Tuesday, November 30, 2004

Slashdot | Former Turkish DMOZ Editor Draws 10 Months In Jail "H. Ertas, a Turkish editor of the Open Directory Project (www.dmoz.org) has been sentenced to 10 months in prison after being found guilty of editing a category about the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK)."
Aljazeera.Net - UK Muslims get help from the Bard
Censor Anti-Islamic Books? [Weblog] - Daniel Pipes Brief reference to a book by Craig Winn entitled "Prophet of Doom: Islam's Terrorist Dogma, In Muhammad's Own Words" - which is available on the Internet and in print. Pipes' discussion refers to the issue of whether censorship of such a volume (which has a negative perspective on Islam) is appropriate.
Project for the Research of Islamist Movements, PRISM Occasional Papers no. 4 vol. 2 (2004) -- Qaradhawi and the World Association of Muslim Clerics: The New Platform of the Muslim Brotherhood the latest paper from Dr Reuben Paz, from the Project for the Research of Islamist Movements based in Israel.
TIME Asia Magazine: Death on Flight 974 -- Dec. 06, 2004 non-tech, significant story
RAND: Out of the Ordinary - Finding Hidden Threats by Analyzing Unusual Behavior Links to PDF report whose abstract promises the following (I haven't tackled this one yet!): "The Atypical Signal Analysis and Processing schema identifies atypical behavior potentially related to terror activity; puts it into context; generates and tests hypotheses; and focuses analysts’ attention on the most significant findings. A supporting conceptual architecture and specific techniques for identifying and analyzing out-of-the-ordinary information are also described."
CNN.com - Log on to be a satellite spy - Nov 30, 2004
"Global transparency, driven by new media and low cost technologies, shape the strategic landscape." Defense Sicence Board Task Force on Strategic Communication referred to in the report below.
Asia Times - Pentagon uncovers propaganda failures: "Al-Qaeda and radical Islamists are winning the propaganda war against the United States, says a high-level Pentagon panel, which concluded that President George W Bush's administration's policies in the Middle East, its fundamental failure to understand the Muslim world and a lack of imagination in using new communications technologies are responsible. "
Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Special report: Young, Muslim and British
Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | British Muslims want Islamic law and prayers at work: "Muslims in Britain want greater recognition of their faith with the introduction of Islamic law for civil cases and time off for prayers during the working day, but are equally committed to greater participation in British life. "
Reuters.com, Al Qaeda's Zawahri Says Will Keep Fighting U.S., Nov 29, 2004 "Al Qaeda's deputy leader Ayman al-Zawahri said in a videotape broadcast Monday al Qaeda would continue to attack the United States until Washington changed its policies toward the Muslim world.

""We are a nation of patience and we will continue fighting you (United States) until the last hour," Zawahri said in the excerpts of the tape aired on Arab television Al Jazeera."

Monday, November 29, 2004

CBS News | Spy Ring At Gitmo? | November 29, 2004 "The U.S. servicemen were described as al Qaeda sympathizers in newspapers across the country. But today, they have come to represent something entirely different.

"They are victims of a growing catalogue of botched terrorism investigations -- cases that start out with a bang of charges but ultimately collapse with a whimper, Correspondent Lesley Stahl reports ...

" ... "What happened was the computer analyst screwed up the analysis early on. Determined that he thought that the stuff had been sent over the Internet," says Key. "And then within weeks, they were told by the No. 3 computer investigator in the Air Force that wasn’t true."

Asia Pacific Media Network :: US: US general calls for bolder action to stop 'Muslim extremism' "Among the international measures Gen Abizaid singled out as key is treating people who contribute money to the Salafist movement no differently than people who carry out beheadings, he said.

""The truth of the matter is we have to be bold in our discussion and we need to make liable the people who are financially contributing to this organization as the criminals they are," he said."

