Rita Katz

bostonherald.com/News-Sentinel , ‘Terrorist hunter’ admits it’s difficult to secure convictions, 17 Jun 08 "Katz had mixed results. She said her work led to the United States Agency for International Development canceling funding for a group she said was funneling money to Hamas. But Katz admits some of the people she’s accused have been cleared and some have sued her. Katz said getting convictions is "very difficult." However, "material-support" laws passed after the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, the Oklahoma City bombing and the Patriot Act lowered the standard for convictions. Prosecutors now only have to prove defendants wanted to support terrorists rather than that they actually did.

"Katz said she has received death threats for her work and four Fort Wayne police officers were hired to provide security for the speech. But Katz is undeterred."

Lyrical Terrorist

Telegraph, 'Lyrical Terrorist' Samina Malik cleared on appeal, 18 June 08 "Miss Malik, 24, was given a nine-month jail sentence suspended for 18 months at the Old Bailey last December, for possessing information useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism under Section 58 of the Terrorism Act 2000.

"But today judges at the Court of Appeal said they believed the jury had become "confused"."

Abu Qatada

bloomberg.com, U.K. Home Office Seeks to Deport Freed Islamist Cleric Qatada, 17 Jun 08 "According to the eight-page bail order document, the cleric must wear an electronic tag and is forbidden from attending a mosque or leading prayers in a religious institution. He must stay in his residence for at least 22 hours a day, and can only leave his house twice a day in hourly excursions beginning at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. He is banned from attending meetings of any kind, using mobile phones, computers or the internet."

USA

Village Voice, Gay Arabs Party Here, Risk Death Back Home, 17 Jun 08 "The real death knell for GLAS meetings was the Internet, which offered anonymity, safety, and thousands of friends. A local LGBT Arab online forum thrives on Yahoo (subscribers can join at glas.org); discussions range from the struggles of coming out and the newbies in town to relevant entertainment—such as the first gay Arab film, Toul Omri (All My Life).

"Even in the Internet age, a savvier new breed of immigrants must deal with violence from the old country and family pressures."

Afghanistan

Skynews, For Queen and Country interactive resource on Afghanistan (and the military)

UAE

The National, Arrests double for software piracy, 16 Jun 08

"Software piracy arrests have jumped 107 per cent over the past year, police said yesterday.

"Brig Ahmed Nasser al Raisi, general director of central operations at the Ministry of Interior, said demand for counterfeit programs was high and called for a change in public attitude towards the crime."

Oil Fatwa

Daily Times, Give oil money to poor, says Egypt fatwa, 16 Jun 08 "An Islamic ruling that Egypt should give some of its oil and gas wealth to the people has ratcheted up the pressure on the government, already faced with rising popular discontent over food prices. The Islamic Research Centre of Cairo’s Al-Azhar University, Sunni Islam’s highest authority, has issued a fatwa or religious edict saying it is a sacred duty to pay 20 percent of its oil, gas and mineral revenues in the form of alms to the poor known as Zakat. “The fatwa is based on a Hadith that says that a Zakat of 20 percent is obligatory on all metals and minerals, solid or liquid,” centre member and Al-Azhar teacher Mohammed Rafat Osman told reporters."

The 99

Article about Naif al-Mutawa, who developed The 99 comic-book series (available to download, and previously blogged on these pages; the first edition is a free-download PDF):

Washington Post/philly.com, Islam inspires a comic-book series, 16 Jun 08

"Worldwide sales of the comic in English and Arabic, including in the United States, have yet to exceed 30,000 copies a month, including Internet downloads, but Mutawa has been inundated with licensing demands. An American company wants to brand its halal hot dogs with The 99. He has signed deals with Malaysian, Indonesian, Indian and North African publishing companies.

"In his office are pencils, rulers, backpacks, notebooks and folders with The 99 logo, by a Spanish company. A Dubai firm is interested in making action figures. A deal for an animated series by a European company is to be announced in July, Mutawa said. Last month, he signed a deal for six theme parks."

Pakistan

Daily Times, Farangi in Town: Caste is here to stay — Ella Rolfe, 16 Jun 08 op-ed

"So is caste viable in a modern Muslim society? Will current trends erase or enhance it? Mr Satti claimed in the New York Times that, “while the caste system has religious approval under Hinduism, it has no future in an industrialising Muslim society. In an industrial era, castes are replaced by classes.”

"A quick trawl around the internet seems to support this assessment: the vast majority of contributors to net forums on the subject say caste is not an issue for them in choosing a marriage partner. However, these statements may be unwittingly highlighting a bigger truth than they realise. Satti wants to replace caste with class; a startling number of bloggers said that what had replaced caste in their marriage considerations is sect. “I wouldn’t want my kid to be raised in confusion,” says one young man — religious, doctrinal confusion."

Algeria

AP, Al-Qaida branch claims recent attacks in Algeria, 15 Jun 08 "Al-Qaida in Islamic North Africa claimed responsibility in an Internet posting Saturday for a recent attack on an Algerian train station that killed a French engineer.

"The statement also claimed responsibility for an attack on a military barracks and another at a cafe on June 4 and a roadside bombing June 5.

"The authenticity of Saturday's statement could not be independently verified, but it was signed by Al-Qaida in Islamic North Africa and appeared on a Web site commonly used by Islamic militants."

Announcement

Fourth Islamic Manuscript Conference, 6-9 July at Queens' College, University of Cambridge "The conference will feature research from different fields of study related to Islamic manuscripts. Manuscript projects from around the world will be presented and new techniques and technologies for conservation and digitisation will be discussed."

Computer games

Yassin Musharbash, Spiegel, Joystick Jihad: Was Grand Theft Auto IV Inspired by Al-Qaida?, 13 Jun 08 "Islamist forums are abuzz with a new theory: The designers of the video game Grand Theft Auto IV, they say, were inspired by killing methods developed by al-Qaida. But did the idea for the car bombs and suicide attacks in the game really come from Osama bin Laden?"

Gaza

AFP, Hamas takes aim at Internet porn in Gaza, 11 Jun 08 ""A couple of weeks ago Hamas installed a filter to prevent people from accessing such pages on the net," said Ali Sarayfi who runs an Internet cafe in the university area of Gaza City.

