Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Islamophobia book

Islamophobia: How Anti-Muslim bigotry was brought into the American mainstream | Global Research reviewing a new book by Nathan Lean, The Islamophobia Industry: How the Right Manufactures Fear of Muslims (Pluto Press) - which looks very interesting.

Goat With The Arabic Inscription ‘Allah’ On His Coat Goes On Sale For N32.4m

informationnigeria.org, Photos: Goat With The Arabic Inscription ‘Allah’ On His Coat Goes On Sale For N32.4m "A prized goat has been put up for sale in India with a whopping £128,000 price tag. Islam Bhati, 37, from Rajasthan in India, is trying to sell his finest goat for 11 million rupees to a Muslim family celebrating the Eid al-Adha festival." Not sure if the sale went ahead - it was being advertised online

Hajj and medical treatment via internet

Saudi Gazette - Pilgrims all praises for healthcare services "The British national said, “I believed it would be difficult to find dialysis machines in the holy sites, especially in Mina. I dialed the numbers given on the Internet. When I felt reassured, I decided to perform Haj this year despite the fact that I have been suffering from kidney failure for the past 14 years.”

"Al-Islam added, “The services here excel over those in British hospitals in terms of quality, free treatment and the diversity of the medical staff. I was astonished by the international standard services that helped me complete the Haj rites due to the availability of the machines at the hospitals in the holy sites.”"

Afghanistan's first female rapper upbeat on future


BBC News - Afghanistan's first female rapper upbeat on future  "In a country where women's' rights are still fiercely contested, Soosan Firooz has added a strong new voice to the debate in Afghanistan.

"Aged just 23, the Afghan actress has become the nation's first female rapper, making her debut with a song that speaks directly to other Afghans who have shared her experiences of pain and exile as refugees."

also see Soozan Firooz on YouTube

Monday, October 29, 2012

France Euromillions site hit by religious hackers

BBC News - France Euromillions site hit by religious hackers  "The French site of the Euromillions lottery has been hacked, with the homepage replaced by a passage from the Koran condemning gambling."

Saudi Cyber Attack Seen as Work of Amateur Hackers Backed by Iran

VOA, Saudi Cyber Attack Seen as Work of Amateur Hackers Backed by Iran

Video: Mona Eltahawy's full talk from Wired 2012

Video: Mona Eltahawy's full talk from Wired 2012 (Wired UK)  ""People have totally forgotten about the social revolution that has given them the luxury to not revolt like in Egypt," columnist and reporter Mona Eltahawy told a packed audience at Wired 2012. "It has given us the luxury to be snarky on Twitter -- but, when a social revolution is face-to-face with you on the subway, you have to go and meet it in real life, not on Twitter.""

The Technology of Religion: Mapping Religious Cyberscapes - The Professional Geographer - Volume 64, Issue 4

Taylor & Francis Online :: The Technology of Religion: Mapping Religious Cyberscapes - The Professional Geographer - Volume 64, Issue 4

Cyber Warfare In The Middle East

also see Sky News, Israel Moves To Block Trojan Computer Attack

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Somalian al-Shabaab group in new attack threat to Britain - Telegraph

Somalian al-Shabaab group in new attack threat to Britain - Telegraph, 23 Oct 2012  "A High Court ruling overturning attempts to stop the Egyptian-born imam being sent to the US was “a testament to the reality of the west’s vicious war against Islam and the Muslims”, al-Shabaab said.

"For this, the group said on its official Twitter feed, Britain faced another terror attack that would be deadlier than those on July 7 and July 21, 2005."

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Ongoing Trial (and 'Inspire Magazine' reference)

FT.com, Donors ‘duped’ by alleged terror plotters - 23 Oct 2012

  BBC News, Terror trial: 'Public duped into funding bomb plotters', 23 Oct 2012

  AP/ABC, Prosecutor: UK Bomb Plotters Discussed Attacks, 23 Oct 2012 "The prosecutor said Tuesday that suspect Irfan Khalid was heard describing the device, featured in the al-Qaida magazine Inspire, saying the idea was to "just drive it into people in (a) crowded area.""

