Selfie Star Goes From Hero To Hate-Monger

vocativ.com, Selfie Star Goes From Hero To Hate-Monger "A young Muslim woman whose audacious selfies in front of anti-Islamic protestors earned her global acclaim is now under fire for a series of anti-Semitic remarks she allegedly made in the past."

IS Tech issues

Jack Detsch, Taylor Luck, Yahoo Tech, How Islamic State militants attempt to outwit spies, 20 May 2016 "The Horizon group, which first appeared in February to provide technical support to IS, calls on militants to secure their smartphone communications by installing virtual private networks, which increase security while using the Web, and a handful of security and privacy apps available on Google Play and Apple’s App Store."

American ISIS Defector: 'I've Let My Nation Down'

NBC, American ISIS Defector: 'I've Let My Nation Down'

Geolocating ISIS

ABC, #ISIS supporters geolocated by citizen journalists after coordinated image campaign, 23 May 2016 "An attempt by Islamic State (IS) militant group supporters to demonstrate a worldwide network of members by sharing photographs from major cities has backfired with internet users tracking down where the images had been taken."

The Religion of Social Media: When Islam Meets the Web

theislamicmonthly.com, The Religion of Social Media: When Islam Meets the Web "To get a better understanding of reasons people self-disclose religious views on social media, various Muslims were given the opportunity to express their views on the subject."

24/7 watch on online activity in Bangladesh

thedailystar.net, 24/7 watch on online activity in Bangladesh, 19 May 2016 "While the establishment of the network will assist law enforcement agencies in tracking criminal activities, it will hand enormous power to the government to establish control over people's online activity. It may encroach on citizens' private life."

'What Islamic State women want'

SImon Cottee, Foreign Policy, What Islamic State women want "Over the past year, I have spent an unhealthy amount of time tracking the social media activities of Western English-speaking female Islamic State supporters as part of a wider research project on the subculture of Western jihadism. (Most of their accounts have since been shut down.) And what these women - or at least the more brazen and vocal among them - want they have made abundantly clear. Far from being slaves to their sexual desires or victims of the predatory machinations of men, many Western women join or aspire to join the Islamic State because they want to - because the Islamic State, unlike the secular liberal democracies in which they live, makes sense to them and reflects their fundamental moral and political convictions."

'We are Iranians': Rediscovering the history of African slavery in Iran

middleeasteye.net, 'We are Iranians': Rediscovering the history of African slavery in Iran "Iranian-Canadian scholar Behnaz Mirzai has spent 20 years researching the African diaspora in Iran, a little-known slice of Iranian history." non-tech, but interesting!

UK to deploy 'up to 50' soldiers to battle IS in Libya: Report

middleeasteye.net, UK to deploy 'up to 50' soldiers to battle IS in Libya: Report, 16 May 2016 "The Mail also reported that Britain’s Royal Air Force has carried out “electronic warfare” against IS by jamming communications signals in the group’s Libyan stronghold of Sirte."

Islamic State in India

Balasubramaniyan Viswanathan, geopoliticalmonitor.com, Will Shafi Armar’s Death Harm Islamic State in India?, 13 May 2016 " ... given the access to technological advancement facilitated by internet, organizations built on virtual networks such as the Junood al Khalifa-e Hind may not be affected by the death of its key leaders or removal of key nodes as perceived by security planners. Removal of a node in a virtual network could spawn more controls and checks within the network, which could increase the difficulty to infiltrate these virtual networks in future. Though, Shafi Armar’s death is going to slow down the activities of Islamic State in India, it is not good enough to stop it from regrouping in the future."

An American ISIS Cell: The Story of 3 U.S. Recruits

NBC News, An American ISIS Cell: The Story of 3 U.S. Recruits, 16 May 2016 demonstrates the significance of the net within recruitment patterns (although it is not the complete picture).

