Friday, October 29, 2004

TCS: Tech Central Station - The Lancet: A Casualty of Politics, Study puts civilian toll in Iraq at over 100,000
BBC NEWS | World | Middle East | Militants 'kill 11 Iraqi guards'
Tape warns of massive new attack on US -DAWN - 29 October, 2004: "ABC News has asked US security officials to examine a videotape it obtained in Pakistan of an English-speaking man threatening a massive attack on the United States, the network said on Wednesday. "
ABC News: Intelligence on Election Threat Quieted: "U.S. government officials say the level of information picked up about an election terror threat has ebbed somewhat recently, but they still believe the danger posed by al-Qaida has not waned. "
Islam Online - Thai Muslims Massacred…What Lies Beneath? (Analysis): "A local separatist organization, the Pattani United Liberation Organization (PULO), posted a warning on its website saying Bangkok would be a target for retaliation."
sfgate.com/Washington Post, Video shows execution of 11 Iraqi guardsmen / One is beheaded, others are shot -- warning issued: "The Ansar al-Sunna Army, an Islamic group that also asserted responsibility for the almost identical execution of 12 Nepalese workers in August, posted warnings to other Iraqi security forces with the gruesome footage of the guardsmen's deaths -- the first by beheading, the others by gunshot. Each victim recited his name and unit before being killed. "

Thursday, October 28, 2004

Seattle Post-Intelligencer: AP - Middle East, Video shows Polish woman hostage in Iraq
BBC NEWS | World | Middle East | Hassan makes appeal in new video
BBC NEWS | Technology | Attack prompts Bush website block
U.S. Newswire : Releases : "Kerry Campaign: BushCheney Ad Fact Check" "The Brookings Institution reported that more than 151 foreign nationals have been kidnapped in Iraq since March. "At least 26 (foreigners) have been killed, including two Americans whose beheadings were recorded on grisly video footage and posted on the Internet," according to the Associated Press. Reuters reported that "at least nine (hostages) are known to have been beheaded." (Associated Press, 9/29/04; Reuters, 9/22/04; Brookings Institution, "Iraq Index," Updated 10/19/04)"
Reuters AlertNet - Saudi TV comics threatened for spoofing militants: "The director and actors of a popular Saudi television comedy series said on Wednesday they had received Internet death threats after an episode criticising militants in the kingdom was aired.

"They said last week's episode of 'Tash ma Tash', which is broadcast on a state-run satellite channel, had angered some Islamists by mocking the televised confessions of militants arrested recently in Saudi Arabia."
Iran's hard-liners turn a censorious eye on Web journalists | csmonitor.com "The recent arrest of several bloggers, online journalists, and Internet technicians in Iran has raised fears that the country's old guard is determined to muzzle dissent in cyberspace." Reflections on a significant issue in cyberspace - previously blogged elsewhere.

Wednesday, October 27, 2004

Arab Times, Al Qaeda praises Zarqawi's allegiance pledge: "The Saudi wing of Al Qaeda has praised Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the US's top foe in Iraq, saying his pledge of allegiance to Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden would foil 'crusader' plans in the region."
The New York Times > Opinion > Op-Ed Contributor: What the Terrorists Have in Mind: "To get a sense of the jihadist movement's state of mind, we must listen to its communications, and not just the operational 'chatter' collected by the intelligence community. Today, the central forum for the terrorists' discourse is not covert phone communications but the Internet, where Islamist Web sites and chat rooms are filled with evaluations of current events, discussions of strategy and elaborations of jihadist ideology."
Jihad Unspun - Ansar al-Sunnah Army Captures 11 Guardsmen; US Warned On Entering Fallujah: "An Iraqi resistance group has claimed to have captured 11 US-backed Iraqi National Guard soldiers hostage. They were seized on a highway between Baghdad and Hillah, according to the Internet posting by Ansar al-Sunnah Army"
palestine-info.co.uk, Arab cyber activists inaugurate Jerusalem’s international day on Internet: "For his part, Mohammed Al-Sayed, supervisor of “ Hamasana” website, said that the Internet campaign, launched under the auspices of “Hamasana” and the “Islamic Forum” websites, aimed at acquainting Muslims with the holy city from ideological, historical, political and economic aspects."
AP/SignOnSanDiego.com - In Iraq -- Internet video says Japanese captive faces beheading if Japan does not pull troops out of Iraq
The Globe and Mail, Hassan kidnapping shakes resistance supporters "The abduction of Mrs. Hassan, an Irish-born aid worker who has devoted decades of her life to helping ordinary Iraqis, has prompted intense debate and soul-searching among supporters of the resistance. From the Internet to the streets of Iraq, it has forced many Muslims, in particular, to grapple with the question of whether the insurgency has crossed an invisible line."