Trial Begins in for Alleged U.K. Bomb Plot Conspirators

TIME.com, Trial Begins in for Alleged U.K. Bomb Plot Conspirators, 22 Oct 2012 "Three British Muslim men went on trial in London on Monday, accused of plotting a bombing campaign that prosecutors say could have been deadlier than the 2005 London transit attacks."

State Dept. offers $7 & $5 million rewards for al Qaeda leaders

State Dept. offers $7 & $5 million rewards for al Qaeda leaders - San Diego County Political Buzz | Examiner.com: "Adel Radi Saqr al-Wahabi al-Harbi is another Iran-based al-Qaeda facilitator and deputy to al-Fadhli. His role for al-Qaeda is to facilitate the travel of terrorists to Afghanistan and Iraq through Iran.

“Al-Harbi was previously placed on the Saudi Ministry of the Interior’s January 9, 2011 list of wanted terrorists and was charged with traveling to Afghanistan to join al­-Qaeda and providing technical support on the Internet to the terrorist group."


UNODC report

unodc.org, UNODC launches report to assist Member States to counter the use of the internet for terrorist purposes "UNODC today launched a publication to provide practical guidance to Member States for more effective investigation and prosecution of terrorist cases involving the use of the Internet. The publication, entitled " The use of the Internet for terrorist purposes", is the first of its kind and was produced in collaboration with the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force." Report link (pdf) here

Jordanian Soldier Killed in Syrian Border Clash

Jordanian Soldier Killed in Syrian Border Clash - NYTimes.com, 22 Oct 2012 "Mr. Maayta said that the group had traveled to Syria and was planning to take advantage of the chaos there to obtain weapons, including dynamite, that they planned to add to existing explosives to increase their power. He said the group had taken “counsel from Al Qaeda in Iraq via the terrorist sites on the Internet,” and had posted its plans online “to enable others to be able to create the same explosives.”"

Conference: Digital Methodologies in the Sociology of Religion Conference

Digital Methodologies in the Sociology of Religion Conference - University of Derby, 16 November 2012 "Digital methodologies have altered how we articulate our values, display our allegiances and enact our multi-faceted identities. Increasingly Sociology must function in digital contexts and using digitial methods. Religion and belief have also been 'digitized' and have a significant online presence on social networking websites, discussion forums and in online personal profiles."

Thursday, October 18, 2012

iMuslims Review

iMuslims was recently reviewed in the International Journal of Middle East Studies by Dr Deborah L. Wheeler. See Volume 44, Issue 03, August 2012, pp 612-614 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0020743812000736

'British gang of Muslims waging war in Syria 'pose threat to UK''

Telegraph, British gang of Muslims waging war in Syria 'pose threat to UK', 18 Oct 2012 "The Security Services have reportedly identified the young man, who has not been named, as the leader the gang of more than 50 men who have waged a holy war against President Bashar al-Assad."

APNewsBreak: Suspect's Family Shocked at NY Plot

APNewsBreak/ABC News: Suspect's Family Shocked at NY Plot "Just a few hours before he was arrested in an FBI sting operation, a Bangladeshi man accused of trying to blow up New York's Federal Reserve building calmly spoke via Skype with his parents back home and updated them on his studies, his family told The Associated Press."

Facebook Removes Hizbullah Pages

MEMRI, Today, Facebook Removes Hizbullah Pages – Following MEMRI Series On Hizbullah Facebook Activity, 17 Oct 2012 "Last night, Facebook removed these two new Hizbullah Al-Manar TV pages, as well as a page belonging to Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah. This latter page, while it was created in October 2011, has never been shut down; its removal is a new move for Facebook."

See this interesting related article, which came out last month: NYT, Free Speech in the Age of YouTube

Information on MEMRI is here

Jund al Khilafah emir killed in 'treacherous raid'

Jund al Khilafah emir killed in 'treacherous raid' - The Long War Journal: "A Swiss jihadist known for links to top al Qaeda leaders and the recruitment and training of al Qaeda fighters has been killed in a "treacherous raid" in Miramshah in Pakistan's Taliban-controlled tribal agency of North Waziristan. The jihadist, Moezeddine Garsallaoui, was the leader of Jund al Khilafah, a group that conducts attacks in Kazakhstan and Afghanistan and has also claimed credit for an attack in Toulouse, France, that killed seven people."