Iran Arrests 8 for ‘Un-Islamic’ Online Modeling

VOA News, Iran Arrests 8 for ‘Un-Islamic’ Online Modeling "A spokesman of the Iranian Centre for Surveying and Combating Organized Cyber Crimes, Mostafa Alizadeh, told the BBC that "sterilizing popular cyberspaces is on our agenda. We carried out this plan in 2013 with Facebook, and now Instagram is the focus." He said there would be more actions in the near future." Also see BBC News, Iran arrests eight for 'un-Islamic' Instagram modelling

Al Qaeda’s online magazine tells terrorists to target U.S. business leaders in their homes

washingtontimes.com, Al Qaeda’s online magazine tells terrorists to target U.S. business leaders in their homes, 15 May 2016

Activists beam ISIS flag on to Saudi Arabia’s embassy in Berlin

Daily Mail, Activists beam ISIS flag on to Saudi Arabia’s embassy in Berlin, 16 May 2016

This Is How ISIS Uses The Internet

Sheera Frenkel, buzzfeed.com, This Is How ISIS Uses The Internet, 13 May 2016 "Abu Majad figured that when ISIS came for him, it would be with a knife on a dark street, or a bomb planted on his car. The 34-year-old had been living in southern Turkey since fleeing Syria nearly three years ago and knew that his outspoken stance against ISIS — online and in his hometown in northern Syria — had put him in the terrorist group’s crosshairs. What he wasn’t expecting was to wake up on the morning of March 29 to a virus planted by ISIS within a seemingly innocuous email attachment."

Iran's Dating Revolution

Radio Times, Unreported World, Iran's Dating Revolution " Under Iran’s strict Islamic laws sex outside marriage is illegal. Even so, half the population between the ages of 18 and 35 aren’t married and the government is concerned they’re not “playing by the rules”. It’s tackled what they describe as a marriage crisis by setting up an online dating agency." Previews a forthcoming Channel 4 TV programme, on tomorrow.

Saudi officials were 'supporting' 9/11 hijackers, commission member says

Guardian, Saudi officials were 'supporting' 9/11 hijackers, commission member says, 12 May 2016 "A former Republican member of the 9/11 commission, breaking dramatically with the commission’s leaders, said Wednesday he believes there was clear evidence that Saudi government employees were part of a support network for the 9/11 hijackers and that the Obama administration should move quickly to declassify a long-secret congressional report on Saudi ties to the 2001 terrorist attack."

'Ustad Metal'

The Star, Ustad Metal: Muslim cleric by day, band singer by night, 8 May 2016 "Metal music, with its dark lyrics and themes of death and doom, is very much alive - and thriving even - in Muslim-majority Indonesia. This is despite growing Islamic conservatism in the country, where rising intolerance has led to violence between mainstream Muslims and non-Muslims as well as religious minorities, including the Shi'ite and Ahmadiyah sects." And here's a clip from a couple of years ago:

'Voice of the Caliphate'

Zia-U-Rahman Hasrat, Noor Zahid, VOA, IS Radio Broadcasts Re-emerge in Afghanistan, 10 May 2016 "The radio channel, which broadcasts from a remote mobile transmitter in the mountains along the Pakistan border, has returned with new programming to its lineup. It can now be heard in the Arabic and Punjabi languages besides its former programs in Pashto and Dari, the two official languages of Afghanistan. The programs encourage people to join IS and air religious chanting."

Isis-inspired Muslims 'plotted to behead British citizens after fatwa issued'

Evening Standard, Isis-inspired Muslims 'plotted to behead British citizens after fatwa issued', 10 May 2016 "The alleged terror cell shared gruesome pictures of beheadings they had downloaded from the internet as well as images of the killers of Drummer Lee Rigby, the Old Bailey heard."

IS Arabic language teaching app

Guardian, Islamic State releases children's mobile app 'to teach Arabic', 11 May 2016 "The app called Huroof – meaning alphabet or letters in Arabic – has ‘tank’, ‘gun’ and ‘rocket’ among the vocabulary taught."

The Indonesian Muslim ‘cyberwarriors’ who are battling Islamic State online

AFP/SCMP, The Indonesian Muslim ‘cyberwarriors’ who are battling Islamic State online, 9 May 2016 "Armed with laptops and smartphones, some 500 members of the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) – one of the world’s biggest Muslim organisations – are seeking to counter the Islamic State group’s extremist messages."

ISIS: A History.

LSE Review of Books, New & Noted: ISIS: A History. Fawaz A. Gerges. Princeton University Press. 2016.

Muslim Leaders Wage Theological Battle, Stoking ISIS’ Anger

NY Times, Muslim Leaders Wage Theological Battle, Stoking ISIS’ Anger, 8 May 2016 "As the military and political battle against the Islamic State escalates, Muslim imams and scholars in the West are fighting on another front — through theology."