Monday, October 25, 2004

PA/Scotsman.com News - Latest News - Internet Pleas for Kidnapped Aid Chief's Life: "Anglo-Iraqi aid worker Margaret Hassan’s kidnapping has stirred up debate on Islamist Web sites, with many contributors urging that her life be spared given her decades-long service to the Iraqi people."
AFP/aina.org, Zarqawi Group Claims Iraq Recruit Mass Murder: "Iraq's most feared group, headed by Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi, later announced in a statement attributed to it on an Islamist website that it carried out the slaughter.

" ... "Some children of the Al Qaeda Group of Jihad in the Country of Two Rivers [Iraq] have succeeded in killing 48 corrupt heads, members of ... the Iraqi guard," said the statement, published on an Islamist website."

Saturday, October 23, 2004

SITE Institute: Al-Battar Issue No. 20 October 2004
The Minority Report: Bin Laden is in China: "During the home stretch of the Northamerican elections, Osama bin Laden could prove to be the ace in the sleeve of president Bush. As we speak, Washington is negotiating a highly secretive agreement with Beijing, the Chinese capital, for the eviction of bin Laden from his sanctuary in the turbulent Muslim provinces of China, in the Northwest of the Great Wall nation." Watch this space? (note: this one's an interesting blog opinion piece)
MEMRI: Al-Qa'ida Internet Magazine Sawt Al-Jihad Calls to Intensify Fighting During Ramadan- 'the Month of Jihad', Special Dispatch Series - No. 804: "In issue #27 of Sawt Al-Jihad, an Internet journal affiliated with the branch of Al-Qa'ida based in the Arabian peninsula, several articles were published in honor of Ramadan, which discussed the importance of Jihad in the month of Ramadan, and called for Jihad fighters to intensify the fight against infidels this month."
The New York Times > International > Middle East > The Insurgents: Hostage Begs the British to Remove Troops in Iraq
Myth of 24-hour News Cycle Directly Impacts (and Undermines) 2004 Presidential Campaign : Onlypunjab.com Team- - Onlypunjab.com Interesting article on The Global Language Monitor (www.LanguageMonitor.com).
NBC 17 - Move Over Michael, Eminem Attacks Bush: "On his new single, 'Mosh,' which was leaked all over the Internet earlier in the week, Slim Shady takes some lyrical stabs at President George Bush, calling him the real weapon of mass destruction and suggesting people start mosh pits outside of the oval office." I believe this is the first time Mr Mathers has appeared in this blog. Those readers unfamiliar with the term 'mosh pit' should consult fact-index's definition
AFP/turkishpress.com, Bloody day for Iraq's security forces as Zarqawi aide captured:
Reuters | Arab TVs drop Afghan drama after threats: "... one media source told Reuters: 'This move is due to the militant threat on the Internet.'

"The Mujahideen Brigades in Iraq and Syria blasted the drama which it said was misleading and insulted the Islamist hardline Taliban which had harboured al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden."
Reuters Militants say behead collaborator-Web site: "The Army of Ansar al-Sunna said in a statement posted on its Web site on Saturday it had captured the man in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul where he was working at a U.S. base"
BBC NEWS | World | Middle East | Protest against Iran blog arrests "The Iranian journalists' union has held a meeting to protest at the arrests of eight webloggers and reformist newspaper journalists in recent months."
aljazeerah.info, The Role of Gulfian Women Today: Breaking Traditional Restrictions and Entering Into Business By Ali Al-Hail : "... since 1997, about 45% more Gulf women have started taking English classes to facilitate themselves with good command of this key global language. This could be attributed to the introduction of satellite TV, mobile phone and Internet into the region."
Jihad Unspun - US Raids Computer Centers, Internet Cafes To Quell Resistance Reporting, 22 Oct 04

Wednesday, October 20, 2004

Northeast Intelligence Network, UAE Blocks Site: "The government owned Internet provider (www.eim.ae) has decided to block access to our web site - www.homelandsecurityus.com, stating that the 'content is inconsistent with the religious, cultural, political and moral values of the United Arab Emirates'. " [scroll down to article]
Boston.com / News / World / Al-Zarqawi's group in Iraq apparently changes its name in claim of attack on American convoy "An Internet statement released Tuesday under the purported new name, al-Qaida of Jihad in the Land of Two Rivers, claimed responsibility for an attack on a U.S. military convoy west of the Iraqi city of Fallujah the same day."
The War within America :: Part One :: (by Abid Ullah Jan) - Media Monitors Network (MMN)

