for Knowledge during the Arab Strategy Forum. The report is the fruit of a collaborative effort between the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation and the United Nations Development Programme/ Regional Bureau for Arab States."
Gaith has provided an introduction to this report on arabcrunch.com - given it runs to over 300 pages, this is quite helpful, it isn't light reading! I haven't read any of this yet, but will be working through it soon. The full report can be accessed here:
UNDP/Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation, Arab Knowledge Report 2009: Towards Productive Intercommunication for Knowledge takes you to chapter-by-chapter links, or download the full pdf here (1.92MB). These are links to English documentation. Arabic versions are here (تقرير المعرفة العربي للعام 2009)
Labels: Arabic internet, Arabic resources, digital divide, Middle East Business, United Nations
Research: "Chinese Digital Islam"
Ho Wai-Yip, 'Islamic-Confucian Axis as Transborder Connectivity: Chinese Digital Islam, Middle East & Reimagining the Ummah' Conference paper, taken from 'Transcending Borders: Asian, Middle East, and the Global Community', October 16-17, 2009, Annapolis, Maryland, USA
Here's the first part of the abstract:
"While the predominant focus of the rise of cyber Islamic environments has been on the Middle East and the West, this paper considers the emerging trend of the Chinese-speaking Islamic websites in the midst of growing autonomy of civil social movements as well as the state surveillance, it is argued that the transborder Sino-Islamic digital movements are repositioned in both the foreign policy of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and its domestic politics among 56 local nationalities of China."
I haven't read this paper yet, but clearly it's an under-represented area, with relevance to this blog.
Here's the first part of the abstract:
"While the predominant focus of the rise of cyber Islamic environments has been on the Middle East and the West, this paper considers the emerging trend of the Chinese-speaking Islamic websites in the midst of growing autonomy of civil social movements as well as the state surveillance, it is argued that the transborder Sino-Islamic digital movements are repositioned in both the foreign policy of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and its domestic politics among 56 local nationalities of China."
I haven't read this paper yet, but clearly it's an under-represented area, with relevance to this blog.
Labels: Islam in China, research, Uighurs
vigilancemusulmane.be
euro-islam.info, Belgian Muslim vigilance website launched, 26 Oct 09"Vigilance Musulmane (Muslim Vigilance), a think tank and watch dog group based out of Belgium, has launched a website detailing their work ensuring for proper treatment within the country’s constitution, as well as the neutrality of the State and the separation of religion and politics in the country. The website features news articles on these topics. It is coordinated by Abdelghani Ben Moussa."
Details: vigilancemusulmane.be It could do with some fresh content, however.
Details: vigilancemusulmane.be It could do with some fresh content, however.
Labels: Belgium
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Marwa al-Shirbini
Times Online, Fatwa fear as Islamic world watches trial of Alexander W over court killing, 27 Oct 09 "The authorities fear a repetition of the riots against Danish and Scandinavian institutions after the publication of cartoons lampooning the Prophet Muhammad in September 2005.
"The fatwa has been issued by a Sheikh Ihab Adly Abu al-Madjd in a video clip on the internet. He calls on all Muslims in Germany to take vengeance and “receive the award of Allah”."
"The fatwa has been issued by a Sheikh Ihab Adly Abu al-Madjd in a video clip on the internet. He calls on all Muslims in Germany to take vengeance and “receive the award of Allah”."
Labels: Germany, Marwa el-Sherbini
Monday, October 26, 2009
Opinion piece/commentary
Maloy Krishna Dhar, frontierindia.net, Talibanized Pakistan and threat to regional security, 25 Oct 09 opinion piece (brief ref to iMuslims)
Labels: blogging, Pakistan, Taliban websites