'Abu Wahib'

WSJ, Islamic State Commander Killed in Iraq, Pentagon Says, 9 May 2016 "The extremist commander achieved renown in particular as one of Islamic State’s image-obsessed Internet-savvy leaders, appearing in flamboyant propaganda footage crafted to present the group as uncharacteristically heartless and savage." Refers to 'Abu Wahib' (a nom de guerre for Shaker Wahib al-Fahdawi), who has been declared deceased several times in the past.

Footage from within Islamic State attack cell yields secrets

AP/Daily Mail, Footage from within Islamic State attack cell yields secrets, 5 May 2016 "Filmed by a young French Muslim journalist who infiltrated the group with a hidden camera, the Canal Plus documentary takes an extraordinary inside look at the group, which called itself the Soldiers of Allah. The cell was nominally led by a young ex-convict who called himself Abu Oussama, who speaks dreamily about his coming death, the palace that awaits him in paradise, the winged horse made of gold and rubies, and the women: "I'm not making this up, I swear," he breathes."

What’s behind the killings of bloggers, activists and professors in Bangladesh?

PBS Newshour, What’s behind the killings of bloggers, activists and professors in Bangladesh?, 3 May 2016 "In Bangladesh, progressive voices have been swept up in a growing wave of unprecedented violence. A week ago, Bangladesh lost one of its foremost LGBT activists, the latest victim in a pattern of targeted killings that in April alone claimed four lives. "

IS Spain

Daily Star, Brit spies take out ISIS terror cell 'plotting attack on tourist hotspots' "The cell used internet chat rooms and messaging apps to recruit jihadis in order to carry out savage attacks on popular resorts, cops said."

Australian jihadists

news.com.au, Australian jihadists are being ‘martyred’ in the Middle East. Here’s a few of those we know most about, 5 May 2016 "Inspired to wage violent jihad on behalf of Islamic State, more than 100 Australians are now international outcasts."

IS Files

Mark White, Sky News, IS Files: The Families UK Jihadis Left Behind, 4 May 2016 "Sky News knocks on the doors of addresses in the documents and finds relatives of British recruits are confused by their leaving." Report + videos

IS Bombards Social Media With Propaganda in Russian

VOA, IS Bombards Social Media With Propaganda in Russian "The Islamic State (IS) is bombarding social media with Russian language propaganda aimed at attracting new recruits from targeted audiences."

Terrorists prefer to chat on Telegram and email with Gmail

Jose Pagliery, CNN Money, Terrorists prefer to chat on Telegram and email with Gmail, 3 May 2016 "The free, mobile chatting service Telegram -- which is anonymous and encrypted -- is used by 34% of jihadists whose communications were the subject of a study by cybersecurity firm Trend Micro (TMICF)."

UK's covert propaganda bid to stop Muslims joining Isis

Guardian, Revealed: UK's covert propaganda bid to stop Muslims joining Isis, 2 May 2016 "In a sign of mounting anxiety across Whitehall over the persuasiveness of Islamic State’s online propaganda, a secretive Home Office unit has developed a discreet multimillion pound counter-messaging operation that it says privately is running at “industrial pace and scale”."

Radical Islam in Dagestan

Economist, Radical Islam in Dagestan: Russia’s crackdown on Salafis may be breeding extremism "Since last autumn, the authorities in Dagestan have ramped up pressure against Salafis. They have reason to worry: as Moscow launched air strikes in support of Syria’s government, the Islamic State (IS) declared a holy war on Russia, took credit for downing a Russian passenger jet over Egypt and released a video threatening “a sea of blood” in Russia itself. Officially, some 900 Dagestanis have left for Syria. Independent experts say the true figure may be as high as 4,000."

IS 'hit list'

Telegraph, Islamic State threatens to expose British military secrets after publishing US Air Force 'hit list', 1 May 2016 "The group, which calls itself the "Islamic State Hacking Division", said in its online posting: "In our next leak we may even disclose secret intelligence the Islamic State has just received from a source the brothers in the UK have spent some time acquiring from the Ministry of Defence in London as we slowly and secretly infiltrate England and the USA online and off.”"