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Islamic Virtual University to be established in UAE

Islamic Virtual University to be established in UAE - University World News: "The United Arab Emirates has granted the land for and offered to bear all expenses related to the construction of the Islamic Virtual University, which aims to expand education and research cooperation in the Islamic world, produce and disseminate teaching knowledge, and promote higher education quality, internet access and e-infrastructure."

Indonesia Aims to be Islamic Fashion Powerhouse

Indonesia Aims to be Islamic Fashion Powerhouse - Southeast Asia Real Time - WSJ: "For aspiring entrepreneurs and designers like Jakarta-based Rika Septiana, Facebook provides an opportunity to start a business without having to rent space. Armed with a laptop and an Internet connection, Ms. Septiana started her online Islamic fashion shop in 2010, offering hand-stitched headscarves, necklaces, hand-made crochet flower brooches and other accessories popular among hijabers."


Insight: Brazen Islamic militants showed strength before Benghazi

Reuters/DefenceWebInsight: Brazen Islamic militants showed strength before Benghazi attack, 17 Oct 2012 "So brazen was the Islamist presence in the Benghazi area that militants convened what they billed as the "First Annual Conference of Supporters of Shariah (Islamic law)" in the city in early June, promoting the event on Islamist websites, Reuters reports.

"Pictures from the conference posted on various Internet forums featured convoys flying al Qaeda banners, said Josh Lefkowitz of Flashpoint-Intel.com, a firm that monitors militant websites. Video clips showed vehicles with mounted artillery pieces, he added."

'Jihad Jane' Colleen LaRose Will Face Life In Prison After Sentencing

ibtimes.com, 'Jihad Jane' Colleen LaRose Will Face Life In Prison After Sentencing, 16 Oct 2012

Monday, October 15, 2012

Reading List: Arab Spring — before & after

REVIEW: Arab Spring — before & after | DAWN.COM "Lin Noueihed, a Reuter’s correspondent in the Middle East, and Alex Warren, a Middle East and North Africa consultant, have co-authored The Battle for the Arab Spring: Revolution, Counter-Revolution and the Making of a New Era."

Video: Muslims protest outside Google London HQ

Telegraph, Video: Muslims protest outside Google London HQ, 14 Oct 2012

Friday, October 12, 2012

Pakistan: Religious Extremists Attack Malala Yousufzai ·

Pakistan: Religious Extremists Attack Malala Yousufzai · Global Voices responses from across Pakistan (and beyond)

First evidence for Iran's parallel halal internet

First evidence for Iran's parallel halal internet - tech - 10 October 2012 - New Scientist "The idea, Anderson [Collin Anderson - an independent security researcher in Washington DC] thinks, is that the internal network will contain Iran-specific content and own-brand versions of popular services - a generic Facebook, say. The government would then throttle connections to outside networks, he suggests, rendering them unusably slow, forcing everyone onto the national network."

10 Years After Bali Bombings, Local Militants Still Pose Threat

10 Years After Bali Bombings, Local Militants Still Pose Threat - NYTimes.com "Analysts say radical clerics spread their message and seek recruits through book launches and study groups. Internet forums, military training camps and prisons also serve as recruitment pools."

Banks hacked

Techworld.com, Islamic hacktivists target SunTrust, Capital One, other major US banks, 12 Oct 2012 "The hacktivists have claimed responsibility for DDoS attacks against PNC Bank, Wells Fargo, US Bank, Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase."

'Secret' video stirs Islamist fears in Tunisia

France 24, 'Secret' video stirs Islamist fears in Tunisia - Tunisia - "A video leaked this week of a conversation between Tunisian ruling Ennahda party leader Rached Ghannouchi (pictured) and a group of Salafists has exposed the divide and lack of comprehension between Tunisia’s Islamists and secularists."
Also see alarabiya.net, No blasphemy clause in Tunisia’s new constitution: speaker

Thursday, October 11, 2012

'Morten Storm'

The Independent, Born in Denmark, lived in Yorkshire, led the CIA to al-Qa'ida's leader in Yemen, 10 Oct 2012 "In a series of interviews with the Danish media, the 36-year-old said he had exploited his friendship with the US-born al-Qa'ida chief to help in the assassination of the radical cleric last year. Storm claims he located Awlaki using an encrypted USB device passed to one of the militant cleric's messengers during a visit to Yemen in 2011. Awlaki is alleged to have orchestrated attacks on Western targets including one involving underpants bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmuttalab."

