Telegraph | News | 'Terrorism has hit Europe once again', 7 July 2005

Aljazeera.Net - Blasts hit London Underground, buses, 7 July 2005: "Explosions have rocked London, killing at least two and wounding scores in what Prime Minister Tony Blair said was an apparent terrorist attack coinciding with a meeting of Group of Eight leaders in Scotland."

The American Thinker, Islam goes hip, 7 July 05 discussion on Amr Khaled: "While Muslim televangelists are now common, none has adopted the methods of the Christian superstars as Khaled has. Like the Christian televangelists he uses satellite TV, the Internet and audio and video tapes to spread his message."

The New Zealand Herald, Al-Zarqawi to target Shiite militia group, 7 July 2005: "Fighting between the Shiah and Sunni communities in Iraq is likely to escalate after Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, said he would target the main Shiite militia group. "

International Herald Tribune, Egypt envoy convicted, captors say, 7 July 2005: "The group claiming that it carried out the kidnapping of Egypt's top diplomat in Iraq said in an Internet posting on Wednesday that a religious court had convicted him of crimes that are punishable by death"

Aljazeera.Net - Muslim scholars move to curb fatwas, 7 July 2005: "The Muslim world's top scholars have agreed that fatwas, or religious edicts, should only be issued by clerics with religious authority."

Jerusalem Post, Televangelist preaches hip Islam, July 6 2005: "He talks about the glory of God and hands the microphone to a young woman in the audience, asking her to talk about her feelings. His shows are broadcast around the world on satellite channels. Millions visit his state-of-the-art Web site. "

adnki.com, Islam: Expert Urges "Calm And Constructive" Dialogue, 6 July 2005 "Islam does not seek to obliterate the religions that came before it, or to cut off links from these religions, which all stem from the same God as that of Muslims, Fawzi al-Zafzaf, president of Cairo's al-Azhar permanent Divine Religious Dialogue Commission told Adnkronos International (AKI) in an interview on Wednesday."

adnki.com, Saudi Arabia: Cleric Issues Fatwa Against Female Pilot, 29 June 05: "A Saudi cleric has issued a fatwa making it unlawful for any woman to work as a pilot. Sheikh Yousuf al-Ahmad issued the statement in response to a full-page advert Saudi billionaire Prince Waleed recently took out in several local papers, congratulating Captain Hanadi Zakaria on becoming the first Saudi woman to get a commercial pilot's licence. Waleed has employed Captain Zakaria to work for his company's fleet of private jets ...

" ... Several internet sites run by conservative and extremist Islamic groups have criticised plans to let women pilot aircraft, and these statements have also prompted the cleric to issue his fatwa."

Asharq Alawsat, Samsung launches new Phone for women, the E530 mobile phone, 5 July 05: "Dubai - Samsung launched its E530 mobile phone in the Middle East. The ladies-exclusive phone, which comes packed with rich features such as a fragrance / aromatherapy guide, calorie counter and shopping list, aims to be the ultimate fashion accessory for women seeking the perfect mix of image and style."

LookSmart's FindArticles - Australian Journal of Anthropology, Islamic radicalism online: the Moluccan mission of the Laskar Jihad in cyberspace, Dec 2004 article by Birgit Brauchler, extensively referenced. Only just picked this up (seven months isn't bad for a journal!).

BBC - Radio 3 - Africa on your street, Live 8: Africa Calling Video highlights from the Eden Project show, and numerous other cool links. Something of a soundtrack to this blog ...

Gulf Times Newspaper - Islamic cultural centre seeks to dispel misgivings about Muslims, 4 July, 2005: "It will train students in computers, electronics, music, art and even provide coaching for the prestigious Indian Administrative Service (IAS) examination. But promoters of the India Islamic Cultural Centre coming up here say the main focus would be to 'dispel doubts and misgivings about the Muslim community'." Discusses New Delhi centre.

Reuters AlertNet - Jordan frees spiritual mentor of Qaeda's Zarqawi, 4 July 05 "Issam Barqawi, better known as Sheikh Abu Mohammad al-Maqdisi, 43, was released on June 28 after a six-month detention at intelligence headquarters following his acquittal at a trial of Jordanian and Saudi sympathisers of al Qaeda."

Aljazeera.Net - US censured over internet control, 2 July 2005: "A decision by the US to retain oversight of the computers that control internet traffic has drawn harsh criticism about the lack of independence it could mean for the free-flowing, anything-goes communication network."

Asharq Alawsat, 80 year-old man Sues Ad Firm for False Endorsement, 29 June 2005: "A Saudi citizen is accusing the Saudi Telecommunication Company of using his likeness in an advertisement to promote mobile phone services without his consent. He is demanding financial and moral compensation for the harm incurred by the ad and is seeking a public apology."

Asharq Alawsat, Leader of Algerian Salafi Movement Urged Al Zarqawi to Kidnap French Citizens in Iraq, 3 July 05: "French diplomats living in Algeria asserted that the French government is concerned about a possible alliance between the Algerian fundamentalist organization, 'Salafist Group for Call and Combat' and Al-Qaeda in Iraq led by Abu Musab Al Zarqawi. According to the sources, the alliance will target French citizens who live in Iraq and French interests in general all over the world. French diplomats expressed the concerns of their intelligence services to Asharq Al Awsat saying that the Algerian Salafist Group for Call and Combat wish to integrate with global Jihad."

arabnews.com, Even a Barber in Riyadh, 4 July 2005 opinion piece by Khaled Almaeena: "I disagree with the girl who sent me the e-mail and wanted me to write to Oprah and express my displeasure. Sentences such as 'I am Saudi and I am proud of it' are worn-out cliches. And besides, the damage has been done. I have received many e-mails from Muslims around the world who asked me whether the conditions of women in Saudi Arabia were really that bad. Instead of pumping ourselves up with self-righteous indignation about what has been written about us, we should act."

Middle East Transparent, Saudi Release Web Loggers from Prison, 1 July 2005: "Three web loggers were released Thursday in the city of Najran after spending over 18 months behind bars, and subjected to torture by lashings hundreds of times.

"Ali Al-Dwaic, Fadil Hamad Al-Dwaic, and Manea Saleh Al-Yami were all arrested in span of three months at the end of 2003 and sentenced to two years in prison and 750 lashes by Wahhabi judge Hamad Abdullah Al-Dosary ...

" ... Web monitoring is carried out by King AbdulAziz City of Science and Technology, a government agency that provided internet accesses to the country and is headed by Dr. Saleh Al-Athel. The internet unit at the city tracks down wanted web loggers in cooperation with the Security Affairs Department at Interior Ministry (SAD)."

CPILive.net, UAE authorities intensify campaign against software piracy, 4 July 2005: "The UAE authorities have stepped up efforts to protect Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) by intensifying its campaign against software piracy."