'Pain, Confusion, Anger, and Shame: The Stories of Islamic State Families'

ICSR Report – Pain, Confusion, Anger, and Shame: The Stories of Islamic State Families "For every jihadist that has traveled to Syria, Libya, or other places where the group calling itself Islamic State (IS) has attemptedto take root, there is a family affected by what their sons or daughters, brothers or sisters, husbands or wives, have done. Their feelings and reactions are the subject of this paper."

Women's Orchestra in Kabul

US warns of links between Islamic State, Boko Haram

AP/Daily Mail, US warns of links between Islamic State, Boko Haram, 20 Apr 2016 "At "Ground Zero" in Africa's counterterrorism fight, senior U.S. officials warned of deepening links between the Islamic State and Boko Haram and prodded Chad's ruling strongman to introduce reforms for the sake of long-term stability."

The Islamic State’s Online Strategy and Violent Extremism in Africa

David Fidler, Into Africa: The Islamic State’s Online Strategy and Violent Extremism in Africa, 19 Apr 2016 "Military campaigns in Iraq and Syria have re-taken territory from the Islamic State and damaged it in other ways, including its ability to finance military operations. As counter-attacks continue in the Middle East, the Islamic State’s activities in Africa, especially North Africa, are increasing. These activities include a defining characteristic of the Islamic State—its use of the Internet and social media to strengthen its control of territory and advance its extremist agenda. This aspect of the group’s efforts in Africa has garnered less interest than the number of its fighters in North Africa or its territorial foothold in Libya. However, the Islamic State is applying its online strategy in Africa, which raises questions about how to respond to this development."

'Islamic State's' most wanted - Part 1: The takeover

BBC, 'Islamic State's' most wanted - Part 1: The takeover, 20 Apr 2016 [use this link to take you to the other parts of the series] "What happens when you resist the world's most violent jihadis?"

What Kind of Person Becomes a Violent Jihadi?

BBC News, What Kind of Person Becomes a Violent Jihadi? "For decades researchers, academics and psychologists have wanted to know what kind of person becomes a terrorist. If there are pre-existing traits which make someone more likely to kill for their beliefs – well, that would be worth knowing. In this edition of The Inquiry – part of the BBC World Service Identity Season – we tell the story of that search for a ‘terrorist type’. It’s a story which begins decades ago. But, with the threat from killers acting for so-called Islamic State, finding an answer has never felt more pressing." [it's note just about the internet!]

'Counter-terrorism drive for public to report online Isis propaganda'

Guardian, Counter-terrorism drive for public to report online Isis propaganda, 15 Apr 2016 "British counter-terrorism officials are launching a campaign to try to drive back Islamic State’s efforts to use the internet to foster extremism. Isis has turned the internet into a frontline of its jihad, using it to spread propaganda to gain recruits and embolden its supporters. However, 300 items a day are being taken down by a special police unit."

'Living Level-3'

islamicommentary.org, Graphic Novelist Joshua Dysart Spotlights the Darkness of Iraq with Living Level-3 "New York Times best-selling graphic novelist Joshua Dysart has written about serial killers, about superheroes, and about the supernatural. Now, with Living Level-3, he brings his talent for dark themes to the real-life humanitarian crisis in Iraq. “Comics & Dialogue” had the opportunity to speak with him about goals of this online graphic novel, its challenges, and the social issues that comics can uniquely address."

'Overwhelming majority of Arabs youth reject ISIS, poll finds'

alarabiya.net, Overwhelming majority of Arabs youth reject ISIS, poll finds, 14 Apr 2016

"The survey, undertaken by PR agency Asda'a Burson Marsteller, interviewed 3,500 youths aged 18-24 from 16 Arab countries, including Egypt, Algeria and Saudi Arabia."

al-Qaduli

Michael Weiss & Hassan Hassan, Daily Beast, Everything We Knew About This ISIS Mastermind Was Wrong, 15 Apr 2016 "He was one man, not two. He had at least seven names, and was mistakenly pronounced dead four times. But the fog surrounding ISIS’s No. 2 is finally beginning to part."

.krd

Reuters, Iraq's Kurds declare independence in cyberspace with .krd domain name, 14 Apr 2016 "The new top-level domain ".krd" gives Kurds a separate space in the virtual world at a time when they are gaining legitimacy on the ground through their alliance with the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State."