Skateistan

Video: Skateistan teaches girls in Afghanistan how to skateboard | Avaaz 

A Common Word Between Us and You

acommonword.com, A Common Word Between Us and You 5th Anniversary of this inter-faith project.

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Jordan media

Daoud Kuttab, The Washington Post, Freedom in Jordan does not extend to information - : opinion

"AmmanNet.net started as an electronic media experiment. It was created with support from the Open Society Institute and was sponsored in its first year by UNESCO and the city of Amman. Initially our online broadcasts were barely followed in Jordan. By collaborating with a Palestinian FM radio station, we were able to bypass government restrictions on radio broadcasts; the Palestinian station rebroadcast our signal into Jordanian air space, using our Internet Webcast. Since 2003, Jordan has allowed independent radio stations, but the Internet has continued to be a lifeline for freedom of expression."

Opinion piece: Facebook

Azhar Ahmed, a tasteless Facebook update, and more evidence of Britain's terrifying new censorship - Comment - Voices - The Independent opinion piece

Aleppo News: small in size and big in coverage

Middle East Online::Aleppo News: small in size and big in coverage:. "Aleppo News must surely be the world's smallest news agency, with a handful of amateur journalists and technicians operating from a shelled-out building in Syria's war-ravaged second city." Also see Facebook - Aleppo News

Al-Qaida making comeback in Iraq, officials say

AP/Online Athens, Al-Qaida making comeback in Iraq, officials say, 9 Oct 2012 "Iraqi and U.S. officials agree that Iraqi forces have improved their ability to gain terrorism intelligence from informants and prisoners. But they still struggle to intercept technical communications like al-Qaida's cell phone calls, radio signals and Internet messages — one of the methods used by the U.S. military."

French Terror Investigators Find Bomb-Making Material

French Terror Investigators Find Bomb-Making Material - NYTimes.com: "French police have discovered bomb-making materials and weapons during their continuing investigation into a group of young Islamic radicals arrested on Saturday, the Paris prosecutor, François Molins, said in a statement on Wednesday."

Tuesday, October 09, 2012

Media and Ritual

Media and Ritual: Death, Community and Everyday Life (Paperback) - Routledge new book announcement, looks interesting ...

The Fourth Arab Social Media Report: Influencing Societal and Cultural Change?

Dubai School of Government, The Fourth Arab Social Media Report: Influencing Societal and Cultural Change? [pdf link]

Viral Peace ++

Spencer Ackerman and Noah Shachtman, Danger Room | Wired.com, As Libya Burned, U.S. Terror-Fighters Asked How to 'Counter Extremism' "During those 11 years, the U.S. has become exceptional at hunting and killing Islamic extremists. But it still does not know how to undercut the basic appeal of Islamic extremism. Until it does, all the drone strikes and commando raids can do is keep terrorist attacks at bay. So experts inside and outside the government are working on an inchoate effort to supplement counterterrorism called CVE, for Countering Violent Extremism. It seeks a durable end to al-Qaida, through dissuading people from becoming terrorists in the first place."

Opinion: How to respond to the offensive videos about Prophet Muhammad

Abdelhak Hamiche, Gulf Times – How to respond to the offensive videos about Prophet Muhammad - Opinion "Muslims should avoid spreading pictures of the profane movie or its actors on the Internet and through the other available media. That is because by doing so the Muslims will directly or indirectly achieve the aims of this movie. Therefore, we may not give fame to those culprits through videos, publications or pictures, because they want to attain fame and they want to subjugate and insult the largest possible number of Muslims who have accessed the movie."