Radio Australia - News - Internet allows al Qaeda to create 'Virtual Caliphate' "Chief of the US Central Command General John Abizaid says curbs are needed to prevent the Internet and other media from being used by groups like al-Qaeda." Doesn't suggest a methodology, however.
AP Wire | 11/27/2004 | Extremism Worries Muslims in Britain " ... Yasin Rehman, a spokesman at the moderate Council of Mosques in Luton, a poor city north of London, said al-Muhajiroun remains an active recruiter under different names. Such groups hold private meetings and study circles, and distribute leaflets at mosques that condemn the death of civilians in the fighting in Fallujah as "genocide.""
Economist.com | Charlemagne: " ... Mr Wilders quotes Dutch academics who estimate that around 10-15% of the Dutch population of 1m Muslims sympathise with jihadist ideology. He says that the 150 suspected terrorists should be deported or imprisoned immediately. But he also demands a similar fate for those Dutch citizens who endorse jihadist ideology, whether in print, in a sermon or in an internet chat-room."
MSNBC - From civic activist to alleged murderer
Muslim Youth Have a New Home: IBN's Youth Page a Hit : Culture and Community News- Onlypunjab.com: "The Islamic Broadcasting Network, IBN, is the first radio network broadcasting 24-hour daily news and programs to the Muslim community in the United States and abroad via its Internet webcast at www.ibn.net. IBN is an affiliate of the Islamic Media Foundation, a national non-profit organization based in the Washington DC area."
Newsday.com - World News, A jihadist’s journey: How a young Saudi transformed into a religious soldier ready for martyrdom on the streets of Fallujah: "Postings on Islamist Web sites about other Saudis who died in Iraq contain similar stories of improbable heroics and descriptions of the fighters dying in blazing gun battles that kill many U.S. troops. Such postings are part of the propaganda apparatus that draws new recruits into the jihad."
Islam-Online, Albrecht Hofheinz, Islam on the Internet: Progress or Radicalization? online dialogue from 25 Nov 04

Wednesday, November 24, 2004

Middle East Online, Iraqi groups threaten to intensify attacks, 24 November 2004: "The group led by Iraq's most wanted man joined other extremist Islamists and Saddam Hussein's old Baath party to threaten increased attacks on US-led forces following the international conference on Iraq, an Internet statement said Wednesday.

"'We are committed to intensifying armed attacks against coalition forces and their spies and agents... in response to the Sharm el-Sheikh conference, a sordid and suspect farce,' said the statement signed by groups including the Al-Qaeda Group in the Land of Two Rivers (Iraq) of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi."

aljazeerah.info, When Seeing Is Not Believing By Linda Heard Intriguing opinion piece [not from al-Jazeera.net!], "So nice of the terrorist to put up an Al-Qaeda sign on the wall just in case his visitors were confused about where they were, and it was even nicer of him to leave behind computers bursting with intelligence goodies so that all his friends and associates can be traced. Shades of the Jessica Lynch show, courtesy of Pentagon Productions, or evidence that America’s enemy No. 2 is deficient in gray matter? You decide."

Tuesday, November 23, 2004

IHT.com, Central America, the forgotten frontier, "Adnan Shukrijumah, a Saudi Qaeda operative also known as the "next Mohammed Atta" and listed as one of the FBI's most wanted terrorists, was spotted in an Internet cafe in Tegucigalpa, Honduras."
Guardian Unlimited | Online | Google puts new slant on scholarship
Guardian Unlimited | The Guardian | Security services play down 'terror plot'
Daily Times - Conference on Al Qaeda next month
FrontPage magazine.com :: Moderate Muslims and Arabs Emerge from the Shadows by Cinnamon Stillwell
IslamOnline - “My Islam” on the Internet, 22 November 2004 review of a lecture by Dr Albrecht Hofheinz.
Terrorists turn up the dial in global PR war | csmonitor.com ""If they can communicate [through] these tapes to us, and not worry about getting caught, they can communicate clandestinely to their followers," says Brian Jenkins, a terror expert at the RAND Corp. in Santa Monica, Calif. "This suggests there's a bit of machinery working here.""
NPR : Europe, Islam's New Front Line: Germany part of an NPR series (includes audio links)
BBC NEWS | World | Middle East | Arab TV eyes reform agenda
BBC NEWS | World | Africa | Telecoms thriving in lawless Somalia, 19 Nov 04 excellent article on telecoms in Somalia, including photos of users and mini-interviews
BBC NEWS | World | Middle East | Saudi 'to sue jihadist scholars'
BBC NEWS | Technology | Multi-purpose TV aids India
IHT.com, Tunisia: Behind the Western mask "Until recently, people wanting to use Tunisian Internet cafes, which are owned or supervised directly or indirectly by the state, were asked to present ID cards or their addresses. It is ironic, then, that Tunis succeeded in attracting the world's most prestigious summit on the free exchange of information."