#towerlives

BBC Wales, #towerlives: Butetown's festival of storytelling - links through to several interesting videos, interviews and discussions relating to Butetown. Also see #TowerLives on Twitter "#towerlives is a week-long festival of storytelling and music, on air and on the ground, around the council estate tower blocks of Butetown in Cardiff." Recommended!!

'ISIS Has Hit List of Western Muslim Leaders'

counterjihadreport.com, ISIS Has Hit List of Western Muslim Leaders, 13 Apr 2016 "The latest issue (number 14) of the Islamic State’s propaganda magazine, Dabiq, published April 13, contains a hitlist of Muslim leaders in the West, specifically naming 21. A 22nd (Nihad Awad of the Muslim Brotherhood-linked Council on American Islamic Relations) is pictured, but not named."

'Hashtag fail? #BringBackOurGirls two years on'

AFP, Hashtag fail? #BringBackOurGirls two years on, 13 Apr 2016 "On the ground, 219 of the 276 girls are still missing, their Government Girls Secondary School is a broken ruin and Chibok is desperate for development."

'ISIS Really Wants You To Know It’s Operating In Bangladesh'

Buzzfeed, ISIS Really Wants You To Know It’s Operating In Bangladesh, 13 Apr 2016 " In the latest issue of its propaganda magazine Dabiq, ISIS features both a Bengali jihadi and a man it claims is leading its operations inside the country. "

'How To Lose Your Mind To ISIS And Then Fight To Get It Back'

Mike Giglio & Munzer al-Awad, Buzzfeed, How To Lose Your Mind To ISIS And Then Fight To Get It Back, 11 Apr 2016, "It’s far easier to join ISIS than to leave. Members of a hidden community of ISIS defectors recount how they were pulled into the grip of extremism — and their struggle to escape. Mike Giglio and Munzer al-Awad report for BuzzFeed News from the Syrian border."

Bakraoui brothers

mashable.com, ISIS claims Paris and Brussels attacks began with Bakraoui brothers "Dabiq, the slick online propaganda magazine published by the Islamic State (ISIS), provides news details in an issue released Wednesday on the group's role in the March 22 attacks in Brussels and links to the Paris attacks."

'The reluctant jihadi'

Guardian, Robert F. Worth, The reluctant jihadi: how one recruit lost faith in Isis "[But] ... some of the true believers who arrived in the Islamic State were discovering that life there was not quite the paradise they had imagined. A new narrative – of disillusionment, of horror, of black comedy – was slowly leaking out from the inside. Abu Ali would become one of its voices."

#HalalChallenge

Vice. Munchies, The #HalalChallenge Encourages Racism Via Pork, 12 Apr 2016, "The creators of the #HalalChallenge say that the slaughter of animals according to Islamic law is a form of cruelty. The Qur’an dictates that an animal must fully bleed out; in practice, animals are sometimes killed without sedation methods like stunning. But the movement has attracted various right wing anti-Muslim or anti-immigrant supporters, and critics say the campaign is racism in disguise. The German broadcaster Deutsche Welle reports that the organizer of Bonn’s anti-immigration movement as well as the founder of Hooligans Against Salafists have cheered the #HalalChallenge online."

'China tech companies pledge to tackle content that promotes terrorism'

Guardian, China tech companies pledge to tackle content that promotes terrorism, 12 Apr 2016 "China says it faces a serious threat from groups such as the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), which operates in China’s restive far western region of Xinjiang, home to the Muslim Uighur people, where hundreds have died in violence in recent years."

Islamic State nets millions selling plundered antiquities online

SMH, Islamic State nets millions selling plundered antiquities online, 8 aPR 2016 " Islamic State is more often associated with images of antiquities being destroyed in Palmyra and Nimrud, than with cultural heritage preservation. But previous reports of the group selling looted artefacts in the Middle East are now understood to be part of a multimillion-dollar revenue stream managed with the help of the internet."

#WhatBritishMuslimsReallyThink

Photo: Trevor Phillips, Channel 4

BBC News, What some Muslims think of 'what British Muslims really think', 11 Apr 2016 "What do British Muslims really think? It's a question that news organisations have repeatedly tried to answer since the terror attacks of 9/11 and 7/7, and one that suggests that maybe the person asking isn't a British Muslim."

Also see Channel 4, What British Muslims Really Think

ICM Data Set is here

Also see #WhatBritishMuslimsReallyThink on Twitter

I haven't looked at any of this material in detail yet. 