Tuesday, October 19, 2004

BBC NEWS | UK | Video shows kidnapped aid worker
Aljazeera.Net - British bands play for Palestine youth the concert actually took place last weekend ... details of the charity to benefit can be found here: Hoping Foundaton
BBC NEWS | World | South Asia | Life sentence for burning Koran: "A Pakistani man has been sentenced to life imprisonment for burning a copy of the Koran. "
BBC NEWS | World | Asia-Pacific | Google 'saved' Australian hostage: "An Australian journalist kidnapped in Iraq was freed after his captors checked the popular internet search engine Google to confirm his identity.
John Martinkus was seized in Baghdad on Saturday, the first Australian held hostage in Iraq since the US-led invasion.
But his captors agreed to release him after they were convinced he was not working for the CIA or a US contractor."
Mail online | News | American internet link to Ken Bigley torture videos: "The brutal videos of British hostage Ken Bigley begging for his life were distributed on the internet by a radical Islamic website hosted by an American firm with ties to the Bush administration."
Beheading videos fascinate public - Sunday Telegraph/The Washington Times: World - October 19, 2004: "One teacher saw a boy of 10 playing with a toy saber and realized he was re-enacting a beheading with another child.
'When I questioned him, he said: 'My dad watches all the beheadings on the Internet ... then I call them up, too. They're real aren't they, not pretend?' ' "
Leading historians, researchers say: Islam never a religion of militancy: "Leading researchers and historians of the country have dispelled the comment made by a German scholar on Islam and its Prophet Hazrat Mohammad (SM) saying that Islam was never a religion of militancy and the Prophet (SM) was never a war-monger."
ic Birmingham - Muslim terror group splits, Oct 17 2004: "Al-Muhajiroun has also closed down its website, which controversially denounced Muslims who did not accept terrorism as part of their religion."

Monday, October 18, 2004

The New York Times > International > Europe > Europe Struggling to Train New Breed of Muslim Clerics
DEBKAfile - Al Qaeda Adopts Al-Zarqawi's Watchword: Slaughter the Infidels
Newsday/startribune.com, Iraqi beheadings now fueling global 'snuff' film market: "The sale of such discs, which feature videos of hostages being executed by Islamic militants in Iraq, was banned by the Iraqi police weeks ago, but these days they make up about 75 percent of the vendor's sales, he said. He can't afford not to sell them."
Piece on the application of the internet as a teaching tool in high schools in US:

The Jackson Sun News - Ramadan: Prayer, fasting and ritual cleansing are all part of the Islamic holy month: "Many teachers are turning to the Internet for training and lesson plans on Islam and important aspects of the religion, such as Ramadan. Key sites include:

"Council on Islamic Education (www.cie.org): In addition to conducting teacher training workshops, the CIE offers a ''teacher's pack'' of materials, seven publications including lesson plans and other resources. The 2004 edition of ''Muslim Holidays'' is also available for purchase.
"
Dar al Islam Teachers Institute (www.daralislam.org/programs/reach/ti.php): Over the past decade, more than 300 teachers have attended the two-week summer institute, which is free of charge, in Abiquiu, N.M. The program is taught in an Islamic school, where participants can observe Muslim life as they learn.
"The Islam Project (www.theislamproject.org/education/education.htm): The Islam Project has produced PBS documentaries about the life of the prophet Muhammad and other aspects of Muslim belief and life. Lesson plans include the video ''American Muslim Teens Talk,'' which addresses issues like stereotypes and Muslim garb.""
Zarqawi: the new bin Laden - After Saddam - www.smh.com.au
thestar.com.my, Author of insulting remark identified: "The commission and the police have not yet decided whether to charge the man under the Communications and Multimedia Act or the Criminal Procedure Code, he said, adding that the police charge carries a heavier penalty. "
Aljazeera.Net - Al-Zarqawi pledges allegiance to al-Qaida: "An Iraq-based insurgent group linked to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has reportedly pledged allegiance to Usama bin Ladin in a statement posted on a website.

"'We announce that Al-Tawhid wa al-Jihad, its leader and soldiers have pledged allegiance to Usama bin Ladin,' read the statement, the first linking al-Zarqawi to al-Qaida.

"However its authenticity could not be verified."