"Inside the cafe dozens of young people are glued to computer monitors, surfing the Internet and enjoying one of their last remaining links to the world outside the fenced-off territory."

Tunisia

Tunisia Online/allafrica.com, More Than 7 Million Tunisians Use a Cell Phone, 9 Jun 08 "More than 7 million Tunisians out of a population of about 10 million, have a cell phone, it was announced on Monday, by the Tunisian official press agency TAP.

"There are two operators mobile phone operators in Tunisia , namely "Tunisiana" and "Tunisie Telecom", 35% of whose shares were bought by Dubai 's "Tecom", in a bid more than two years ago.

"There are also 5 million subscribers to fixed telephone line, as well as a million people who use the internet."

aQ

BBC Monitoring/redorbit, Italian Paper Examines Al-Qa'Idah's Use of Internet, 11 Jun 08 [Report by Gianni Santucci: "School of Terrorism Online: Combat Manuals, Forums, Videos", in Corriere della Sera, A scuola di terrorismo. Online, 10 Jun 08] "This was a school in subversion on the Internet - run from an Italian city, but linked to Baghdad, Kabul, and Algiers. Nobody can yet say how many jihad outposts there arein anonymous rooms in Europe, the Orient, or the United States, or at what rate they are multiplying. This is Al-Qa'idah's virtual and elusive entrenchment."

Surgery

Herald Tribune, Surgery enables Muslim women to reclaim virginity and lives, 13 Jun 08

"Gynecologists report that in the past few years, more Muslim women are asking for certificates of virginity to provide proof to others. That in turn has created a demand among cosmetic surgeons for hymen replacements, which, if done properly, they say, will not be detected and will produce telltale bleeding on the wedding night. The service is widely advertised on the Internet; medical tourism packages are available to countries like Tunisia where it is less expensive."

Scotland

BBC News, Scottish Islamic state plotted, 12 Jun 08 "Jurors heard the state would also be run according to Sharia law and eventually be used as a base to "discreetly train" for attacks against non-believers.

"The court heard the online exchange was part of a "mass" of allegedly incriminating material found by police during a series of swoops in Bradford and London two years ago."

'Halal Fraud'

Media Line, Muslims Clamp Down on Halal Fraud, 12 Jun 08, "Halal fraud can be done with malice or it can be purely accidental, Abdullah says.

"“Maybe there are some clever marketing people who want to put a halal logo on a product because it then sells better in the Middle East, without knowing what this really represents,” he says.

"“The other level is people who know there are pork-based components in the product and do it anyway. Every few weeks we find a company that does that. We think that with the increase of Internet usage those companies will find it’s not worth the risk, because people send an e-mail out, and the information gets around very quickly.”"

Virtual Caliphate Report

Daily Mail, Islamic fanatics are openly using the internet to recruit children in Britain, says Civitas, 10 Jun 08 "James Brandon, the report's author, said: 'Recent arrests, trials and convictions have undeniably damaged the ability of UK-based jihadists to recruit, raise funds or openly spread their ideology.

"'However, these extremists have now re-grouped on the internet ... where they can operate with impunity.'" Sensational headlines, but not exactly unfamiliar territory for readers of this blog.

The report can be found here (as a PDF): James Brandon, Virtual Caliphate: Islamic extremists and their websites(London, Centre for Social Cohesion, 2008), I have yet to read this report, so cannot really comment on its findings yet.

Environmental Blogging in Egypt

Arabic Network for Human Rights Information, Egypt: Defamation Case Launched Against Blogger for Reporting On Environmental Pollution is First of Its Kind, 9 Jun 08

"According to ANHRI and the "Mosawah" Association for Human Rights, on 9 June 2008 the Azzohour Court of Port Said is expected to begin reviewing a unique case filed by Trust Chemicals Inc. against blogger Tamer Mabrouk. Tamer Mabrouk is the owner of "The Truth Blog", http://elhakika.blogspot.com"

The National, Du blocks calls from computer to phone, 3 Jun 08 Skype blocked. "Under the block, customers are able to make computer-to-computer calls, known as voice over internet protocol (VoIP), but cannot use their computers to call telephones.

"A du spokesman said the block was in line with guidelines from the Telecom Regulatory Authority (TRA) related to content filtering.

"A spokesman for the TRA said: “Skype is not regulated in the UAE, so it is not legal. There are blockages to certain websites that do not cope with the cultural identity and ethics of the UAE and also those who contradict the regulations and policies of the UAE.”"

Second Life in Dubai

The National, Dubai college reveals its Second Life, 9 Jun 08 "DWC’s Second Life campus is closed to the public. But on a private tour of the virtual facility, Mr Karstad – represented online as his alter-ego “Dubai Karas” – unlocked the gates for The National.

"Sheathed in a gold-trimmed kandura he bought at a virtual Saudi market, Dubai Karas is otherwise a faithful translation of the real Mr Karstad – moustache, glasses and all."

Cost of surfing

The National, Internet in Arab world overpriced, study says, 9 Jun 08 "High speed internet users in the Arab world pay on average six times more for their services than users in Europe, a new study has found.

"The report, commissioned by the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) of Bahrain and carried out by Teligen, a communications consultancy from the UK, compared the prices for communications services across the Arab world."

Blame the parents??

Telegraph, Muslim parents to blame for children turning to extremism, 11 Jun 08 "Dr Farhan Nizami CBE, a key adviser on Islam to the Prince of Wales, accused British Muslims of failing to make sure their children learn to speak English or supporting them in their education." Predictably, shades of opinion surrounding this are now being discussed elsewhere on the net.

Lost luggage

Telegraph, Lost al-Qa'eda documents 'could have been useful to terrorists', 12 Jun 08 "The top secret documents about al-Qa'eda left on a train could have been useful to terrorists, a security expert said today.