Friday, November 19, 2004

AP/Journal News, A former North Salem man accused of e-mailing threats and insults to a Muslim group has pleaded not guilty.
EURSOC: Sticky End For French Jihad
Guardian Unlimited | The Guardian | Simon Tisdall: Islamists shift focus to Europe as jihad enters third phase refers to Gilles Kepels book (previously blogged)
New York Times/IHT, A Muslim braves Europe's secular zealots opinion piece by Irshad Manji, on her travels in Europe
Global Guerrillas: EPIDEMIC INSURGENCY (Part 1) "Iraq's insurgency is both growing and innovating quickly."
sfgate.com, U.S. finds suspected terror headquarters / Wanted Jordanian's letters inside house
Queens Chronicle - South Edition: "The ATF has also closely monitored cigarette sales over the last five years, during which time black market sales have risen dramatically. The agency has linked some illegal cigarette sales to the terrorist groups Hezbollah and al Qaeda." two stories on the same theme (see below) with same references to groups
How illicit labels may fund terror - National - www.theage.com.au: "The International Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition, an organisation of trademark owners and professional investigators, claims it has established links between the counterfeit trade, organised crime and the terrorism organisations al-Qaeda and Hezbollah. It says they are using the sale of fake goods to raise and launder money." refers to ebay being awash with such fake goods (hence inclusion here). curious to see the data on this one
TCS: Tech Central Station - Crossing the Fossa Regia brief reference to internet cafes in this overview of travelling in Tunisia

Thursday, November 18, 2004

No place to hide - Anti-Terror Watch - www.smh.com.au, 17 Nov 04: "Dr Alan Dupont, a former intelligence analyst now with the Lowy Institute for International Policy in Sydney, confirms 'there is no doubt that the intelligence agencies would be very happy if a lot of this off-the-shelf, high-grade cryptography was not available. Unfortunately it is, and terrorists are availing themselves of it.'"
CBS5.com - Special Report: Al Qaeda Online: "Security experts say that every moment these sites are up and accessible, they encourage other jihadists to commit acts of terrorism. Now, there's new evidence that this material is being broadcast from right here in the Bay Area." [as discussed in Islam in the Digital Age
AP/NEWS.com.au | Swedish ISP shuts al-Qaida site (November 17, 2004): "A WEB site that reportedly contained speeches by Suleiman Abu Ghaith, an alleged spokesman for Osama bin Laden, was shut down today by a Swedish internet provider after the site was traced to its server.

"Spray Network, a subsidiary of Lycos Europe, shut the site down after being informed of the site, Spray Network spokesman Fredrik Skaerheden said "

The report notes that MEMRI 'traced' the site to the server.
Terror Informant Ignites Himself Near White House (washingtonpost.com)
Aljazeera.Net - Fallujans pay the price of liberation opinion piece by Dr Muhamad Ayash al-Kubaisi from Iraq's Association of Muslim Scholars
The Times, Germans fear Islamic unrest, 17 Nov 04 "Islamic preachers in Germany have been told that they may be ordered to deliver their sermons in German rather than in Arabic in an attempt to halt racist diatribes." Media-related (rather than net related) but some interesting comments, in particular from Bassam Tibi.