Also see the story below:
Islam Online - Zarqawi’s Al-Qaeda Allegiance Intelligence Work: Expert, 18 Oct 04

Friday, October 15, 2004

ABC News: Muslims Log On to a Cyber Congregation
The Harvard Crimson Online :: Opinion discusses concepts associated with jihad and tawhid.
SPA, Transmission of French-version of Qur'an from prophet's mosque dedicated
OpenOffice.org development boosted by Arab and Israeli collaboration - ZDNet UK News: "The Hebrew and Arabic OpenOffice.org teams have cooperated on local versions of the open-source productivity application, which celebrated its fourth birthday on Wednesday" Interesting article on software development:

"The Arabic team is also facing numerous issues, which they are struggling to resolve with limited resources. "OpenOffice.org is still facing many issues with regard to Arabic support. Without resolving those issues, OpenOffice.org is not very useful for serious work in the Arabic community. Unfortunately, there seem to be very few developers who work to resolve those issues," said Taha."

Details of OpenOffice.org's Arabic pages

Economist.com | Islam and the West: "Even suicide bombing, whose indifference to individual life might seem deeply unmodern, is presented by Mr Roy in a contemporary light. As he argues, the culture of suicide attacks - as fostered by al-Qaeda and its imitators, and promoted on their websites - has a self-indulgent, me-generation flavour about it. The narcissistic characters who carried out the September 11th attacks were no exception to this." Reviews new books by Olivier Roy and GIlles Kepel.
BBC NEWS | Middle East | Iran cracks down on blog protests, 13 Oct 04 "Six online journalists and webloggers have been arrested in Iran recently in a crackdown on dissent on the internet ...

"... Journalists and relatives quoted by Reuters named the six people arrested as Shahram Rafizadeh, Babak Ghafouri-Azar, Rouzbeh Amir-Ebrahimi, Hanif Mazroui, Omid Memarian and Mostafa Derayati ...

" ...The head of the judiciary, Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahrudi, announced new laws specifically covering "cyber crimes" on Monday, AFP reported.

"According to the law, "anyone who disseminates information aimed at disturbing the public mind through computer systems or telecommunications... would be punished in accordance with the crime of disseminating lies".

BBC NEWS | In Pictures | In pictures: Ramadan worldwide
Middle East Online, Britain freezes assets of Tawhid wal Jihad: "Britain ordered a freeze Thursday on the assets of Tawhid wal Jihad, the hardline insurgent group led by Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi behind a spate of hostage-takings and executions in Iraq."
JoongAng Daily, Arab expert dismisses Seoul terrorism threat, 14 Oct 04: "Mustafa Al-said, a professor of politics at Egypt's Cairo University, said that the message's format and tone differed greatly from those written by actual terrorist groups. He cited an incorrect Islamic calendar date as proof; the grammar was also flawed, the professor said. 'I think a child or a [non-Arab] wrote the message,' he added.

"Earlier this week, a group calling itself 'The Martyr Hammoud Al-Masri Battalion' claimed to be the Southeast Asian branch of Al Qaeda. It threatened, over the Internet, to attack South Korean troops in Iraq and targets in Seoul - where it said it had a cell."
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Analysis: Suspected Al-Qaeda Links Emerge In Egypt, Libya: "The latest edition (#23) of the Al-Qaeda-related journal 'Sawt Al-Jihad' obliquely touches on the subject of Egypt in an article by Abd al-Rahman Ibn Salem al-Shamari, where he praises the beheading of an Egyptian hostage in Iraq: 'Indeed, if the slaying of an Egyptian spy is the destruction of the idol of [pan-]Arab nationalism, then the beheading of Saudi spies and Saudi soldiers will be the destruction of the idols of patriotism, [pan-]Arab nationalism, and territorial nationalism. [It will be the destruction] of the faith of that land's residents in the concept of citizenship and the destruction of their devotion to a domestic front that includes both Muslims and infidels, [as if] there is no difference between them.' " Cites MEMRI translation.
Washington Post/Occupation Watch: Insurgent Alliance Is Fraying In Fallujah, 13 Oct 04: "Local insurgents in the city of Fallujah are turning against the foreign fighters who have been their allies in the rebellion that has held the U.S. military at bay in parts of Iraq's Sunni Muslim heartland, according to Fallujah residents, insurgent leaders and Iraqi and U.S. officials. " Refers to internet videos, and notes different forms of 'resistance'.
The Daily Star - Opinion Articles - Don't put your faith in the killers, 15 Oct 04: "The increasing senselessness of violent acts committed in the name of Islam is now making significant waves in Arab and Muslim civil societies."
AP/ABC 7 News - Web Posting Shows Turkish Driver Beheaded, October 14, 2004 : "The video appeared on the Web site of the Ansar al-Sunnah Army, an Iraqi militant group. A statement read out said the kidnappers belonged to the Tawhid and Jihad group's 'Qaqa Brigade,' a reference to a commander who served Islam's Prophet Muhammad."
F.A.Z. - Germany finally deports Islamic leader "Police knew just where to find their man, the radical Islamic leader Metin Kaplan. He was in a Cologne café surfing the Internet. Hours later, he was sitting in a privately chartered Learjet and beginning a deportation trip to Turkey that would end years of legal skirmishing in Germany."
alt.muslim - Yearning For A Peaceful Ramadan, Shahed Amanullah: "My mind races back to the realities of today - beheadings and hate e-mails, suicide bombings and African genocides. I wish it didn't, but ignorance of these things is not an option like it was in the days before 24-hour news and the Internet."