"They contained assessments made by the Government's Joint Intelligence Committee, part of the Cabinet Office, on matters of security, defence and foreign affairs."

aQ - Commentary

Guardian, Experts fear new front with al-Qaida as terror group switches focus from Iraq, 11 Jun 08, "Last month an Arabic satellite TV channel broadcast a chilling video of a group of Iraqi teenagers called the "Youths of Heaven" - their faces masked and brandishing Kalashnikov rifles, chanting "Allahu Akbar" and vowing to blow themselves up with "crusaders and apostates." The film of these aspiring suicide bombers, all said to be under 16, was produced by al-Furqan, the media arm of the Islamic State of Iraq, aka al-Qaida. But such material is rare these days, with film coming out of Iraq looking suspiciously like posed training sessions with little of the live action of ambushes that has been the staple fare of jihadi websites."

Announcement: new publication

Vít Sisler, 'Digital Arabs: Representation in video games', Charles University in Prague

European Journal of Cultural Studies, Vol. 11, No. 2, 203-220 (2008)
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1367549407088333

"This article presents the ways in which Muslims and Arabs are represented and represent themselves in video games. First, it analyses how various genres of European and American video games have constructed the Arab or Muslim Other. Within these games, it demonstrates how the diverse ethnic and religious identities of the Islamic world have been flattened out and reconstructed into a series of social typologies operating within a broader framework of terrorism and hostility. It then contrasts these broader trends in western digital representation with selected video games produced in the Arab world, whose authors have knowingly subverted and refashioned these stereotypes in two unique and quite different fashions. In conclusion, it considers the significance of western attempts to transcend simplified patterns of representation that have dominated the video game industry by offering what are known as 'serious' games."

Haven't read this yet, but it is an important topic.

Indonesia

Editorial by Ariel Heryanto, senior lecturer in the Indonesian Program, the University of Melbourne, Australia: Jakarta Post, When governments try to look more Islamic, When governments try to look more Islamic, 6 Jun 08, " Today, the Internet is the only public space where hundreds of thousands of Indonesians can and have actually declared themselves to be religiously "liberal", "atheist" or "agnostic" in their profiles on cyber social networking sites such as Facebook."

There's a small section on this issue in my next book.

Living Library

CSM, Borrow a Muslim? A 'living library' to prick stereotypes, 4 Jun 08 non-tech, no e-loans, but an intriguing idea. "The idea is the brainchild of Ronni Abergel, a Danish antiviolence campaigner, who has taken the Living Library to 12 countries and watched it flourish in places as diverse as Australia and Turkey.

""We live in a time where we need dialogue," says Mr. Abergel. "With dialogue comes understanding and with that comes tolerance and that's the mission of the Living Library: to promote understanding and tolerance through dialogue.""" Not much in the way of details, but here's a link to the Living Library

Finance and tech

Asharq Alawsat, Islamic Banking Requires an Information Center, 5 June 08 "In a country like Saudi Arabia where Islamic banking transactions constitute 64% of its total banking transactions, no data or information regarding this industry is issued by the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA), which is authorized to supervise the banking and insurance sector." This is an interesting piece by Lahem al Nasser on finance and technology issues relating to KSA.

Islamic unity drive

Plenty of coverage on this, starting with the official statement: Saudi Press Agency, King patronizes tomorrow International Islamic Dialogue Conference, 3 June 08
"The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz will patronize here tomorrow the International Islamic Dialogue Conference, due to be organized by the Muslim World League (MWL).
MWL's Secretary-General Dr Abdullah Al-Turki said the 3-day conference aims at shedding light on the concept of dialogue with followers of the various religions, cultures and civilizations."

Then there's a very lengthy piece in Asharq Alawsat, Interfaith Dialogue Conference Begins in Mecca, 6 Jun 08 "Dr. Abdullah Bin-Abdul Muhsin al-Turki, the MWL secretary-general and member of the Senior Ulema Commission, told Asharq Al-Awsat: "Holding the international conference for dialogue, which starts its proceedings today, is connected to the need to open channels of dialogue and discussions so as to reach common bases which serve humanity and spare the world and nations the evils of conflicts, polarization, and divisions. The interest of the Islamic institutions, among them the MWL, in the dialogue at this time is in response to the custodian of the Two Holy Mosques' call, which came on time and as the world was witnessing expanded dialogue forums, to lay down the bases for an objective dialogue that blocks the way before anti-human institutions that are acting to shuffle the cards.""

Others are following this in varying degrees: BBC News, Saudis launch Islamic unity drive, 5 Jun 08 "Saudi Arabia's monarch has urged Muslims to speak with one voice in preparation for interfaith dialogue with the Jewish and Christian worlds." AP/Guardian, Saudi king opens conference on interfaith dialogue, 4 June 08 "The tone was one of reconciliation between Islam's two main branches, Sunni and Shiite. Abdullah, one of Sunni Islam's most prominent figures, entered the hall with Shiite Iranian politician Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who later sat at the king's left in a gesture of unity." Riazat Butt/Guardian, Mecca talks stress religious tolerance, 5 Jun 08 "Abdullah's understanding of interfaith dialogue differs from the one held by the grand mufti of Saudi Arabia, Abdul Aziz Al al-Sheikh, who said dialogue with other religions was a way to bring non-Muslims into Islam. The cleric, who is the highest official of religious law, told the delegates that converting people to Islam was the ultimate goal of dialogue, a point made several times. "It is the opportunity to disseminate the principles of Islam. Islam advocates dialogue among people, especially calling them to the path of Allah."" Riazat Butt is also blogging on her travels: Riazat Butt, Comment is Free, You don't have to western to be happy

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed

MSNBC, Alleged 9/11 mastermind requests death penalty, 5 Jun 08

Ayman al-Zawahiri Recording

inthenews.co.uk, New warning from al-Qaida deputy, 5 Jun 08 "During the recording he claims "salvation of the Muslim nation is through the march of its sons on the path of jihad".

"The message, titled "In Memory of the Naksa… Break the Siege of Gaza", was apparently released to mark the 41st anniversary of the 1967 Arab-Israeli war."

aQ

AP, Al-Qaida claims it attacked Denmark's embassy in Pakistan, 5 Jun 08 "An Internet message late Wednesday says the attack was carried out to fulfill Osama bin Laden's promise of revenge over the reprinting in Danish papers of a cartoon of Islam's Prophet Muhammad."

