'The Islamic world’s Nude Spring'

Joseph Mayton, bikyamasr.com, The Islamic world’s Nude Spring, 6 Dec 2011 opinion piece: "So when Mahdy removed her clothes, she undressed the liberals and their calls for freedom. Obviously, in their mind, she made a mistake. She was wrong. Nudity has no place in Egypt. But for the millions of women, who on a daily basis face sexual harassment, assault and categorical oppression from all sides, she did what no activist has been able to do. She won. She told the world that her body is owned by nobody other than herself. Disagree with the tactic, fine, but one must, if they truly espouse the idea of freedom of expression, support her in her cause."

'Islamic cleric bans women from touching bananas ...'

bikyamasr.com, Islamic cleric bans women from touching bananas, cucumbers for sexual resemblance, 6 Dec 2011 "One reader said that these religious “leaders” give Islam “a bad name” and another commented said that he is a “retarded” person and he must quite his post immediately. "Others called him a seeker of fame, but no official responses from renowned Islamic scholars have been published on the statements." Allegations widely circulating online ...

Apps: Islamic Architecture Wallpaper

android-apps.com, Islamic Architecture Wallpaper Haven't tried this one yet

#egypt

National Post, Charlie Sheen and Egypt top Twitter's top hashtags of 2011, 7 Dec 2011 "Twitter has released a list of the top hashtags of 2011 and the results fluctuate between the most trivial and serious, with the top two being #egypt and #tigerblood"

Rajasthan Music

BBC, Imagine, Winter 2011, The Lost Music of Rajasthan "Imagine takes a road trip round the desert state of Rajasthan." Very interesting programme.

Jihadists' Social Media

nationaljournal.com, Jihadists' Use of Social Media 'Not a Game Changer,' Experts Tell Congress "Islamic militants may use the Internet to keep connected but it’s not a big terrorist recruitment tool, experts told the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence on Tuesday."

Afghan shrine blasts

BBC News, Shias targeted in deadly Afghan shrine blasts, 6 Dec 2011 "At least 60 people killed in twin attacks targeting Shia Muslims marking Ashoura in Kabul and Mazar-e-Sharif."

'Congress tries to counter terrorist social media propaganda'

AHN/GantDaily.com, Congress tries to counter terrorist social media propaganda, 5 Dec 2011 "So far, U.S. government efforts against online recruiting by jihadists have involved tracking the information to see who is publishing it. Government public relations personnel also counter extremist propaganda with public information campaigns. "The subcommittee on counterterrorism and intelligence wants to know what more can be done without trampling free speech."

'No more virginity in Saudi if women drive, says council'

Sharifa Ghanem, bikyamasr.com, No more virginity in Saudi if women drive, says council, 2 Dec 2011 "If women were allowed to drive in Saudi Arabia, the result would be catastrophic and lead to “no more virgins,” said clerics from the Majlis al-Ifta al-Aala, the country’s highest religious council."

'Egyptian cameraman at the heart of the Tahrir Square clashes'

Guardian, Egyptian cameraman at the heart of the Tahrir Square clashes, 2 Dec 2011 "A jerky six-and-a-half minute video by a local journalist could be the most important document of the recent violent conflict."

Syria-EU

EUObserver, EU lacks will for Iran oil ban, Syria intervention, 1 Dec 2011 "The bloc also added 12 people and 11 entities to its Syria blacklist. The new measures will block Damascus from trading bonds, buying insurance, opening bank branches in the EU, buying oil and gas equipment and buying internet and phone snooping kit (an Italian firm was up until two weeks ago installing email interception equipment for Syrian intelligence in Damascus)."

Net filtering issues

rsf.org, New Internet filtering system condemned as backdoor censorship, 2 Dec 2011 "An Internet content filtering system that Turkey’s Information Technologies and Communications Authority (BTK) introduced on 22 November is proving controversial both domestically and abroad. The outcry has coincided with a conference on the Internet in Turkey that began in the southwestern city of Izmir on 30 November."

SalamWorld.com

AFP/alarabiya.net, Businessmen unveil plans for ‘Muslim Facebook’, 1 Dec 2011 "Based in Istanbul, with offices in Moscow and Cairo and coordinators in 30 countries, the site hopes to attract 50 million users within three years, Azimov told about 150 journalists from Muslim countries at the company’s luxurious Istanbul offices.

"“The heart of the project is to create a network without any content that is prohibited by religion,” said [Akhmed] Azimov, a Dagestan native. “To achieve this, we will have a big team of moderators and there will be filters.”"

Stuxnet

Jim Finkle, Reuters/alarabiya.net, Conficker worm could be key to Stuxnet attack on Iran, 1 Dec 2011 "A cyber warfare expert claims he has linked the Stuxnet computer virus that attacked Iran’s nuclear program in 2010 to Conficker, a mysterious “worm” that surfaced in late 2008 and infected millions of PCs. "Conficker was used to open back doors into computers in Iran, then infect them with Stuxnet, according to research from John Bumgarner, a retired U.S. Army special-operations veteran and former intelligence officer."

Al-Qaeda says group kidnapped American in Pakistan

alarabiya.net, Al-Qaeda says group kidnapped American in Pakistan, 2 Dec 2011 "Al-Qaeda has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping of an American man in Pakistan and demanded the release of prisoners and an end to air strikes in Muslim countries in exchange for his freedom, according to an Internet statement.

"Qaeda leader, Ayman al-Zawahri, also said in an audio recording issued on Islamist websites late on Thursday that a senior Qaeda leader based in Pakistan known as Attiyatullah had been killed in a U.S. air strike in August."

Egypt updates

AlJazeera Live Blog Egypt updates on current situation

GCHQ spy recruitment code solved

Telegraph, GCHQ spy recruitment code solved, 1 Dec 2011 "The code which GCHQ, the intelligence agency, posted online to recruit a new generation of tech-savvy spies has been solved within hours of going online."

'Lebanon's intelligence war'

aljazeera.com, Lebanon's intelligence war "With reports of the CIA shutting down in Beirut, Al Jazeera explores the extent of intelligence infiltration in Lebanon."

Mehanna trial

The Boston Globe, Mehanna did not regret trip to Yemen, US alleges, 1 Dec 2011 "Tarek Mehanna did not regret the trip to Yemen in 2004 that became the center of the terrorism case against him. He told his close friend, Kareem Abuzahra, that he would do it again, according to evidence introduced yesterday in Mehanna’s trial in US District Court in Boston."

Shi'a Muslims Muharram online discourse

The Times of India, Thousands take part in Muharram discourses in city, 1 Dec 2011 "For the Shias, attending Muharram majlis is part of faith and those who cannot be physically present in mosques for majlis either catch the discourses on channels like the World Islamic Network (WIN) TV or on iPhones internet and YouTube."