Wednesday, October 13, 2004

Times Online - Fighter freed from Cuban camp seizes hostages This refers to the kidnapping in Waziristan of two Chinese citizens by a former Guantanamo Bay detainee (Abdullah Mehsud, released in March 04): "The incident has received minimal coverage in the official Chinese media, which have uniformly run in full a story issued by the state news agency on the kidnapping, but it has triggered emotional debates on the internet.

"One chatroom posting said: “If we give way to the gangsters this time, more Chinese will be taken hostage in the future. We will take revenge on them. I am sure only this will prevent more kidnapping from taking place.”"
CNN.com - Bali bomber to best selling author - Oct 12, 2004: "An Afghan war veteran who named his son Osama, Imam Samudra trained as an engineer and computer expert, and used the Internet to spread his beliefs." This refers to the publication of 'Bali bomber' Samudra's book 'Aku Melawan Teroris' ('I Fight Terrorists').

Tuesday, October 12, 2004

BBC NEWS | Magazine | Who watches murder videos?: "The UK-based Internet Watch Foundation, which monitors internet content, says it believes it could be illegal under the Obscene Publications Act if it was hosted by sites based in Britain.

"A spokeswoman says: 'We're aware of them, but we suspect 99% of them are hosted in the US. We would say it's pretty unlikely any ISP [internet service provider] in the UK would host that content.'"
The Star, TechCentral: US to spy on chatrooms:

"The US Government certainly isn't discounting the possibility. It's taking the idea seriously enough to fund a year-long study on chatroom surveillance under an anti-terrorism programme ... 

" ... The US$157,673 (about RM600,000) grant comes from the National Science Foundation's (www.nsf.gov) Approaches to Combat Terrorism programme. It was selected in coordination with the nation's intelligence agencies."
Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Andrew Anthony: Can Bigley's death help rescue Islam from violence? opinion piece
AP/ABC News: Video: Shiite Muslim Purportedly Beheaded Refers to a video apparently appearing on Ansar al-Sunnah's site: "The statement was more of a message showing the group's antagonism toward the Shiite religious sect; the same message was conveyed in an audio tape posted on another Islamic Web site in July by the spiritual adviser of Tawhid and Jihad, Abu Anas al-Shami. In the audio, he attacked Shiites, cursed and accused them of attacks on Sunnis and said they are allied with the U.S.-led forces.

"A 17-page letter allegedly written by Tawhid and Jihad leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi appealed to al-Qaida leaders to help spark a civil war between the two sects in Iraq."

Monday, October 11, 2004

Yahoo! News - Turkish contractor, Kurdish translator beheaded: Iraq group's video
cooltech.iafrica.com | tech news Bigley video surfaces on the web
Zarqawi group claims Iraq bombing. 10/10/2004. ABC News Online
Special forces sent to hunt down Bigley's killer - The Herald
Chicago Tribune: Site tracks and charts terrorism information: "When the designers of a comprehensive new Internet database of international terrorist incidents sat down to draft their plans, they were determined to keep the information as flexible and relevant as possible, to respond to the ever-changing nature of modern terrorism." This refers to the Terrorism Knowledge Base, available at www.tkb.org, which is a searchable resource organised by the National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism (MIPT).
TheStar.com - Egyptians probe Palestinian link in Sinai attacks: "On Sunday night, one of three previously unknown groups that claimed responsibility for the bombings posted an Internet statement saying it was solely responsible and warning of more attacks against ``the despotic government in Egypt' and against the Israeli embassies in Egypt and Jordan.

