@mujtahidd

al-akbar.com, Mujtahidd: A Tweeting Thorn in the Side of Al Saud, 20 Feb 2012 "A controversial campaign by the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia to discredit Twitter has failed to silence @mujtahidd, a rising tweeting star exposing the corruption of the royal family. In an exclusive interview with Al-Akhbar, @mujtahidd spoke about his motives and vision for change in the Saudi kingdom." tip: Sharquaouia

Grand Mufti calls for internet dialogue

The National, Grand Mufti calls for internet dialogue, 20 Feb 2012 

"Sheikh Ali referred to the difficulties young people face in dealing with what sometimes seems like an overwhelming amount of information, by quoting from an old Arabic poem: “It is like throwing someone all tied up into the waters and demanding of them to remain dry."

Salamworld's ambitions

Hurriyet Daily News, First Islamic Facebook aims to create ‘halal’ field for Muslims “The first global Islamic social network, called ‘Salamworld,’ aims to prevent the ‘haram’ content of Western social sites and has a target of 50 million users in five years. The network held its first global summit in Istanbul”

'NYPD Monitored Muslim Students'

IBTImes, NYPD Monitored Muslim Students, Collected Minor Details Including How Many Times They Prayed, 20 Feb 2012   “The New York Police Department (NYPD) has defended monitoring Muslim college students beyond the city limits to collect details including how many times they prayed.”

'Islam and democracy can co-exist, says Anwar Ibrahim’s daughter'

Telegraph, Islam and democracy can co-exist, says Anwar Ibrahim’s daughter, 19 Feb 2012 "Islam and democracy can co-exist, says Anwar Ibrahim’s daughter Nurul Izzah Anwar, the daughter of freed Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, says the Arab Spring has shown that Islam and democracy can co-exist and propel the opposition into power in Malaysia at elections later this year."

'Iranian Activists, Journalists Receive Threatening E-mails'

RFE/RL, Iranian Activists, Journalists Receive Threatening E-mails, 14 Feb 2012 "The e-mails, which have been sent since February 13, warned activists of their “illegal activities” and said they will be dealt with according to Iranian Islamic laws. The e-mails claim that a list has been created including names and e-mail addresses of individuals accused of working for the goals of “foreigners“ and “seditionists,” which are terms used by Iranian officials to refer to the members of the opposition Green Movement."

Hajj app

Economist, The smart way to Mecca, 13 Feb 2012 "The app, currently available only for iPhone, though an Android version is in the works, is called Amir, which means “guide” in Arabic (among other things). It offers a check-list to ensure the pilgrim is fully prepared before setting off to Saudi Arabia. It also includes interactive tutorials, for instance on what to do while walking seven times counter-clockwise around the Kabah, the Black Stone, or how properly to stone the Devil. Once they arrive, pilgrims can use Amir to check where they are and to locate their tent. On top of that, the app has a built-in emergency button so people in need can easily be located by an ambulance or the police." Tip:(dbreunig) 

Details: iTunes, AMIR Personal Hajj Assistant for Men

Here's a related article I wrote some time back on apps. I am writing more about apps for a forthcoming chapter (work in progress):

Gary R. Bunt, Surfing the App Souq: Islamic Applications for Mobile Devices, CyberOrient, Vol. 4, Iss. 1, 2010

Critical Muslim: 'Top Ten Towering Fatwas'

hurstblog, Critical Muslim: Top Ten Towering Fatwas Opinion: “A spectre is haunting Muslims—the spectre of fatwas. All the powers of old Islam have entered into a holy alliance: to issue more and more fatwas, each as ridiculous as the other, and thus drown the Islamic earth in a pestiferous flood of fatwas.” Refers to online pronouncements.

e-Jihad

memri.org, Muslim Clerics: Cyber Warfare against Israel Is a Form of Jihad extracts from fatwa opinions, edited by MEMRI.

Iran net disruption

The H, Reports: Iran disrupts secure internet connections - Update, 13 Feb 2012 "According to reports, encrypted internet connections have been systematically disrupted in Iran since last Thursday. As a result, numerous services including some email and online banking sites no longer function, at least not if a server is located outside of the Islamic republic, though existing reports disagree on some of the details."

AFP, Iran chokes Internet at politically sensitive time, 13 Feb 2012 "Attempts to get on Facebook, Gmail, Yahoo and foreign news pages were either met with an Iranian page saying in Farsi that "Access to this page is a violation of computer crime laws" or the connection was slowed to such an extent to make it nearly impossible."

mobiledia.com, U.S. Helps Iranians Bypass Internet Block to Organize Protests, 13 Feb 2012 "A U.S.-based project is helping Iranians skirt government Web restrictions, aiding protest efforts by allowing citizens to coordinate online."

'Malaysia defends deporting Saudi journalist for tweet'

BBC News, Malaysia defends deporting Saudi journalist for tweet, 13 Feb 2012 "Malaysia defends its deportation of a Saudi journalist accused of insulting the Prophet Muhammad in a tweet, saying it cannot be seen as a safe haven."