Kareem el-Beheiri

rsf.org, Blogger Kareem el-Beheiri freed after 73 days in prison, 2 Jun 08 "Blogger Kareem el-Beheiri (http://egyworkers.blogspot.com/), was yesterday released without charge from Borg el Arab prison, 40 kms from Alexandria.

"Factory worker el-Beheiri, was arrested on 6 April while covering a cost of living protest at a factory in Mahalla, north of Cairo. A prosecutor ordered his release ten days later, along with that of two other activists, Tareq Amin and Kamal al-Fayoumy, but they remained in custody without explanation until yesterday."

AQIM+YouTube

redorbit.com, Algerian Paper Says Armed Islamists Use YouTube to Spread Messages, 2 Jun 08 "In the YouTube and Daily Motion video mediums on the Internet network, the terrorist groups, particularly the Salafi Group for Call and Combat [GSPC; the group now known as Al-Qa'idah in the Land of the Islamic Maghreb, or AQLIM], have found a space to conduct their subversive propaganda following the closure of several of their sites and forums."

Text of report by Yassine Mohellebi published by Algerian newspaper La Tribune website on 2 June [(via 2008 BBC Monitoring Media.]

Embassy Bombing

bloomberg.com, Pakistan to Step Up Terrorism Fight After Danish Embassy Attack, 2 Jun 08 "Zawahiri's appeal for attacks on Denmark came less than a month later, when he responded to questions submitted to Islamic militant Web sites, according to the NEFA Foundation, a U.S.- based non-profit group that analyzes terrorist threats and translated his comments.

""Denmark keeps on dishonoring the Prophet," Zawahiri said in responses posted on the Internet April 17. "We have threatened Norway and every other country that participated in the war against the Muslims." Norway has contributed as many as 700 soldiers to the NATO-led force fighting in Afghanistan.

Hot issue

Pickled Politics, It’s a Muslim no-go area!!, 3 Jun 08, "In fact there is no evidence at all that ‘Muslim no-go areas’ exist, and it is a symptom of our lazy media that no one has pulled up Bishop Nazir Ali on it. Even the Guardian keeps repeating this rubbish." Interesting blog thread/opinion on a controversial issue.

Paintings

Tate Britain, The Lure of the East: British Orientalist Painting. "British Orientalist Painting will explore the responses of British artists to the cultures and landscapes of the Near and Middle East between 1780 and 1930, offering vital historical and cultural perspectives on the challenging questions of the ‘Orient’ and its representation in British art."

Announcement

Arabic Network for Human Rights Information, Steps on The Road: A new book issued by the Arabic network, tackles different experiences and mutual support methods between Internet and human rights, Cairo June 3rd, 2008

"The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information issued a new book contains the arguments and discussions of 30 human rights, political and internet activists from 12 Arab Countries on how to expand the mutual support among human rights NGOs, internet activists and media men; that kind of support which would finally result in stronger support for freedom to expression causes in the Arab World.

"In the book, the reader will find a presentation for the expanded discussions among activists, bloggers, journalists and media men. enclosed, there are also 10 work papers presented by some participants in the workshop. Those papers contains different experiences, views, suggestions on how to increase cooperation among journalists and media men, internet activists and human rights activists, establishing a solid base for more cooperation supporting freedom to expression in the Arab World. Such increased cooperation would be of great importance because of the increasing role of internet and its activists in fighting against political tyranny.

"The different backgrounds of the participants from “Egypt, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Oman, Syria, Palestine, Lebanon, Libya and Bahrain” helped so much in achieving success. They presented different causes on human rights, media and freedom to expression according to different circumstances in different countries. What was common among most of those countries was their enmity to freedom to expression and their imposing regulations bonding internet access.

"The printed version of the book is available at the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information headquarter, and can be browsed on the website of the Arab Initiative for free internet openarab.net, that follows the Network.

"For more information on the workshop visit;

http://www.anhri.net/en/reports/2008/pr0228.shtml

The full report in Arabic;

http://www.openarab.net/ar/node/531

The full report in English;

http://www.openarab.net/en/node/559"


I have yet to read this.

Trial Update

AFP, British 'bomb plot' accused admits plan to attack parliament, 2 Jun 08 "Abdulla Ahmed Ali, 27, said the plan to target the Houses of Parliament was designed as a political protest in opposition to the government's foreign policy after the "totally illegal and criminal" wars in Iraq and Afghanistan ...

"... Footage of the blast would be combined with Internet footage and martyrdom videos found after his arrest over the alleged airline plot in mid-2006 to make an anti-government documentary for publicity purposes, he added."

Turkey

turkishdailynews.com.tr, Is Turkish Big Brother watching us?, 3 Jun 08 "On April 27, 2007, Turkey's military general staff posted a memorandum on its Web site around 9:17 p.m. implicitly blaming the Justice and Development Party, or AKP, government for having a hidden Islamic agenda and for not doing enough to prevent the supposed rise of an Islamic threat. Dubbed in the media as an e-coup or e-memorandum, this followed the nomination by the government of Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül as its presidential candidate.The army's intervention in politics was not a big surprise to those who know the history of military interventions and civil-military relations in Turkey. However, this time there was something new. The army's warning was published around midnight through its Web site without any signature. This was an anonymous, bodiless, virtual – but not unreal – intervention. There was no information available about the authors of the memorandum. The text was badly written with lots of grammatical errors."

Op-ed by Rabia Karakaya Polat, assistant professor at Işık University.

UAE

gulfnews.com, UAE named most wired country in Arab world, 2 Jun 08

"The UAE scored 329.5 per cent to become the most connected country in the Arab world last year, followed by Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, according to the Arab Advisors Group's annual Total Country Connectivity Measure (TCCM) report."

Faithbook

Guardian, Faithbook launched on Facebook, 3 Jun 08 "Faithbook, which goes live today on the popular site, uses images, videos, prayers, content from sacred texts and commentary from prominent figures to promote constructive dialogue in the UK and the rest of the world." Haven't checked this yet.

