Wednesday, June 21, 2017

#BlackOutEid

thefader.com, 5 Black Muslim Women On Why #BlackOutEid Is Important

Gaza and technology

London Review of Books, If Israel were smart; Sara Roy on Gaza, Vol. 39 No. 12, 15 June 2017, pages 19-20

"Gaza has a talented, tech-savvy population; if ever there were peace, an American investor said, ‘Gaza’s internet sector would become another India.’ The number of internet users in Gaza is reportedly equal to that of Tel Aviv, and a small number are already subcontracting for companies in India, Bangladesh and Israel."

Terrorist or Disturbed Loner? The Contentious Politics of a Label

Max Fisher, NYT, Terrorist or Disturbed Loner? The Contentious Politics of a Label "Prime Minister Theresa May called the attack terrorism. But debate has continued, suggesting it is about more than labels, but a suspicion that society grants greater importance to non-Muslim than Muslim victims and to Islamist than far-right or other threats."

Tuesday, June 20, 2017

Facebook posts 'glorifying' Finsbury Park terror attack reported to Government counter-extremism service

Independent, Facebook posts 'glorifying' Finsbury Park terror attack reported to Government counter-extremism service

Finsbury Park

Coverage of the events surrounding the Finsbury Park attack can be found in my Islam in Britain blog

Tablets

mashable, How tablets are transforming the lives of young refugees in sub-Saharan Africa "The Vodafone Foundation announced its Instant Schools for Africa program on Wednesday—an initiative providing free, unlimited access to online educational materials for young people and teachers. Developed with Learning Equality, a leading nonprofit provider of open-source educational technology, the program launched in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Mozambique, and Tanzania."

Friday, June 09, 2017

As Isis territory shrinks it will rely more on internet

Maura Conway, irishtimes.com, As Isis territory shrinks it will rely more on internet "Relatively few Isis terrorists, however, have been radicalised solely by online means. Nevertheless, in our hyper-connected world the internet is implicated in almost all contemporary terrorism, whether, for example, as a radicalisation tool or for planning attacks."

Manchester bomber

ITV, Manchester bomber's younger brother says he was radicalised online in Britain "Ahmed Bin Salem, a spokesman for Tripoli's Special Deterrence Force, told Reuters: "Hashem said that he and Salman got the ideology of Daesh (Islamic State) in Manchester in 2015 from the internet and some friends in the UK.

"He added that they used to watch videos and had sympathy for children in Syria and wanted to do something for Daesh to help."

The Internet is changing civil wars

washingtonpost.com, Analysis | The Internet is changing civil wars. Watch out for these five trends. "This new ICT environment may help explain why so many civil wars have broken out in Muslim majority states since 2003 — and why they have been fought by multiple Islamist groups whose goals extend throughout the Muslim world."

Thursday, June 08, 2017

Abedi radicalised online

Reuters, Manchester bomber radicalised in Britain in 2015 - Tripoli counter-terrorism force, 8 June 2017

"Salman Abedi's brother Hashem also said he had bought equipment for the attack in Britain, though he did not know where it would be carried out, Ahmed Bin Salem, a spokesman for Tripoli's Special Deterrence Force (Rada), told Reuters.

 ... 

"Hashem said that he and Salman got the ideology of Daesh (Islamic State) in Manchester in 2015 from the internet and some friends in the U.K.," said Bin Salem [Ahmed Bin Salem, a spokesman for Tripoli's Special Deterrence Force]

""He added that they used to watch videos and had sympathy for children in Syria and wanted to do something for Daesh to help.""

Wednesday, June 07, 2017

The Silicon Valley with a heart: How Beirut's techies are helping Syrian refugees

middleeasteye.net, The Silicon Valley with a heart: How Beirut's techies are helping Syrian refugees "Entrepreneurs and international institutions are adapting new technologies to solve refugee challenges and improve their lives."

Iran attacks: 'IS' hits parliament and Khomeini mausoleum

BBC News, Iran attacks: 'IS' hits parliament and Khomeini mausoleum, 7 June 2017 "IS said it had carried out the attack and later posted a video which showed what it claimed was footage from inside the parliament building.

"A voice is heard saying, in Arabic: "We're not going anywhere. We're staying forever.""

NPR, ISIS Takes Credit For Iran Attacks, Several Deaths Reported 

IRNA, Interior Ministry confirms end of terrorist attacks in Tehran (also see adjacent links to condemnation of the attacks).  "In an apparently coordinated attempt, two terrorist groups attacked mausoleum of the late Imam Khomeini, southern Tehran, and the Iranian Parliament (Majlis) on Wednesday morning, killing 12 people and injuring 42 more."

Monday, June 05, 2017

Google won't remove hate preacher rants

Daily Mail, Google won't remove hate preacher rants as they don't break the rules "The hate preacher’s videos have been watched more than a million times, and won warped comments of approval from viewers, one of whom wrote: ‘Kuffar must [and] will be eliminated’."

Facebook says aims to be 'hostile environment' for terrorists

Reuters, After London attack, Facebook says aims to be 'hostile environment' for terrorists

May and regulation

CNN, Theresa May: Internet must be regulated to prevent terrorism  I agree with the comments of Peter Neumann here: " Peter Neumann, a professor who studies political violence and radicalization at King's College in London, said that blaming social media is "politically convenient but intellectually lazy.""