"There was no way of verifying the claim by the Brigades of the Martyr Abdullah Azzam, which said it was affiliated with Al Qaeda."
Al Qaeda seeking new recruits in Pakistan: report -DAWN - 11 October, 2004
UPI/MENAFN, Analysis: The Saudi perception problem
NEWS.com.au | Running for his life (October 11, 2004) "It is said that Mr Bigley was forced to watch al-Zarqawi beheading Eugene Armstrong, 52, and Jack Hensley, 49, the two Americans abducted with him."
Gulf Daily News, MI6 'helped Bigley flee captors'
Telegraph | News | Bigley was murdered 'in retaliation for American air strikes'
Northeast Intelligence Network, Jihadis release video of Bigley murder

Friday, October 08, 2004

BBC NEWS | World | Middle East | Profile: Tawhid and Jihad group
BBC NEWS | UK | Hostage Bigley murdered in Iraq
AFP/Channelnewsasia.com, Family confirms death of British Iraq hostage Kenneth Bigley
Northeast Intelligence Network, Reaction from the Arabic Language Jihadi forums scroll down for this selection of translations.
MEMRI: Reactions to Sheikh Al-Qaradhawi's Fatwa Calling for the Abduction and Killing of American Civilians in Iraq Denials were also issued by al-Qaradawi's offices.
Reuters.com, Militants in Iraq Kill UK Hostage, Video Shows
Aljazeera.Net - British captive in Iraq reported killed
Haaretz, Terror experts tie Sinai attacks to 'World Islamist Group' : "Internet sites identified with Al-Qaida contained reports on the attacks, but did not include claims of responsibility. The Web sites expressed joy over the attacks and related them to Al-Qaida."
arabicnews.com, One American reconnaissance plane missing in Iraq, al-Sader city bombarded: "One Islamic site on the Internet said in a statement that al-Tawhid Wal Jihad group led by the Jordanian Abu Musab al-Zarqawi downed two American planes in Haifa street.

In a later development, the American planes bombarded several sectors in al-Sader city in Baghdad, just hours after the Iraqi Interim prime minister Eyad Allawi denied reaching an agreement with al-Mahdi army to halt the confrontations in this city."
Asia Times, Iran's hardliners tighten their squeeze: "Hojjatoleslam Mohammad Ali Abtahi, the vice president in charge of parliamentary and legal affairs, announced on Monday that he had submitted his resignation from the government and was waiting for the president to accept it. " Significant on a number of levels: Abtahi is a prominent Iranian blogger, whose work has been discussed elsewhere in these pages.
Al-Ahram Weekly | Region | Reformists laid low: "The explosion in penetration of satellite television and the Internet in the Middle East have made airing grievances against the government much easier. The Qatari satellite television station Al-Jazeera in particular pioneered a bold, anti- establishment style that was never before seen in the region. Saudi reformists are regularly interviewed live on Al-Jazeera, with several having been arrested by Saudi police while giving an interview on the telephone to the station."
Reuters AlertNet - Unknown group claims Egypt blasts - Web site: "A previously unheard of Islamist group claimed responsibility on Friday for bombs which killed at least 12 people at three resorts in Egypt near the Israeli border, according to a posting on an Internet web site often used by militants."
Allegations associated with mettransparent.com: Middle East Transparent - Middle East Transparent blocked by Saudi Government Agency, 8 Oct 04: "A Saudi reader informed us by email that www.metransparent.com has been blocked by a Saudi government agency. This follows the blocking of other free websites: www.rezgar.com, www.rasid.com, and www.saudiaffairs.com.

"We have no explanation for the Saudi decision except for our coverage of the trial of the three reformers Ali Damini, Matrouk el Faleh and Abdullah el Hamed.

"If true, the Saudi decision shall only strengthen our belief that all efforts should be done to break the deadly hold of Saudi money on the Arab press. It is an irony that Saudi princes are financing newspapers like Sharq al Awsat and Hayat in London while blocking liberal websites."

Thursday, October 07, 2004

BBC NEWS | In Depth | A web wise terror network: "The capture of alleged al-Qaeda computer expert Mohamed Naem Noor Khan by the Pakistani authorities in July brought with it an unprecedented haul of high-tech intelligence. "
BBC NEWS | In Depth | A web wise terror network: "The capture of alleged al-Qaeda computer expert Mohamed Naem Noor Khan by the Pakistani authorities in July brought with it an unprecedented haul of high-tech intelligence. "
straitstimes, Readers' comments on Malaysian blog draws flak from govt officials - OCT 7, 2004
independent.co.uk, Gaddafi appeals for release of Bigley
CNN.com - Briton charged in terror conspiracy - Oct 6, 2004: "Court documents have revealed alleged communications between a British citizen and Mohammed Naeem Noor Khan, an al Qaeda computer expert arrested in Pakistan in July."
Palestine Chronicle, Contending Visions of the Middle East – The History and Politics of Orientalism, Zachary Lockman. Book review:

"... Besides, what good is an American computer or the internet if not for the Arabic “0”? This is a side argument, but supports Lockman’s view of the west’s desire for a contiguous uninterrupted, untempered culture. The representations of Islam as “other”, as “fanatical, violent, lusty and threatening – images that …have very old roots – still have emotional resonance for many people and can be drawn on and deployed for political purposes.”"
Reporters sans frontieres - Malaysia: "Reporters Without Borders has condemned a bid to intimidate a blogger after the minister of internal security threatened to imprison Jeff Ooi, who runs the weblog Screenshots (www.jeffooi.com) at the beginning of October 2004. "

Also see Slashdot, Detention Threat for Malaysian blogger and related feedback on Jeff Ooi's Screenshots site. Also referred to below in this blog.
Reuters | Car bombing kills 40 at Pakistan rally: "Most of the casualties were followers of Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (Soldiers of Mohammad's Companions), an outlawed Sunni group that Tariq headed and which has been blamed for many bloody attacks on Shi'ites, who make up about 15 percent of Pakistan's mainly Sunni population of 150 million."

Wednesday, October 06, 2004

Clerics approve filtering (Stop Censoring Us): "Kayhan newspaper has published the answers of some top Qum-based clerics to three questions about 'unethical and unreligious' websites. The questions were about accessing, hosting, and filtering websites which 'insult sacred concepts of Islam, Prophet and Imams, publish harmful and deviated beliefs to promote Atheism and irreligiousness publish and promote sinister books.'

"Ayatollahs Macramé Shiraz has responded that accessing these websites is a religious taboo and ISPs should not facilitate such access, and if filtering or blocking them is possible, people in charge must do that." Check the update on this at Editor: Myself, CIA runs "Spider's web" in Iran, radical paper claims
E:M | Persian blogging turns three on Nov. 5
Middle East Online, Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation dissolved
UAE doctors move online - AME Info FN
Khaleej Times Online, Dubai Internet City to go global: "Dubai Internet City (DIC) is planning to go international by establishing similar Internet Cities around the world. The first Internet City to be established by DIC outside of Dubai might become Hyderabad — capital of the state of Andra Pradesh, India."
Intel launches Arabic Website - AME Info Business News: "Intel today announced the launch of its Arabic website, which is aimed at highlighting the company's regional activities, easing e-procurement for channel customers and providing them with enhanced technical and marketing support in Arabic."
FrontPage magazine.com :: Target: City of Satan that's Las Vegas, apparently:

" ... using airline reservation, motel and car rental records, along with eyewitness reports, the FBI has managed to piece together a threadbare account of the visit of the five 9/11 hijackers and other Islamists just weeks before 9/11."
UCLA International Institute :: Are the Jihadists Losing the War? Gilles Kepel Thinks So: "Kepel begin with a pamphlet, 'Knights under the Prophet's Banner,' published on the internet in late 2001 and attributed to Ayman al-Zawahiri, the Egyptian physician who serves as Osama bin Laden's principal deputy. " Prof. Kepel plugs his new book 'The War for Muslim Minds', in a discussion at UCLA.
Hi Pakistan, When will we ever learn? "As for the Iraqi dead, there seems to be almost no record - such is the seeming irrelevance of Iraqi lives. One Iraqi Internet site has given that the civilian death toll in Iraq has passed 10,000."
Asia Pacific Media Network :: MALAYSIA: Internet row tests PM's free-speech credentials "Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi's new-found commitment to press freedom and democracy is being put to the test after his ministers threatened to shut down a website and jail its founder after a contributor criticised the premier's brand of moderate Islam.

"The Screenshots site, which can be visited at jeffooi.blogspot.com, is the preferred venue for Malaysia's discontented youth to vent their spleen about the country's highly controlled society."