Kareem Amer

Reporters sans Frontières (Paris), Egypt: Blogger Gets 2,300 Letters in Prison, 2 Jun 08 "Abdel Kareem Nabil Suleiman, a blogger better known as Kareem Amer, has been getting hundreds of letters in prison from Internet users all over the world as a result of a "Flood the Jail with Mail" campaign (http://www.freekareem.org/2008/03/19/flood-the-jail-with-mail/) launched jointly by the Free Kareem Support Committee (http://www.freekareem.org/) and the Committee to Protect Bloggers (http://www.committeetoprotectbloggers.org)."

Games & Violence


arabnews.com, Violent Video Games a Factor in Making Children Aggressive, 30 May 08, "... Dr. Samir Arar, a counseling psychologist at Maharat center and a professor of psychology at King Abdulaziz University, says that video games could be one of the many factors that make children aggressive and violent.

"“Violence in video games are among what we call in psychology the risk factors that lead to violent behavior,” Arar said. “Some children might develop aggressive and violent behavior from video games because they love to control. Also, other children, due to social and family surroundings, believe that imposing power over another makes them stronger,” he added."

aQ

gulfnews.com, Al Qaida's stance on women sparks debate, 1 Jun 08

Online Matchmaking

AlterNet, Online Matchmaking Sites Court U.S. Muslims, 29 May 08 "A growing online matchmaking movement has many Muslim women elbowing aside courtship traditions."

3G ME

gulfnews.com, 3G services remain a luxury in Middle East, 31 May 08

"The third generation of mobile phone specifications and technology (3G) remains a luxury rather than a standard for most countries in the Middle East despite its seven years of existence and the emergence of 3.5G, said a top official.

""In the Middle East, not enough suitable content for 3G services are available, mainly because purchase of high-end, 3G-enabled mobile phones in the region is only at 25 per cent," Bashar Dahabra, Founder and CEO of Info2cell.com, said."

Survey

Observer, Inside the world of UK Muslim women, 1 Jun 08 "A thousand women throughout the country have responded to the biggest lifestyle study of Muslim women undertaken in the UK. It appears to show that Muslim women have established a delicate balance between a desire to live a contemporary lifestyle and tap into consumer trends while sticking to values underpinning the Islamic guide to life."

Darul Uloom Deoband

Independent, Muslim seminary issues fatwa against terrorism, 2 Jun 08 "Senior clerics from the 150-year-old Darul Uloom Deoband issued the edict saying they wished to wipe out terrorism. "Islam rejects all kinds of unjust violence, breach of peace, bloodshed, murder and plunder and does not allow it in any form," said the rector, Habibur Rehman, to the cheers of thousands of students. Many held placards saying "Islam means peace", while others chanted." Official page: Darul Uloom Deoband

Also see Reuters/Asharq Alawsat, Darool-Uloom Deoband Issues Fatwa Against Terrorism, 2 Jun 08

Saudi Online Consultation

Asharq Alawsat, Saudi: Female Majority Seeking Online Legal Advice, 27 May 08 "Saudi legal personnel have revealed that the majority of clients seeking legal consultations on the internet are women; approximately 80 percent. This is attributed to a number of reasons, including social and psychological circumstances; the most important of which is the reservation that comes with sharing personal information, in addition to the need to find out legal information anonymously and with utmost discretion."

Quiz

Guardian, Muslim TV channel to stage interfaith game show, 27 May 08 "Faith Off, the working title of a series on the Islam Channel, will attempt to promote good relations and mutual respect between Britain's religious communities. Two teams of four will go head to head in each episode, answering quick-fire and general knowledge questions in the eight-part series hosted by the Muslim comedian Jeff Mirza." An interesting idea. See islamchannel.tv (no direct links on site yet, it seems)

Academic Issues

Guardian, Concern over threat to our colleague, 28 May 08 "As members of the University of Nottingham faculty we are very concerned about the recent arrests of a postgraduate student and administrator." For the full story, see: Guardian, Student researching al-Qaida tactics held for six days, 23 May 08 "A masters student researching terrorist tactics who was arrested and detained for six days after his university informed police about al-Qaida-related material he downloaded has spoken of the "psychological torture" he endured in custody.

"Despite his Nottingham University supervisors insisting the materials were directly relevant to his research, Rizwaan Sabir, 22, was held for nearly a week under the Terrorism Act, accused of downloading the materials for illegal use. The student had obtained a copy of the al-Qaida training manual from a US government website for his research into terrorist tactics."

Iran

findingdulcinea.com, Iranian Bloggers Angry over New Web Restrictions, 27 May 08 "Iran’s recent move to block access to certain Web sites on women’s issues and human rights has bloggers and activists decrying censorship."

Exeter Nail Bomber

This is London, Nail bomb suspect released from hospital as police raid home of Kurdish men 'linked' to plot, 28 May 08 "It has emerged Reilly was set up with an internet girlfriend by his Kurdish friends and said he would do anything for her."

Malika/Minbar-SOS

NYT, Al Qaeda Warrior Uses Internet to Rally Women, 28 May 08 "Ms. El Aroud has not only made a name for herself among devotees of radical forums where she broadcasts her message of hatred toward the West. She also is well known to intelligence officials throughout Europe as simply 'Malika' — an Islamist who is at the forefront of the movement by women to take a larger role in the male-dominated global jihad."

Research

NYT, Misreading the Arab Media, 25 May 08 " ... in the last year we surveyed 601 journalists in 13 Arab countries in North Africa, the Levant and the Arabian Peninsula. The results, to be published in The International Journal of Press/Politics in July, shatter many of the myths upon which American public diplomacy strategy has been based."

Egypt Food Crisis

Guardian, Egypt: bread shortages, hunger and unrest, 27 May 08 "The protests were in part organised through emails, text messaging and the internet. Three days after the May 4 strike, Ahmed Maher Ibrahim, a 27-year-old civil engineer who used his Facebook site to promote the protest, was snatched from the street by the interior ministry's state security investigations department. He was blindfolded, taken to a police station, stripped naked and beaten for 12 hours. He was released without charge but warned not to cause more trouble."

aQ

Reuters, New al Qaeda video to urge WMDs against West -FBI, 27 May 08 "Groups that monitor Islamic Web sites say al Qaeda will post a new video in the next 24 hours urging jihadists to use biological, chemical and nuclear weapons to attack the West, the FBI said on Tuesday."

