Anti-Islamic Memes

Rose Deighton, huffingtonpost.com, Anti-Islamic Memes: The Ugly Side of Ignorance on the Internet, 29 Feb 2016

Shutdown of seminaries in Pakistan

indianexpress.com, Pakistan shuts down 254 religions seminaries involved in extremism, 25 Feb 2016 "167 suspected seminaries in Sindh, 13 in Khyber- Pakhtunkhwa, two in Punjab, and 72 unregistered seminaries in Sindh have been closed."

ISIS Is Losing Its Capital

Daily Beast, ISIS Is Losing Its Capital "Pentagon officials are cautiously optimistic that the terror group is entering its death throes, even as it advances on new territory." opinion

Radicalisation processes and the internet

:e Monde, Au procès d’apprentis djihadistes : « Comment j’ai pu être assez bête pour vouloir partir là-bas ? »

'Bearing Witness to the Rise of ISIS: The Story of Anna Therese Day'

Gail Sheehy, jezebel.com, Bearing Witness to the Rise of ISIS: The Story of Anna Therese Day, 25 Feb 2016 "As unlikely as it may seem, the story of Anna Day, an intrepid and slight blonde twentysomething from Idaho with a name like a Beatles song, is entangled with the saga of how peaceful political change sought by young Arab activists collapsed against the genocidal appeal of the ISIS narrative."

'How the changing media is changing terrorism'

Jason Burke, Guardian, How the changing media is changing terrorism, 25 Feb 2016 "New technologies have not only made it possible to produce propaganda with astonishing ease – they have also made it far easier to disseminate these films and images."

Iran to Spend $36 Million on Internet "Smart Filtering," to No Avail

payvand.com, Iran to Spend $36 Million on Internet "Smart Filtering," to No Avail, "“The fate of the Islamic Revolution is tied to cyberspace,” said hardline ideologue Rahimpour Azghadi on February 17, 2016. “We can use existing tools and capacities to spread the great message of the Revolution.”"

U.S. looks to Facebook, private groups to battle online extremism

Reuters, U.S. looks to Facebook, private groups to battle online extremism, 25 Feb 2016 " The U.S. government, acknowledging its limited success in combating Islamic extremist messaging, is recruiting tech companies, community organizations and educational groups to take the lead in disrupting online radicalization."

Isis video targets Twitter and Facebook CEOs over suspended accounts

Guardian, Isis video targets Twitter and Facebook CEOs over suspended accounts, 23 Feb 2016 "Islamic State has released a 25-minute video featuring the faces of Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg being riddled with mock bullet holes."

Saudi religious police arrested after online furore

AFP/Express Tribune, The Express Tribune > World Saudi religious police arrested after online furore, 23 Feb 2016 "Video purportedly shows members of the religious police, who enforce Islamic morality, chasing two women and then roughly handling one of them whose black abaya robe opened to reveal her leg."

Shazia Mirza interview/opinion

Daily Mail, 'ISIS fighters are the One Direction of Islam': Jihadi brides are suckers for terrorists' bad boy sex appeal, says British Muslim comic

'Should Silicon Valley Go to War?'

Fred Kaplan, MIT Technology Review, Should Silicon Valley Go to War?, 23 Feb 2016 "Imagine if hundreds of counter-­messages flooded an ISIS message board, and if at least some of them were designed to appeal to the sorts of people whom intelligence analysts had pegged as susceptible to recruitment. Keeping a propaganda line open—in order to track and possibly manipulate its contents and controllers—might be far more effective than a whack-a-mole attempt to shut it down." I have discussed this in my publications.

Halal Online verification

Business Insider, A Halal verification service has become so popular it's launching an IPO in London " ... Malaysia-based DagangHalal has created an online verification service for Muslims that allows people to check whether a product is fit for consumption under Shariah law. This not only includes food and drink but also "consumer goods and personal care, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, science and new technologies and hospitality and leisure amongst others.""

Smartphone Ownership and Internet Usage Continues to Climb in Emerging Economies

Jacob Poushter, Pew Research Center,Smartphone Ownership and Internet Usage Continues to Climb in Emerging Economies [PDF] "In many advanced economies, the ubiquity of the internet is now a given. It permeates commerce, social interactions, politics, culture and daily life. But this is not the case in all parts of the world. And while internet access continues to grow in poorer nations, there is still a long way to go before the world is completely wired."

'Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World'

The new edition of the 'Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World', edited by Richard C. Martin (Gale, 2016) is out. It includes a small contribution from myself, on Islam and social media.

Heavy Metal Egypt

al-monitor.com, How heavy metal music is causing a stir in Egypt "Nader Sadek, an Egyptian metal music performer, said on his Facebook page Jan. 7 that a Masters of the Middle East concert will be held Feb. 20 at Amoun Hotel in Giza featuring four famous metal bands: Inquisition (United States), Perversion (United Arab Emirates), Smouldering in Forgotten (Bahrain) and Al-Azif (Egypt)." The significance of this in terms of this blog is the importance of social media in promoting heavy metal music in Egypt.

Sunni Shia Splits?

Radio 4, File on 4, Sunni Shia Splits?    "Are international conflicts creating tensions between Sunni and Shia Muslims in the UK?

"Shabnam Mahmood reports from both Sunni and Shia communities and reveals how divisive messages from the Middle East are fuelling intolerance here."

I thought this was a useful programme. There was some content in relation to the role of the internet in promoting diverse agendas (and in some cases discord)

Tutlub

Katie Collins, cnet.com, Muslims seek safe haven in Tutlub social network " Tutlub, which means "to ask" in Arabic, stands in contrast to the fear that social networks have become recruitment tools for extremist groups such as ISIS. Instead, the social network is a place for Muslims to discuss their faith, seek guidance and read curated content. Hassan also wants the site to monitor and counter the spread of propaganda."

Getting the World Online

BBC, Getting the World Online "Billions of the world’s poorest people have no access to the internet. Connectivity is growing fast in many parts of the globe, but not everywhere. In large parts of Africa and South Asia, for example, the barriers to joining the information age are simply too great. So why has the Indian government just banned Facebook and others from operating free-access platforms to provide internet access? And why do some of the most influential advocates of a free-for-all internet support the Indian ban? In this week’s Newshour Extra, Owen Bennett Jones and his guests discuss why it matters that the world’s poorest are able to use the internet, and ask what can be done to achieve universal access for all?" Useful programme, worth a listen!

LinkedIn Jihadi

Telegraph, Security services hunt Jihadi John recruiter after he revealed his location on LinkedIn, 13 Feb 2016 "Birmingham terrorist Rabah Tahari inadvertently disclosed his whereabouts by joining the Linkedin professional networking site."