London attack 3 June 2017

Coverage associated with the London attack on 3 June can be found on my Islam in Britain blog.  Material associated specifically with internet-associated issues is posted here. Please check out my Twitter feed @garybunt, which includes my real-time coverage of links to event.

Qatar situation

The digital element of this current dispute is significant, especially in relation to this blog. A variety of opinions are available:

BBC News, Qatar row: Six countries cut links with Doha

Middle East Eye, Three potential motives behind the spat between Qatar and its Gulf neighbours "It's clear that the hacking of Qatar's news agency last month was a premeditated assault. Here's why it happened - and why now."

 Middle East Eye, Qatar hits back as Saudi, Egypt, UAE cut diplomatic, transport ties "Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain cut their ties with Qatar and expelled the Gulf state from the coalition fighting the war in Yemen, accusing it of supporting terrorism. It opens up the worst rift in years among some of the most powerful states in the Arab world."

Arab News,  Bahrain, KSA, Egypt and UAE cut diplomatic ties with Qatar

Al Jazeera,  Inside Story: What's behind recent media attacks against Qatar?


Friday, June 02, 2017

Terrorism kills more Muslims than anyone else

Independent, Terrorism kills more Muslims than anyone else data and discussion

How the Syrian War Changed How War Crimes Are Documented

Cristina Roca, News Deeply, Long Read: How the Syrian War Changed How War Crimes Are Documented "Seven years of war have transformed Syrian monitoring groups into sophisticated investigation centers. But with few options to hold perpetrators of humanitarian law violations accountable, the number of Syrians supplying evidence of human rights violations is dwindling, along with their hope for justice." Recommended.

Chobi by Omar Souleyman



Currently listening to 'Chobi' by Omar Souleyman, from his new release 'To Syria, With Love'.

Founder Of Islamic State News Agency Reported Killed In U.S. Air Strike

RFE/RL, Founder Of Islamic State News Agency Reported Killed In U.S. Air Strike, 2 June 2017 "The founder of the Islamic State (IS) group's news agency [Baraa Kadek] has been killed with his daughter in an air strike last week in eastern Syria, his brother and Syrian opposition activists say."

Thursday, June 01, 2017

Allegations: "Hard-Line Moralist in Indonesia Faces Pornography Charges"

NYT, Hard-Line Moralist in Indonesia Faces Pornography Charges, 30 May 2017 "Many Indonesians have leapt to Mr. Rizieq’s defense online, and posters in Jakarta, the capital, bearing his image call on Muslims to “defend preachers and religion.”"

When Hatred Goes Viral

Larry Greenemeier, Scientific American, When Hatred Goes Viral 
"A key researcher behind PhotoDNA says he is developing software called eGLYPH, which applies PhotoDNA’s basic principles to identify video promoting terrorism—even if the clips have been edited, copied or otherwise altered."

For Many Muslim Women, Ramadan's Celebrations Require a Whole New Wardrobe

Racked, For Many Muslim Women, Ramadan's Celebrations Require a Whole New Wardrobe

'Black Crows'

غَرَابِيبُ سُودٌ

Intense new 20 part series 'Black Crows' for Ramadan viewing on MBC:

 

NPR, New Show 'Black Crows' To Tell Stories Of Life Under ISIS

The National, TV drama Black Crows looks at ISIL threat from a female perspective

ANSA.it, ISIS threatens producers, cast of 'Black Crows' TV show 

Reuters, Saudi-owned TV drama fights Islamic State propaganda 

Foreign Policy, Can Good Television Beat the Islamic State?

It is also referred to in this post on Arabic for Nerds, Are there TV shows in Classical Arabic with English subtitles? which points out that the series will be available post-Ramadan on MBC's YouTube channel.

ISIS Philippines

Mubaraz Ahmed, religionandgeopolitics.org, ISIS in the Philippines? The Marawi Battle Intensifies "The raising of ISIS’ black flag over the city sent a strong message that despite setbacks in the Levant, the jihadi group remains active in other parts of the world."

Telegram & IS

Laura Smith, BBC News, Messaging app Telegram centrepiece of IS social media strategy "Although a long-time user of social media, IS activities took a significant turn in September 2015 when the group's official media outlets took to the messaging app Telegram. The move to the encrypted messaging service came after a long-running conflict with Twitter, which regularly shut down IS accounts, and some experimentation with less well-known platforms from which it was also expelled." Comprehensive article.

Beggars using social media to solicit alms

The Peninsula Qatar, Beggars using social media to solicit alms, 30 May 2017 "Beggars send text or a WhatsApp message and claim that they have a relative in critical condition or need help to have a surgery done."

Celebrating Zaha Hadid

Google Doodles, Celebrating Zaha Hadid


App to rescue animals

Cairo Scene, Startup Scene Profile: Egyptian Students Create an App to Rescue Street Animals "The ambitious app, set to launch in June, aims to keep malnourished and abused animals off the streets across Egypt, by connecting users to shelters."

Yalahwy: I Am an Egyptian Veiled Muslim Woman and I Date

Cairo Scene, Yalahwy: I Am an Egyptian Veiled Muslim Woman and I Date picks up on an online controversy surrounding John Legend's new music video.