Canada

Globe & Mail, 'None of it matches my life, my whole life', 22 May 08 "Years ago, a shadowy Internet figure who often went by the name Abu Banan gained notoriety as the Canadian-based godfather of an Internet outfit known for disseminating jihadist propaganda. The Globe and Mail has learned of a murky probe that spanned several years, saw a Canadian Islamic preacher — with the same Arab name 'Abu Banan' — questioned frequently by agents from CSIS and ended in criminal charges that nobody, including the father of three, seems to have anticipated."

Swiss Convictions Upheld


AP/IHT, Swiss high court upholds conviction of two Muslims for terror Web sites, 21 May 08 "In its decision handed down Wednesday the Federal Tribunal said it had no doubt that the two had made their Internet forums available to various terrorist groups operating in the al-Qaida network and thus supported criminal organizations.

"The two were convicted by a lower court in June 2007 of running Web sites that supported terrorists and gave details of how to make bombs and carry out attacks."

Iran

AFP, Iran launches fresh crackdown on websites: report, 20 May 2008 "The move follows a new directive sent out by a committee tasked with identifying illegal websites to Internet service providers, the reformist Etemad Melli newspaper said without giving a source.

""There seems to be a tougher approach this time as some sites and weblogs belonging to women's rights and human rights campaigners, writers critical of the government and well-known journalists" have been singled out, it said." Useful update

aQ

BBC News, Is Bin Laden moving on from Iraq?, 21 May 08 op-ed by Paul Reynolds

Hizbullah Telecoms Mapped(?)

geopolitique.com, Exclusif : la carte du réseau télécom du Hezbollah, 16 May 08 well, maybe. Diolch: Abu Muqawama

Syrian cyberspace

The National, Syrians defy web blockade, 20 May 2008 "Syrians continue to surf banned web pages, defying an internet purge that has seen hundreds of online sites blacklisted."

Timbuktu

NYT, Project Digitizes Works From the Golden Age of Timbuktu, 20 May 08 "From Timbuktu to here, to reverse the expression, the written words of the legendary African oasis are being delivered by electronic caravan. A lode of books and manuscripts, some only recently rescued from decay, is being digitized for the Internet and distributed to scholars worldwide."

Update on a previously blogged story.

There is some fascinating material here, and it will be great to read scholarly commentaries in due course. Also see the excellent Aluka database, especially Aluka, The Manuscripts of Timbuktu, which notes: "The digitisation and preservation of Timbuktu’s fragile manuscripts involves serious challenges: ubiquitous dust and sand, termites and other insects, lack of moisture and humidity in the air, intense heat during the day and dramatic variations in temperature between day and night, inconsistent and insufficient power supply, a lack of Internet infrastructure, and, most important, the fragile and precarious condition of the manuscripts themselves. SAVAMA-DCI and Aluka are working together to preserve and make these manuscripts available to a broad community of scholars, students, and researchers. By making some of these manuscripts available in digital form, SAVAMA-DCI and its member libraries in Timbuktu are revolutionising how students and scholars around the world may access this literature for research and study."

Security

Forbes/sify.com, Virtual Jihad, 20 May 08, "The private sector must proactively address the insider threat by creating a smaller informed management of secure individuals, improving employee screening for new employees, updating screening for existing employees and educating top management of potential threats. The owners of critical infrastructure and key resources have a duty to confront homegrown terrorism and the insider threat." The related Forbes.com, Where The Web Is Weak, 14 May 08 is also interesting (nice graphics).

Lieberman on YouTube

ABC, Lieberman Wants Terrorist Content Yanked From YouTube, 19 May 2008 "In a letter to Google chairman and CEO Eric Schmidt, Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., said, "A great majority of these videos document horrific attacks on American soldiers in Iraq or Afghanistan.""

Nakba Cartoons

Sabbah's Blog, Cartoons Commemorating Nakba @ 60 "How did the cartoonists in the Arab media Commemorate the 60th anniversary of Nakba?

"I’ve been monitoring most of the Arab media, especially newspapers, during the last 5 days to read what they have to say on this event. To tell you the truth, you haven’t missed much. On the air, Aljazeera made a big difference this year by dedicating a full day (May 15th) to covering al-Nakba @ 60. Honestly, I think they did a great job. In fact if a person who is ignorant about al-Nakba (and you can expect millions in the Arab World to be) watched any part of Aljazeera that day, s/he would have learned a lot about history and what the Nakba means."

Broad range of cartoons from the press - well worth seeing. The example comes from Abdulla Darqawi at Addustour Newspaper, Jordan

Jimmy Wales

AFP/Yahoo News, 'Ordinary' Arabs to retake Internet: Wikipedia founder, 18 May 2008 ""Too often when people around the world reflect on the situation in the Middle East they focus on extremism and the different problems," [Jimmy] Wales told journalists at the World Economic Forum for the Middle East."

Saudi Cell Phones

NYT, Young Saudis, Vexed and Entranced by Love’s Rules, 12 May 2008 "If there is one accessory that allows a bit of self-expression for Saudi men, it is their cellphones. Nader’s is filled with pictures of pretty women taken from the Internet, tight face shots of singers and actresses. His ring tone is a love song in Arabic (one of the most popular ring tones among his cousins is the theme song to “Titanic”)." A shorter version of this appeared in the Observer last weekend.

Revolution.Muslimpad.com

FoxNews.com, Web Site Sympathetic to Terrorists Blasts FOX News for Profile, 18 May 2008, "An English-language Web site that unabashedly promotes the work of Islamic terrorists has responded to a FOXNews.com profile of the site by assailing "the Kuffaar behind FOX News." Kuffaar, roughly translated, means "unbelievers."

"After quoting FOX News.com's Friday story and citing verses from the Koran, the Revolution.Muslimpad.com blog affirms the belief that jihad is "an Islaamic obligation" rooted in Muslim texts."