Monday, October 08, 2012

Interfaith dialogue meets the cyber age in Egypt, region

bikyamasr.com, Interfaith dialogue meets the cyber age in Egypt, region "The Angelical Diocese of Egypt, North Africa and the Horn of Africa has relaunched an online with the mission of strengthening Muslim and Christian relations and revitalize interfaith dialogue."

"Salafist Spring"

Abdel Monem Said, alarabiya.net, Salafist Spring "A year ago, the hopes and principles of the Arab Spring were still common “currency”. Even the Muslim Brotherhood began to speak of the civil state as political forces set their sights on democracy and a new constitution that would put an end to despotism. Everyone was rolling up their sleeves, readying themselves for a period of construction and development. The country would rise again, and on totally new foundations. No longer would the country be under the thumb of the “generals” and dominated by the marriage between power and money. Vibrant and dynamic democratic forces would prevail, as epitomized by those young men and women who roamed the terrains of the Internet, Facebook, and other such manifestations of the culture of advanced technology and globalization.

"But today, before the second anniversary of the Tunisian revolution, which marked the beginning of the Arab Spring, the situation has changed entirely."

Thursday, October 04, 2012

Broadcasts | Bambuser

Broadcasts | Bambuser links to the Middle East page (discussed in article below)

Live from Syria: Swedish streaming site gains followers

Live from Syria: Swedish streaming site gains followers | Reuters  "Syria's civil war has made Friday afternoons a busy time at Bambuser, a tiny Swedish IT startup in an old bicycle factory which streams live video from the latest uprisings."

Protests over Currency Bring Crackdown in Iran

Protests over Currency Bring Crackdown in Iran - WSJ.com "Calls for nationwide strikes and more protests filled Iranian blogs and social-networking sites such as Facebook with one blogger saying, "given the regime's weak economic spot, any movement on our part could deliver a big blow.""

Iranian Internet disrupted by cyber attacks

Iranian Internet disrupted by cyber attacks - SlashGear  "New reports are coming out of Iran that claim cyber attackers targeted the country’s infrastructure and communications companies. According to the officials, the attacks disrupted the Internet across the entire country. Report of the disrupted Internet access was announced by Mehdi Akhavan Behabadi, secretary of the High Council of Cyberspace yesterday."

Iran linked to al-Qaeda's web jihadi crew by old-school phone line

Iran linked to al-Qaeda's web jihadi crew by old-school phone line • The Register  "An organisation that attempts to recruit Westerners to carry out terrorist attacks on their home soil was backed by the Iranian state, according to an unlikely source of information: leased telephone line records."

Jordan Rises as Internet Hub While King Curbs Expression

Jordan Rises as Internet Hub While King Curbs Expression - Businessweek "The country experienced a tech boom that gained speed as young Arabs toppled regimes from Egypt to Tunisia and millions were driven online for the first time. Jordan now hosts about three-quarters of all Arabic content on the Internet, according to the Geneva-based International Telecommunication Union (ITU)."

Refers to kharabeesh.com

IKEA's Saudi Catalog Removes Images Of Women

IKEA's Saudi Catalog Removes Images Of Women | Gather  "Censoring images in international magazines were by either removing the page or coloring over any skin showing with a black marker. That is not always the case anymore. Some images are left as is in magazines and other images of women in hijab who appear in street advertising posters have their faces pixellated. "We're beyond that now in Saudi Arabia," said Eman Al Nafjan, writer and blogger who tweets as Saudiwoman. "With Internet and satellite TV, there's really no such thing anymore as blacking out women or air brushing out women. I would be upset if something like Google was doing it, but for IKEA to do it, that's just marketing, it's not such a big deal.""

'Forest Jihad' (?)

Al-Qaeda blamed for Europe-wide forest fires - Telegraph  "In linking al-Qaeda to the deadly wildfires, Mr Bortnikov pointed to calls to launch a "forest jihad" by various extremist websites which he said also publish detailed instructions about how and where to best carry out arson."

Internet slows down in Jammu & Kashmir

Internet slows down in Jammu & Kashmir as social network sites face partial censorship - Economic Times  "In a bid to prevent trouble, the government ensured the internet speeds go down in Kashmir. While the social networking sites have been rolled back to the cell phone users, even those using computers are facing crippling issues owing to lowing speed."