BBC NEWS | World | South Asia | Karachi police kill Pearl suspect
BBC NEWS | World | South Asia | Pakistan's taboo on sex abuse

Wednesday, November 17, 2004

MEMRI: Islamist Websites and their Hosts Part II: Clerics to be read in conjunction with Islamist Websites and Their Hosts Part I: Islamist Terror Organizations
IFILM, Submission link to Theo van Gogh's controversial film 'Submission'. There's a discussion on the film on MuslimWakeUp! entitled 'Irresponsible Art and Tragic Death: Theo Van Gogh's 'Submission'', written by Naeem Mohaiemen from shobak.org. Have to admit that I haven't seen the film yet, having just found these links.
Times Online - Last moments of woman who knew she was to die
ABC - Aid group says it will try to keep working in Iraq
MSNBC - Internet video used to foment insurgency
WorldWide Religious News, Muhammad at the Movies: Venerated, and Animated
Aljazeera.Net - Marines probed as Falluja battle rages
Aljazeera.Net - Tape shows aid worker's alleged killing "Aljazeera, however, on Tuesday decided not to broadcast the video as it could not be sure that the woman was Hassan. An Aljazeera official said the channel would also not air it out of respect for the feelings of its audience."

Tuesday, November 16, 2004

BBC NEWS | World | Americas | Animated Islam comes to US screens

This was blogged last week, but this article gives more detail. It has not been released in the UK, so I haven't had a chance to see it yet. There's a mini trailer on Fine Media Group's website, which also contains photos, posters (long download time), and al-Azhar approval for the film.

Dr Ziauddin Sardar presents a paper on Ilm, Islam and the Internet as part of the Islam Season at the Globe Theatre, 25th November 2004. Details: 020 7401 9919 [details via EmelMagazine.com]
The Internet Security Key - Engadget - www.engadget.com "You plug it in between your PC and your cable or DSL modem, and once you remove its special card key there’s no way for your six-year-old to get online and download porn or illegally share music or visit any al-Qaeda websites ..."
kitsapsun.com: National, Terrorist leader al-Zarqawi may have used the Internet to call for attacks across Iraq:
How Language Evolves, How It Is Lost, How It Changes in Science & Spirit Magazine, Onlypunjab.com
CNN presents 'Kingdom on the Brink' - AME Info Business News
Reuters | Latest Financial News / Full News Coverage: "Al Qaeda militants have defied a crackdown and the loss of senior leaders in Saudi Arabia by using the Internet to win over new recruits in Osama bin Laden's birthplace."
Scotsman.com News - Latest News - Marine Removed from Front after Prisoner Shot Dead

Monday, November 15, 2004

New York Times/IHT, Programming Africans' linguistic needs:
Islam Online, Combat Games Appeal to Mosul Children in ‘Eid "Failing to go to the parks, play their favorite hide-and-seek and eat delicious kahk marking the start of ‘Eid Al-Fitr in the Muslim world, heavyhearted children of the northern Iraqi city of Mosul have turned to fake weapons and grenades driven by a strong desire of emulating what happens on the ground."
Islam Online, Pakistanis Bid Ramadan Farewell With “Shabina”
Pentagon's $20bn war internet will 'cure world hunger' | The Register: "While inadequately-protected soldiers are being shot in Iraq, the US government expects to spend $200bn on 'a new internet' for the Department of Defense, the New York Times reports today. The Global Information Grid, or GIG, is a ten-year project to provide a completely new information network uniting the services."
arabnews.com, Musharraf and Aziz Stress on Fostering Unity, Brotherhood
arabnews.com, Muslims Are Not Terrorists: Yudhoyono
Sunday Times, London Muslim puts film of Black Watch deaths on net: "A British-based Saudi dissident has provoked anger by posting a video on his website that apparently shows the killing of three Black Watch soldiers by a suicide bomber. "

Saturday, November 13, 2004

Friday, November 12, 2004



This is the cover of al Battar 22, which contains detailed strategic and tactical information(see below). Located through Global Islamic Media.
Northeast Intelligence Network, Al Battar 22 explains how to create a terror cell, write intelligence reports details of the new edition of al-Battar
AP, Tape encourages fighters in Fallujah
Reuters/sierratimes.com, Zarqawi Tape Says Falluja Victory Certain-Web Site: "'We have no doubt that the signs of God's victory will appear on the horizon,' said the speaker, who sounded like Zarqawi in the tape posted on Web sites used by Islamists.