Gaza (web) Block

monstersandcritics.com, Hamas ministry to censor Internet sites in Gaza, 18 May 2008, "The Hamas-run telecommunications Ministry will start blocking websites deemed unfit according to Islamic rules, an official said Sunday."

Bin Laden Recording

Al Jazeera, Bin Laden urges end to Gaza closure, 18 May 2008 "Osama bin Laden, the leader of al-Qaeda, has purportedly called on Muslims to help end Israel's closure of the Gaza Strip, according to a new audio tape.

"In the tape posted on the internet on Sunday, a voice alleged to be bin Laden's said it was the religious duty of every Muslim to fight Israel's "oppressive closure" of Gaza."

Understanding Islam through Virtual Worlds


Dispatches from the Imagination Age, Understanding Islam through Virtual Worlds, 7 May 08 "Dancing Ink Productions is on a global quest to explore how virtual worlds might provide insight and a cultural bridge into one of the most misunderstood communities in the world: Islam. In the past five months we've spoken on this topic at places ranging from the Global Knowledge Summit in Kuala Lumpur to the U.S.-Islamic World Forum in Doha, Qatar.

"Today we are delighted to announce that the Richard Lounsbery Foundation has funded a collaboration between the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs and Dancing Ink Productions (DIP) to launch the “Understanding Islam through Virtual Worlds,” project. Rita J. King, DIP's CEO and Creative Director, and me (Joshua S. Fouts), Chief Global Strategist, are both Carnegie Council Senior Fellows." [via Wired]

Sura Al-Dhariyat سورة الذاريات Video



I picked this up from Muxlim TV, The best recitation of sura At-Dhariyat - I've ever heard! English.

Interesting in its use of Hilali and Khan's translation of the Qur'an (other translations are available). The video montage is effective. The recitation is by Ahmed bin Ali Al-Ajamy.

aQ

Asharq Alawsat, Qaeda says Key Member Killed in Afghanistan: Web, 11 May 2008 "A prominent member of al Qaeda was killed in fighting with U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan, the group said in a statement posted on an Islamist website on Sunday.

"Abu Suleiman al-Otaibi, formerly one of the group's leaders in Iraq, was killed in a "fierce battle with the worshipers of the cross" in Paktia, it said without giving the date of the battle."

Obama Rumours Update

sacbee.com, Obama targeted by ugly -- and untrue -- Internet rumors, 9 May 08 "In the ugly new world of online political rumor-mongering, aggressive Googling and e-mailing allow anyone to join the cacophonous misinformation campaign against a politician – in this case, Obama."

Berbers

Strategy Page, It's Hip To Be Dead, 11 May 08 "The one thing al Qaeda has to offer is media recognition. Any terrorist action associated with al Qaeda gets more coverage. Since terrorism lives and dies according to how much media attention it gets, this is a persuasive pitch. Still, the Berber radicals have not shown any inclination become another al Qaeda franchise."

'Violent Islamist Extremism, The Internet, and the Homegrown Terrorist Threat' Report

cfr.org, Violent Islamist Extremism, The Internet, and the Homegrown Terrorist Threat, May 8, 2008 "This staff report concerns the last of these subjects - how violent Islamist terrorist groups like al-Qaeda are using the Internet to enlist followers into the global violent Islamist terrorist movement and to increase support for the movement, ranging from ideological support, to fundraising, and ultimately to planning and executing terrorist attacks."

To read the report in full, see The U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs (Chairman Joe Lieberman and Ranking Member Susan Collins), Violent Islamist Extremism, The Internet, and the Homegrown Terrorist Threat, 8 May 2008 (pdf)

This theme is discussed in detail in my forthcoming book (details to follow)

Shaikh Isa National Library



Gulf Daily News, A new chapter!, 11 May 08 Strong emphasis on IT in the new Shaikh Isa National Library, in Juffair, Bahrain. Details: Skyscrapercity.com, Shaikh Isa National Library

Hassan Butt arrested

Daily Mail, Anti-terror police arrest Muslim author and former al-Qaida recruiter as he boards flight to Pakistan, 10 May 08 "Mr Butt has renounced a past in which he admitted raising tens of thousands of pounds for terror networks. He has also spoken of his determination to work against extremism."

Phone Figures

menareport.com/albawaba.com, GTI study reveals the ‘SMART’ Middle East Mobile phone customer, 8 May 08 "Some patterns clearly emerged from the survey. When it comes to mobile ownership, while most mobile users in the UAE have new mobile phones, many of the women are gifted their phones, as compared to men who buy their own phones. The consumers in Middle East are willing to spend 29% more on their next mobile handset purchase."

New blog initiative from NYT/Al Bawaba

The Lede, A Place to Read, and Comment on, Times Articles in Arabic, 8 May 08 "As part of Generation Faithful, our ongoing series examining the lives of young people across the Muslim world at a time of religious revival, The New York Times has established an Arabic-language blog. It’s hosted through the news and blogging site Al Bawaba, and will allow readers in the Middle East to read and comment on articles in our series in Arabic." It will be interesting to see reactions to this.

Hizbullah

arabmediasociety.com, Al Mustaqbal "...Hezbollah telephone network linked to network of Syrian army", 7 May 08 "On May 6, the pro-government Hariri-owned Al-Mustaqbal daily carried the following report by Fares Khashan: “A month ago, Lebanese officials tried to contain the issue of the telephone communication network that was established by Hezbollah throughout Lebanon with direct funding from the Iranian Islamic Republic. However, the party refused to cooperate with this official effort and warned the figures assigned to follow up on the issue against addressing the topic “because we will consider anyone who harms this network as though he had harmed the arms of the resistance and will therefore deal with him as we deal with the Zionist enemy”."

Following on from that story:

BBC News, Hezbollah takes over west Beirut, 9 May 08 "The BBC's Jim Muir in the city says it all amounts to a humiliating blow to the government.

"It appears to have badly overplayed its hand in moving to close Hezbollah's telecoms network on Tuesday, he says."

Medical Ethics

Dawn, Transplant of human organs not violative of Islam: Ulema, 9 May 08 "Ulema from different schools of thought unanimously announced here on Wednesday that transplantation of human organs did not violate the Islamic principles.

