aQ Mujahedeen Secrets 2 revisited

MSNBC, Cyber security, al-Qaida style, 28 Mar 08 Overview, which refers to 'Mujahedeen Secrets 2'. This usefully links to Jeff Bardin, Technical Mujahid - Mujahideen Secrets - Electronic Jihad 3.0, 17 Mar 08 Bardin also posted earlier on this topic: A Gift from the Islamic Faithful Network - Mujahedeen Secrets 2 Program, 3 Feb 08. Bardin provides a useful technical summary. There is plenty more to unpack in the program, given time. I refer to this in my forthcoming book.

Morocco Net Cafe Attacked

Reuters/globalincidentmap.com, Morocco probes possible militant suicide attack, 31 Mar 08 ""Morocco said on Monday it was investigating whether an overnight blast was a militant suicide attack after a man with explosives under his clothes was blown up and three others were wounded at a Casablanca Internet cafe""

Turkey MSN

Hurriyet, Good morning - Turkey Press Scan on Mar 30 "When grandmothers who want to communicate with their grandchildren even turned to internet, Turkey has become the third in the world in use of MSN Messenger with its 25 million subscribers."

Australia

theage.com.au, Talk of terror, 30 March 2008 "Under cross-examination, Samir Mohtadi agreed it was part of his duty as a Muslim to inform himself about the plight of fellow Muslims and that he regards the Government of Israel as a terrorist organisation.

"Young Muslims do access radical views of Islam on the internet, and some have come to him with a burning sense of injustice on which they would like to act, he agreed.

"Remy Van de Wiel, QC for Benbrika, asked if it was "common for people you would have seen as mainstream, moderate, law-abiding young Muslims — it is common for them to be accessing this kind of information?"

"Yes.""

The trial continues

'Satanic Verses' On Stage

AFP, 'Satanic Verses' premiere passes off peacefully, 31 Mar 08

Nikah Online

expressindia.com, Marriage solemnised after 16 months of Internet 'Nikah', 31 Mar 08

""The family had asked top Islamic seminary Darul Uloom Deoband whether Internet marriage was acceptable.

"The Deoband had ruled in favour of marriage under Shariat law through the Internet. However, it had made it clear that such a 'nikah' should be performed in the presence of two witnesses and a 'Wakil' who would solemnise the wedding by announcing the acceptance of the bride and the groom."

Releases

BBC News, Terrorist releases prompt U-turn, 28 Mar 08 IT link to this story.

Wilders (again)

AKI, Ban Ki-moon condemns Internet posting of anti-Koran video, 28 Mar 08, "In a statement issued by his spokesperson after Thursday's posting by Wilders of the film, entitled Fitna, to a video-sharing website, Ban (photo) said: "There is no justification for hate speech or incitement to violence. The right of free expression is not at stake here.""

Censorship

Ya Libnan, Ignorance & censorship continue to shackle the Arab world, 28 Mar 08 "Perhaps the worst thing the Muslim world could to Geert Wilders and his anti-Islam movie, Fitna, is to simply ignore him and it.

"That seemed to be the main reaction to the early release of Fitna, the movie."

Hacked

Reuters, Indonesian ministry Web site hacked over porn ban, 28 Mar 08 "Hackers have defaced the Web site of Indonesia's information ministry in response to a government move to restrict access to pornographic material on the Internet, an official said on Friday."

Also see Asia Times, Indecent exposure in Indonesia, 29 Mar 08 "Indonesia, with an estimated population of over 230 million, is the world's largest Muslim nation. As such, a morality debate has intensified in recent years regarding access to sexually explicit material, specifically as the Internet becomes widely available. Perceptions of so-called Western indulgence and moral decay have alarmed many Indonesians."

That one in turn linked to an interesting article by Maggie Tiojakin, The Jakarta Post, The Sexual Evolution, 10 Mar 08 "The end of the repressive New Order regime along with greater accessibility to information in the cyber-age has opened the floodgates of sexual experimentation in the past decade. While not everybody is doing it, at least they are talking about it."

Hosting

boston.com, Unwittingly hosting terror, 28 Mar 08 "The phenomenon is so common, however, that the Department of Homeland Security and US intelligence agencies have determined that in most cases it's preferable to keep the sites operating as a way of tracking the spread of radical Islam, rather than try to quell them one by one. They also contend that most of the sites attract what one US counterterrorism official called confused individuals who are not believed to pose a significant threat."

Taliban

ABC, Taliban declares 'spring offensive' in Afghanistan, 28 Mar 08 "In a statement posted on Islamist Internet forums, the Taliban's deputy leader, Mullah Bradar Muhammad has vowed to bring down the government of President Hamid Karzai."

Wilders

AFP, Dutch MP posts anti-Islam film on the Internet, 27 Mar 08 "Dutch far-right MP Geert Wilders on Thursday made good his pledge to post a controversial film critical of Islam on the Internet, featuring violent imagery of terrorist attacks in New York and Madrid intertwined with Koranic texts."

BBC News, Cartoonist to sue over Islam film, 28 Mar 08

Mac-less in Damascus

Ya Libnan, Stolen Macbooks exchanged for new Facebook friend in Syria, 25 Mar 08 what happened to stolen macs in Damascus

Syria

Ya Libnan, Syria extends its police state to the Internet, 25 Mar 08 "Syria is cracking down more on Internet use, imposing tighter monitoring of citizens who link to the Web, as well as jailing bloggers who criticize the government and blocking YouTube and other Web sites deemed harmful to state security"

Iraq

AFP, Techno-savvy Iraqis surf the cyber waves, 23 Mar 08 Useful article, with some examples of net use ... including related dangers for one Skype user

aQIM

VOA, Deadline to Free Austrian Hostages in Mali Expires, Captors Silent, 24 Mar 08

aQ

Bloomberg.com, Al-Qaeda Deputy Calls for Strikes on U.S. Interests, AFP Says, 24 Mar 08 ""Al-Qaeda deputy commander Ayman al- Zawahiri today called for strikes against U.S. and Jewish interests in an audio address released on the Internet, Agence France-Presse reported.

""Muslims, today is your day," the news agency cited him as saying. "Strike the interests of the Jews, the Americans and all of those who participated in the attack on the Muslims.""

fitna.com silenced

Telegraph, Internet site banned over 'anti-Islam film', 24 Mar 08 "Website host Network Solutions suspended www.fitna com, the online venue that Geert Wilders, an anti-immigrant Dutch MP, has planned to show a short film condemning the tents of the Mulism faith."

Honey, I'm on the plane ...

BBC News, Mobile calls on Emirates flights, 20 Mar 08 "Dubai-based airline Emirates has become the first commercial airline to allow passengers to make mobile phone calls during flights.

"Emirates said the first permitted mobile phone call was made on a flight between Dubai and Casablanca."

As if listening to other people's phone conversations on trains was not enough...