Digital Human, Home

Digital Human, Home "In The Digital Human: Home Aleks asks what turns a space into a place and whether we really need bricks and mortar anymore, when home can be anywhere you can go online."

Lebanon Internet

middleeasteye.net, Lebanon's illegal internet boom sparks crackdown - and calls for reform "With some of the slowest and most expensive internet speeds in the world, Lebanon has become a hotbed for illegal internet providers that supply people desperate to get their hands on internet speedier than the state-run company, Ogero - the only legal provider. According to a recent study, the internet in Lebanon is slower than Egypt and Syria."

Wi-Fi Theft Fatwa

AP, Islamic authorities in Dubai are saying that wireless Internet belonging to neighbors cannot be used without their permission, 11 Apr 2016 "The edict says: "There is nothing wrong in using the line if your neighbors allow you to do so, but if they'd don't allow you, you may not use it.""

'How a Saudi Arabian singer defied tradition to follow her dream'

Alaa Basatneh, fusion.net, How a Saudi Arabian singer defied tradition to follow her dream "Commenters on Tarabzouni’s social media accounts seem to be split into two camps: the supporters and the haters. “They should take away your passport, and marry you off to a man who will make you forget the stupid singing thing,” one commenter wrote on her Instagram account in Arabic. Another comment reads, “I’m really proud of u because u r a girl from my country and u break the stupid traditions. KEEP GOING.”"

IS video threat

Independent, Isis supporters threaten UK with terror attacks in new propaganda video, 5 Apr 2016

Engare, a videogame about the mathematical beauty of Islamic art

Chris Priestman, killscreen.com, Engare, a videogame about the mathematical beauty of Islamic art, 4 Apr 2016 "Iranian game maker Mahdi Bahrami is the kind of person who answers a question with more questions. I don’t think he can stop himself. “What will happen if I add a short line to one of the tiles in a mosque?” he asks me. “If we take into account the tiling rules of the mosque, what would the whole wall look like after we add the line? What if we change the rules? What would the mosque ceiling look like?” I don’t know. But for Bahrami, that’s entirely the point—his upcoming puzzle game Engare is about exploring this unknown space and finding the answer."

TrueCrypt+ISIS

Evan Ratliff, New Yorker, The strange origins of TrueCrypt, ISIS’s favored encryption tool "When one would-be bomber was dispatched from Syria to France, Callimachi writes, “an Islamic State computer specialist handed him a USB key. It contained CCleaner, a program used to erase a user’s online history on a given computer, as well as TrueCrypt, an encryption program that was widely available at the time and that experts say has not yet been cracked.”" Also see Rukmini Callimachi, How ISIS Built the Machinery of Terror Under Europe’s Gaze, 29 Mar 2016

IS update

Reuters/channelnewsasia, Islamic State executes 15 of its own near Raqqa, Syria - monitor

Taliban app

bloomberg.com, Taliban Develop Smartphone App to Advance Propaganda Efforts, 2 April 2016 "The Pashto language app includes content such as official statements and videos from the Taliban, which has sought insurgency in the country for more than 14 years since it was ousted in 2001 with help from the U.S. The app appeared on Google’s Play Store until Saturday, when it was removed to fix some "technical issues," Mujahed said. The app should reappear soon, he said."

Prosecution

ITV News, Delivery driver Junead Khan found guilty of planning terror attack against US military in UK, 1 April 2016 "A delivery driver from Luton has been convicted of preparing to carry out a terror attack on an RAF base in East Anglia where US military personnel are stationed." Tech themes in this story.

Losing your brother to ISIS

CNN, Losing your brother to ISIS

Snapchat Imams

qz.com, This imam delivers eight-second Snapchat sermons "For the past few months, Webb, a Muslim scholar based in Washington, D.C., has been answering young Muslims’ questions via eight-second videos. His Snapchat story topics cover everything from dating and drugs, to the exact specifications for prayer and fasting."

Reading List: What do Islamist extremists believe? Salafi-Jihadism by Shiraz Maher and Crusade and Jihad by Malcolm Lambert

Guardian, What do Islamist extremists believe? Salafi-Jihadism by Shiraz Maher and Crusade and Jihad by Malcolm Lambert – review

Lahore bombings

Time.com, Outpouring of Sadness and Solidarity for Pakistan as World Reacts to Lahore Blast, 28 Mar 2016

#Brussels attacks

Round-up of coverage associated with #Brussels attacks  

Guardian, Why did the bombers target Belgium?