"The sole objective of transplantation of human organs is to save the humanity; however, its trade is not allowed and the government should eliminate the role of the “middleman”, they said." I wrote about this issue in my PhD some time ago. It is also a theme of Lampeter's MA Islamic Studies

Abu Qatada

thelondonpaper.com, Disappointment as 'Osama bin Laden's right-hand man in Europe' granted bail Friday, 9 May 2008 "Qatada is currently being held in a specialist unit at Long Lartin in Worcestershire but could be released within weeks, once details of the conditions of his bail are agreed."

No Cable

The National, Untangling the undersea web, 7 May 2008 Update on the cable crisis 08

Malaysia

The Star Malaysia, No plans to clamp down on bloggers, says DPM, 7 May 08, "The Government has always been liberal towards bloggers and has no plans to clamp down on them.

"However Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak reminded bloggers and Internet users that there were laws pertaining to sedition, defamation and libel.

""Just because you operate in cyberspace does not mean that you are absolved from having to comply with the nation’s laws," he said Wednesday, when asked to comment on the recent case involving Raja Petra Raja Kamarudin."

Indonesia

AP/iht.com, Indonesian terror suspect paraded in front of cameras as sign of war on terrorism success, 5 May 08, "Aslam, 27, who reportedly used several aliases, said he met several times with one of Southeast Asia's most wanted terror suspects, Noordin Mohammad Top, who asked him to translate militant tracts from Arabic into Indonesian and to post them on the Internet."

Wadi-a-Hussain graveyard
ptinews.com, Pak company virtually brings graveyard online for expats, 5 May 08

"Shabbir Hussain Zaidi, who is a leading Shia scholar believes the on-line graveyard is a viable solution as in Shariah (Islamic law) it is allowed to recite fateha (prayers) through the Internet.

""The website not only allows you to view the grave of your loved one but also plays a recitation of surah-e-fatiha. Among the features are video clips from funerals...For those unable to attend the ritual itself," Mohammad Zaidi said."

I'm writing about this in my next book.

Details at Wadi-a-Hussain.net

U.S. State Department Country Report

metimes.com, Where terrorists hide, 2 May 08 "The just released Country Report on Terrorism 2007 by the U.S. State Department outlines a number of areas that serve as safe havens for terrorists. But first it would be useful to delineate what qualifies as a safe haven." Refers to net.

Tones Banned

cellular-news.com, Islamic Militants Ban Mobile Phone Ringtones, 7 May 08 "Islamic militants in Pakistan's tribal areas, which border Afghanistan have issued a decree banning music from mobile phone ringtones and vehicles in tribal areas of the country. A spokesman for the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, Maulana Faqir Mohammed said, the they would not allow commuters to play music in their cars or use musical ringtones on mobile phones."

Somalia

AP, Somali fighters threaten revenge against US after airstrike, 2 May 08 ""This will not deter us from prosecuting our holy war against Allah's enemy," Sheik Muqtar Robow, a spokesman for the al-Shabab militia that Ayro led, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. "If Ayro is dead those he trained are still in place and ready to avenge against the enemy of Allah."

ISIM Review

ISIM Review 21, Spring 2008 (pdf) I am still working my way through the latest edition, which has several articles containing Islam and the net associated content. Here are some which caught my attention (links go through to individual articles, alternatively the entire Review can be downloaded above).

• Al-Albani’s Revolutionary Approach to Hadith / Stéphane Lacroix
• The Local and the Global in Saudi Salafism / Madawi Al-Rasheed
• The Development of British Salafism / Sadek Hamid
• Purist Salafism in France / Mohamed-Ali Adraoui
• Mujahidin in Bosnia: From Ally to Challenger / Onder Cetin
• From Local Insurgency to Al-Qaida Franchise / Sami Zemni

Madawi Al-Rasheed's article is taken from her book Contesting the Saudi State: Islamic Voices from a New Generation, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007), and includes a discussion on Lewis Atiyat Allah. The book is well-worth reading in full. Professor Al-Rasheed now has a blog.

The other articles incude ongoing research. They show variations in the 'salafi' concept, both in terms of the content of the articles and the distinctions made by actors between different approaches to 'salafi', and in the outlooks of the writers.

For different reasons, I found these ones useful too:

• Imams in the Netherlands: Expectations and Realities / Welmoet Boender
• Resisting “Blackness”: Muslim Arab Sudanese in the Diaspora / Anita Fabos

DARPA

Wired, Cyberwarfare: Darpa's New 'Space Race', 1 May 08 "The Defense Advance Research Projects Agency, or Darpa, was created 50 years ago, in response to the Soviets' launch of Sputnik. In less than a year, Darpa put together the infrastructure that guided the American space effort for decades to come. Now, Darpa has been given new marching orders: to help America fight and win battles online."

Al-Haj Released

AP/msnbc.com, Al Jazeera cameraman freed from Guantanamo: On hunger strike for about 16 months, U.S. military force fed him with tube, 2 May 08, ""This is wonderful news, and long overdue. The U.S. administration has never had any reason for holding Mr. Al-Haj, and has, instead, spent six years shamelessly attempting to turn him against his employers at Al-Jazeera," said Clive Stafford Smith, Reprieve's Director who has represented al-Haj since 2005."

The Prisoner345 website played an important role in this protracted campaign: prisoner345.net Also see Reprieve's pages

Language

iViews.com, "Jihad" is out in the "War on Terrorism", 1 May 08 "U.S. officials may be "unintentionally portraying terrorists, who lack moral and religious legitimacy, as brave fighters, legitimate soldiers or spokesmen for ordinary Muslims," says a Homeland Security report. It's entitled "Terminology to Define the Terrorists: Recommendations from American Muslims."

""Regarding 'jihad,' even if it is accurate to reference the term, it may not be strategic because it glamorizes terrorism, imbues terrorists with religious authority they do not have and damages relations with Muslims around the world," the report says."

Somalia

Reuters, Airstrike Kills Somali Qaeda Chief, 1 May 08, "U.S. war planes killed an Islamist rebel said to be al Qaeda's leader in Somalia and at least a dozen other people on Thursday in Washington's biggest success in efforts to contain an insurgency raging since 2007."