Abu Qatada

NY Times, Britain Releases Militant Preacher, 13 Feb 2012

'Somalia’s militants group al-Shabab joins al-Qaida'

AP, Somalia’s militants group al-Shabab joins al-Qaida, 9 Feb 2012, Qaida leader says in video “… the new al-Zawahri video — which was posted on an Islamic Internet forum on Thursday — is the first formal welcoming of al-Shabab by the new al-Qaida leader. The new video also featured al-Shabab chairman Mukhtar Abu Zubeyr, also known as Godane, pledging allegiance to al-Zawahri.”

RevolutionMuslim.com

ArtsBeat: Man Pleads Guilty to Making Online Threats Against South Park Creators, 9 Feb 2012 "Jesse Curtis Morton went by the name Younus Abdullah Mohammad when he and another man, Zachary A. Chesser, wrote on a radical Muslim Web site that an episode of “South Park” had insulted the Prophet Muhammad."

Trial outcome

AFP, Nine Islamists jailed for plotting terror attacks, 9 Feb 2012 “[Judge] Wilkie said they were “fundamentalist Islamists who have turned to violent terrorism in direct response to material, both propagandist and instructive, issued on the Internet by Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.”“

KSA tweet controversy

news.com.au, Saudi Hamza Kashgari faces death calls after prophet tweets, 10 Feb 2012 “A young Saudi journalist is facing calls for his execution after tweeting about the Prophet Mohammed, and the kingdom’s top clerics are demanding his trial after denouncing him as an “apostate”.”

mosireen.org

ihya blog, Mosireen, "Mosireen is a non-profit media centre in Downtown Cairo born out of the explosion of citizen journalism and cultural activism in Egypt during the revolution. Armed with mobile phones and cameras, thousands upon thousands of citizens kept the balance of truth in their country by recording events as they happened in front of them, wrong-footing censorship and empowering the voice of a street-level perspective. "Mosireen, in just three months of production, has become the most viewed non-profit YouTube channel in Egypt of all time, and is the most viewed non-profit channel in the whole world for this month."

'Radical U.S. Muslims pose little threat, study says'

NYT, Radical U.S. Muslims pose little threat, study says, 7 Feb 2012 “A feared wave of homegrown terrorism by radicalized Muslim Americans has not materialized, with plots and arrests dropping sharply over the two years since an unusual peak in 2009, according to a new study by a North Carolina research group.”

womenundersiegeproject.org

womenundersiegeproject.org, Q&A: Gloria Steinem on ending rape in war "It doesn’t matter where you look; sexualized violence is intrinsic to conflict. Gaddafi’s soldiers committed rape in the last days of Libya’s regime. The Egyptian military has been sexually violating female journalists and protesters in that revolution. Across the Democratic Republic of Congo, hundreds of thousands of women are suffering the fallout of the sexualized violence that has torn apart their bodies, their families, and their communities."

Syria update

BBC News, 'Despair and hysteria in Homs', 8 Feb 2012 “Residents of the Syrian city of Homs, which has been under bombardment from government forces for five days, are despairing of their situation, the BBC’s correspondent there says.”

'Battle for Syria rages across the internet'

f.t.com, Battle for Syria rages across the internet, 7 Feb 2012 “As a live, online video-stream broadcast the terrifying sounds of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad’s forces pounding opposition strongholds in Homs yesterday, another battle was raging on an instant-messaging forum.”

Boko Haram

jamestown.org, Boko Haram: A Militant Leadership Monitor Special Report "In this “Special Report on Boko Haram: Nigeria’s Islamist Movement” we examine the rise of Boko Haram’s elusive leader Abu Shekau, and the policies of the group’s charismatic leader – Mohammed Yusuf – the former leader whose death in 2009 led to Abu Shekau’s rise as well as increased international focus on the group's activities in recent years." Publication available to purchase via this link I haven't seen this, but it sounds interesting.

A Brief Introduction to the Female Voices in Arab Hip Hop

The Political Notebook: A Brief Introduction to the Female Voices in Arab Hip Hop

Google and Facebook block content in India

Guardian, Google and Facebook block content in India, 6 Feb 2012

“A New Delhi lower court hearing one of the cases, a civil suit brought by an Islamic scholar, told the companies on Monday to put in writing the steps they had taken to block offensive content, and submit reports within 15 days.

“"Microsoft has filed an application for rejection of the suit on the grounds that it disclosed no cause of action against Microsoft,” a spokesperson for the company said. “The matter is sub judice and no further comments can be given.”

“That suit was brought by a scholar, Mufti Aijaz Arshad Qasm, who runs a website called fatwaonline.org, which gives answers to moral questions.”

Iran: Innovations in Cyber Dictatorship

Fred Petrossian, globalvoicesonline.org, Iran: Innovations in Cyber Dictatorship, 7 Feb 2012 “The Iranian regime not only represses bloggers and filters websites and blogs, but has many times used the internet creatively as a tool to increase pressure or spread fear.”