BBC News, Islamic State group claims responsibility for Brussels attacks in statement issued via its Amaq news agency

Daily Mail Online, 79 minutes of terror in #Brussels | How airport and metro explosions left 34 dead  

Rula Jebreal, Already, there have been shameless attempts to exploit #Brussels attacks for political purposes.  

AirLive, Photo of #Brussels Airport Bombers released (Belgian media) 

Mic, Facebook's Safety Check feature has been switched on in #Brussels 

BBC Breaking News ‏@BBCBreaking, "These people are sick". #Brussels airport passengers describe moment of explosions. 

Guardian, Brussels explosions: multiple casualties after airport and metro blasts – live
 
Guardian, Brussels attacks: were they revenge for Abdeslam's arrest?

The Battle of Ideas in the Middle East

BBC World Service, The Battle of Ideas in the Middle East - Part One "Kevin Connolly travels through the Middle East to look at different ways in which the Arab states in the region are confronting the ideas of the so-called Islamic State and how well-equipped they are to fight them" Worth listening to, as it relates to several themes associated with this blog, including online issues. Also see Kevin Connolly, BBC News, Battle of ideas at heart of fight against Islamic State

Istanbul hit by suicide bomb attack

Guardian, Istanbul hit by suicide bomb attack

Prayers, Pilgrims and Power

BBC World Service, Prayers, Pilgrims and Power "The Imam Reza shrine in the Iranian city of Mashhad is a spectacular complex visited by millions of pilgrims every year. It's also spectacularly wealthy, and part of a huge business empire worth an estimated $20 billion. So the person who runs it has considerable power. Earlier this month that person changed. BBC Persian's Najieh Ghulami, who's from Mashhad, discusses the change of guard and shares memories of the shrine."

The programme also covers other issues relating to this blog, including social media and censorship in Turkey, and Saudi Arabian comedy (which has a social media element).

Syrian 3D Images

APF, 3D Images of Syria Archaeological Treasures Go Online

Surveillance society

Duncan Riley, Silicon Angle, You are being watched: The surveillance society of 2016

IS prosecution

AP, Pizzeria owner who recruited for IS group gets 22 1/2 years "Mufid Elfgeeh, 32, had pleaded guilty in December in federal court in Rochester to attempting to provide material support to a terrorist organization in 2013 and 2014."

Abdeslam arrest

BBC News, Paris attacks: 'Quick' Abdeslam extradition from Belgium sought, 19 Mar 2016

John Cantlie Video

Daily Mail, British ISIS hostage John Cantlie appears in new propaganda footage from inside Mosul one year after his last video appearance, 19 Mar 2016 "Cantlie, who was kidnapped in November 2012, is shown berating the US-led coalition for bombing a media building in the ISIS-held city of Iraq."

'Not all marriages are equal'

altmuslimah.com, Not all marriages are equal: Islamic marriage, Temporary Marriage, Secret marriage and Polygamous marriage

ISIS lures with video game themes

RNS, ISIS lures with video game themes "Javier Lesaca, a scholar who has spent hundreds of hours studying ISIS videos, says the terrorist organization has masterfully mimicked not only the look and feel of popular, violent games such as “Grand Theft Auto” and “Call of Duty,” but television shows — “Homeland,” “Saw,” and “Person of Interest,” to name a few — which, like the video games, feature strapping young men in cool sunglasses who kill without mercy."

Life Inside 'Islamic State'

BBC, Life Inside 'Islamic State' "A Syrian man describes the horror of everyday life in the IS stronghold of Raqqa."

Babar Ahmad

BBC News, Babar Ahmad: My support for Taliban was 'naive', 13 Mar 2016 "A British man jailed over a website considered a key moment in the birth of online jihadist propaganda said he had been "naive" to support the Taliban." I presented some images from this website during my Leiden presentation last week (see earlier posts). Ahmad is interviewed for the Victoria Derbyshire programme.

Reading List: new ISIS book

David Kilcullen, Guardian, The deadly efficiency of Isis and how it grew on the global stage "In this exclusive extract from his hotly anticipated book Blood Year, counterinsurgency expert David Killcullen maps out the leaderless resistance, remote radicalisation, and guerrilla-style terrorism that characterise the ‘Isis Internationale’."