Monday, October 01, 2012

Syria

Syrians: made up of lots of colors but united for freedom

Iran unblocks Gmail


AFP, Iran unblocks access to Gmail, 1 Oct 2012 "[But] Mohammad Reza Miri, a member of the telecommunications ministry committee tasked with filtering the Internet in Iran, was quoted on Monday by the Mehr news agency as saying the Gmail block was an "involuntary" consequence of trying to reinforce censorship of Google's YouTube video-sharing site.

""Unfortunately, we do not yet have enough technical knowhow to differentiate between these two services. We wanted to block YouTube and Gmail was also blocked, which was involuntary," he said."

CyberOrient - new issue

A very useful edition of CyberOrient has emerged, leading with this editorial:

Ines Braune, CyberOrient, The Net Worth of the Arab Spring, CyberOrient, Vol. 6, Iss. 1, 2012


Other pieces:

Political Activism 2.0: Comparing the Role of Social Media in Egypt’s
“Facebook Revolution” and Iran’s “Twitter Uprising”
Mohammed El-Nawawy and Sahar Khamis

Al Jazeera’s Framing of Social Media During the Arab Spring
Heidi A. Campbell and Diana Hawk

Remixing the Spring!: Connective leadership and read-write practices
in the 2011 Arab uprisings
Donatella Della Ratta and Augusto Valeriani

Beyond the Soapbox: Facebook and the Public Sphere in Egypt
Anton Root

Egyptian uprising: Redefining Egyptian political community and
reclaiming the public space
Mervat Youssef and Anup Kumar


Reviews

The Arab Revolution: The Lessons from the Democratic Uprising
Marek Cejka

The Digital Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy: Information
Technology and Political Islam
Jon W. Anderson

Haven't read all this yet - would like to download as one pdf...

Onion's Ahmadinejad Article Fools Iran News Agency 'Fars'

huffingtonpost.com, Onion's Ahmadinejad Article Fools Iran News Agency 'Fars'

Desert stormers: a brief history of Arab comic superheroes

Desert stormers: a brief history of Arab comic superheroes - The National

'Iran Blocks Google'

Sepidedam - Iran Blocks Google

Ghazi Gheblawi on Social Media and the Libyan Uprising

jadaliyya.com, Ghazi Gheblawi on Social Media and the Libyan Uprising

BlackBerry courts Middle East apps developers

BlackBerry courts Middle East apps developers with 150 free phones - The National "Research in Motion has given 150 smartphones running on a test version of its new BlackBerry 10 (BB10) operating system to apps developers in the Middle East in an effort to spur software development in the region."

The internet in pieces - Iran

The internet in pieces | Misha Glenny | Comment is free | The Guardian "New evidence that Iran is following through on its dramatic plan to move large parts of its networked computer systems off the web reflects how the global struggle for the internet has reached a new intensity over the last 12 months."

Freedom House Says Online Repression Increasing, Diversifying

RFE/RL, Freedom House Says Online Repression Increasing, Diversifying "Attacks on Internet freedom are on the rise, and the tools employed by repressive governments are becoming increasingly sophisticated.

"That's according to "Freedom On The Net 2012," a newly released report by U.S.-based rights watchdog Freedom House, that assesses 47 countries' online track records between January 2011 and May 2012."

Iran's young, male Internet users shape consumer behaviour patterns |The National

Iran's young, male Internet users shape consumer behaviour patterns |The National  "Conducted among 700 individuals last week, most of whom live in Tehran and have an education level of at least a high school diploma, the survey was the first from Chimigi, a start-up that sends out emails of product promotions and surveys for Farsi-speaking customers that brands want feedback on."

Al-Amriki

Al-Amriki pleads for intervention to resolve 'friction' within al-Shabaab - Sabahionline.com "In the video released on October 19th titled "An Urgent Message", Hammami said there is "friction" between al-Shabaab's local leaders and foreign fighters. In his three-minute long video message, Hammami called on "the leaders of jihad and virtuous scholars" to intervene and find a fundamental solution to "the bitter situation that currently engulfs the Somali [foreign fighters]"."