The Daily Star - Politics - Israel kills Islamic Jihad leader in Gaza strike

Tuesday, October 05, 2004

MCBDirect, Arab scholar 'cracked Rosetta code' 800 years before the West: "[But now] the supremacy of Western thinking has been challenged by a London researcher who claims that hieroglyphs had been decoded hundreds of years earlier - by an Arabic alchemist, Abu Bakr Ahmad Ibn Wahshiyah." non-web digression
MSNBC - 'We Need to Be More Proactive' web-exclusive interview with negotiators from the Muslim Council of Britain
albawaba.com: Rumsfeld: No ''hard evidence'' of Saddam-al Qaeda links
India mulls tough ID rules for cybercafes | The Register
Boston.com / - Group's website challenges mosque: "A group opposing the Islamic Society of Boston's proposed $22 million mosque in Roxbury yesterday launched a website citing published allegations that the society is linked to terrorists and accusing it of teaching a radical Islamic message."
cnsnews.com, Exclusive: Saddam Possessed WMD, Had Extensive Terror Ties
antiwar.com, Imperial Hubris; A CIA analyst reveals why we are losing the 'war on terrorism' - by Justin Raimondo book review
Next wave of Al Qaeda leadership | csmonitor.com
Islam Online - Digitized Qur’an Masterpieces to Light Frankfurt Fair: "An Islamic calligraphic organization is to unveil a digitized and illuminated version of the Noble Qur'an dating back to the Mamulk era on the sidelines of the Frankfurt Book Fair, due to open Tuesday, October 5." For more information, see TRADIGITAL (commercial site).
itv.com, Fresh hope for Bigley release

Monday, October 04, 2004

Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Bigley may be in hands of new group
MSNBC/Washington Post - Terrorism war spreads to the Web: "Islamic radicals; use of the Internet is both sophisticated, successful".
Northeast Intelligence Network, Jihadis and publicity [scroll down for this article] Discussion on content relating to the Ansar message board.
Zone-H.org - Hackers and Religion

"The Al Qaeda Alliance hit several important and non important western targets, defacing them with political and religious statement like: "Osama Bin Laden is a holy fighter" and "We urge all the muslims to go to the nearest mosque to get instructed how to join the Jihad". This last sentence was probably the sentence that convinced A.I.C. to leave the Al Qaeda Alliance as A.I.C. primarly focused on the Kashmir-India dispute and they probably didn't want to get dragged into something that could turn into serious troubles for them, given the official President Musharraf support to the U.S. anti-Al Qaeda campaign.

"It is also interesting to pay attention to the recent trend of self-defining "muslim hacker" of all those hackers belonging to the arab nations. The Arab scene was primarly composed by Moroccan and Egyptians while since a year or so a big wave of Turkish crackers appeared on the scene."

novinite.com, Militant Group Beheads Iraqi - Video: "Ansar al-Sunna is an outgrowth of Ansar al-Islam (Defenders of Islam), a group with ties to Iran and which administration officials have linked to al-Qaeda. Initially operating under the moniker Jund al-Islam (Soldiers of Islam), Ansar al-Islam grew out of the September 2001 unification of several militant Islamist groups which had taken root in the mountains of northern Iraq along the Iranian border."
Telegraph | News | n.A.T.o. - a pop singer dressed as a suicide-bomber - causes outrage: "A self-styled 'suicide bomber' musician who sings in Arabic and performs in a full-length burqa is planning a 'terror concert' in Britain."
Islam Online - Discussion Forum IOL celebrates its 5th anniversary.
Islam Online, Tunisian Opposition Urges Election Boycott: "The Tunisian Communist Labor party said the coming elections would be held in undemocratic atmosphere.

"'The presidential and legislative elections on October 24 lack the simplest principles for holding fair and democratic elections,' according to Adel Thabet, the party spokesman.

"'The elections would be held amid complete restriction of freedoms and suppression, latest of which was the trial of a group of Tunisian young people for accusations of logging on terrorist internet sites.'"
Kingdom to Make All Possible Efforts to Improve Its Global Image Cites Dr. Ali ibn Shuwail Al-Qarni: "'It is hoped that such experiences will benefit us in recommending information programs to improve the image of the Kingdom around the world,' he said ...

"Al-Qarni said the forum would review the current endeavors and programs to improve the Kingdom’s image and suggest new methods and programs to do the work more effectively. “We have already sent messages on the forum to more than 10 million e-mail addresses in the USA, Canada, Europe and other countries,” he pointed out."

That's quite a 'mailing list'.

The Daily Star - Opinion Articles - A Shiite-Sunni Islamist 'high command' may be forming Interesting piece by Patrick Seale, with an internet reference too:

"Western intelligence sources report that a new high command is emerging made up of Hizbullah, Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood (represented in the occupied Palestinian territories by Islamic Jihad); and, last but not least, the Islamic Republic of Iran. The striking features of this alliance are that it bridges the Sunni-Shiite divide and unites Arab nationalists and Islamists in a common cause. As a member of one of these groups put it to me: 'There is today no difference between resistance and jihad.'"