Jihad: Between Theory and Practice.

I gave a paper at Leiden University last Friday, as part of their conference Jihad: Between Theory and Practice.

It was an interesting event and well-organised event (convened by Dr Jelle Bruning), with other presentations by Asma Afsaruddin (Indiana University) on 'Qur'anic Jihad and Its Interpretations', and Yumna Masarwa Institute for American Universities, Aix-en-Provence) on 'Ribat, Jihad, and Archaeology'.    There's a related interview on my 'E-Jihad 2.0' paper here: Mare, Slick en schokken.

'IS' profiled

BBC News - Islamic State group: The full story [comprehensive, have yet to read it in full]

'The funny side of Saudi'

BBC News, The funny side of Saudi, 7 Mar 2016

Omar al-Shishani

Independent, Isis leader Abu Omar al-Shishani - also known as Omar the Chechen - 'killed in US air strike', 9 Mar 2016 "A senior Isis leader, Abu Omar al-Shishani, a Syrian-based Georgian national, may have been killed in an air strike by the US-led coalition, it has been reported."

'Malaysia reveals Islamic State plot to kidnap prime minister'

UPI, Malaysia reveals Islamic State plot to kidnap prime minister, 9 Mar 2016 "Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said he was among the targets."

'IS' video

Mail Online, Geriatric jihadi: Elderly suicide bomber drives armoured truck full of explosives towards Iraqi base before blowing himself up as gloating ISIS fighters watch, 8 Mar 2016

Twitter praised for cracking down on use by Islamic State

Reuters/CNBC, Twitter praised for cracking down on use by Islamic State, 8 Mar 2016 "Officials with the nonprofit Simon Wiesenthal Center praised Twitter on Monday for increasing efforts to thwart Islamic State's use of its platform for recruitment and propaganda."

Conference: Jihad: Between Theory and Practice

Universiteit Leiden, Conference, Jihad: Between Theory and Practice, 11 Mar 2016 "This workshop brings together international scholarly expertise on both modern and classical Islam and studies the diversity of ideas and practices behind jihad. With a diachronic and interdisciplinary approach, it will address the interpretations of jihad, its organization, and ways to spread jihad-related ideology." I will be presenting a paper on aspects of e-Jihad as part of this conference.

'Defending Pakistani women against honour killings'

Aurangzeb Qureshi, aljazeera.com, Defending Pakistani women against honour killings opinion piece "Although it may be understandable, shooting the messenger is never justifiable. Having the fortitude to look in the mirror and acknowledge societal flaws is the first step to correcting them."

'Reformed Islamic extremist' is accused of £1m iPhone fraud

Express, 'Reformed Islamic extremist' is accused of £1m iPhone fraud, 6 Mar 2016 allegations

RSA 2016

govtech.com (USA), RSA 2016: Terror Groups Propagate, Recruit on Social Media Platforms with Greater Efficiency "John Carlin, assistant attorney general for national security at the DOJ, said groups like the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, ISIS, IS) are using popular social media platforms to propagate and recruit with greater efficiency than ever before." Not exactly a headline

'Police close more than 1,000 terrorist websites and social media accounts every week'

Daily Star, Police close more than 1,000 terrorist websites and social media accounts every week, 6 Mar 2016 "The Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit – a police squad which fights online extremism – has removed 140,000 items of propaganda in the past five years."

'Owning Qadri, disowning Sharmeen'

The Nation, Owning Qadri, disowning Sharmeen, 3 Mar 2016 "#WeDisownSharmeen was the top social media trend on February 29. On a day the most illustrious terrorist in Pakistan was executed, petrol prices were slashed by almost 12% and Pakistan won an important cricket match at the Asia Cup, the most urgent message that the nation wanted to give out on social media was its denunciation of its only Oscar winning director."

UK spying laws

Independent, UK spying laws: Government introduces law requiring WhatsApp and iMessage to break their own security, 1 Mar 2016

'Osama bin Laden Warned an Islamic State Would Fail'

Nancy Youssef, Daily Beast, Osama bin Laden Warned an Islamic State Would Fail, 1 Mar 2016 "Before he was killed, the Al Qaeda chief urged his followers to put off dreams of a caliphate and focus on more pressing concerns."