"'O you heroes of Islam in Falluja ... don't be selfish with your lives,' said the voice, which the Web sites said was Zarqawi. 'America and those with them felt the winds of jihad (holy war) which will shake their thrones and foundations.' "
CBC News: Purported tape of al-Zarqawi claims victory is near: "A five-minute message from Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was posted on a Muslim website Friday as American and Iraqi soldiers pushed into the southern part of the central Iraqi city on the fourth day of their offensive. "
casperstartribune.net, Reports: Student 'obsessed with jihad', 11 Nov 04: "Walker was arrested Saturday while crossing into El Paso, Texas, from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, where prosecutors say he was using an Internet cafe to line up a meeting with someone known as 'Khalid' at the El Paso airport Saturday afternoon, reported the Democrat and Chronicle of Rochester, N.Y.

"That newspaper also quoted an FBI source as saying Walker was posting on an Internet forum under the names of 'Abdullah' and 'Abdullah313.' Among the comments he allegedly made: 'I hate the U.S. gov't; I wish I could have been flying one of the planes on Sept. 11.'"
BBC NEWS | Technology | Toxic web links help virus spread
BBC NEWS | Magazine | Black, Muslim and Gay: "It's my story: Black, Muslim and Gay" was broadcast last night on Radio 4. This (often controversial) issue is discussed in my writings, in relation to online identities. You can listen to the programme by clicking here
Economist.com | Islamic terrorism in Europe "After the Van Gogh murder, calls for Europe's open societies to be more aggressive towards Islamic radicals can only get louder."
Al-Qaida denies the killing of al-Oufi Nayef: "... the supporters of-Qaida organization in Saudi Arabia denied yesterday reports which announced the killing of their leader Saleh al-Oufi. But they did not give more light of the fate of the man who is largely believed to have had assumed the leadership of the organization in June and the disappeared from the scene."
The Cornell Daily Sun - Panel Discusses Threat of Cyberterrorism at Workshop
U.S. seeks extradition of Briton linked to al Qaeda - The Washington Times: Nation/Politics - November 12, 2004: "U.S. authorities are seeking to extradite from Britain a 30-year-old British computer specialist accused of running Web sites in this country to promote jihad and funnel cash to terrorist organizations, including al Qaeda." This relates to the case of Babar Ahmad (previously blogged here)
Middle East Transparent - Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi 'lone wolf' manipulated by ISI and Saudi Intelligence, 10 Nov 04
FrontPage magazine.com :: The Moderate Muslim Manifesto by MEMRI, 12 Nov 04: "On October 24, 2004, the liberal Arab websites www.elaph.com and www.metransparent.com published a manifesto written by Arab liberals, in which they petition the U.N. to establish an international tribunal which would prosecute terrorists, as well as people and institutions, primarily religious clerics, that incite terrorism."
AlterNet: MediaCulture: Farnaz Fassihi, Baghdad Diary "In August CJR asked Farnaz Fassihi, The Wall Street Journal’s Middle East correspondent, to keep a journal of her life in Iraq, where she had been since before the war, and where reporters were finding it difficult to do their job. In September, just after she sent us her report, Fassihi sent an e-mail to friends and relatives — something she does regularly. Usually, she says, these e-mails are chatty, but this one reflected her observations on an ominous sea-change: “The genie of terrorism, chaos, and mayhem has been unleashed . . . as a result of American mistakes.” Within days her private note had popped up on the Internet and circulated far and wide, even making an appearance in Doonesbury."
AlterNet: War on Iraq: Misreading Islam refers to The Arab Development Report in relation to internet access (discussed in Islam in the Digital Age)
canada.com, A hero, a monster, a Mideast icon
Scotsman.com News - Latest News - Tears from A Daughter as Arafat's Body Is Flown Home

Wednesday, November 10, 2004

BBC NEWS | Programmes | From Our Own Correspondent | Fond farewell for Sheikh Zayed
BBC NEWS | Programmes | From Our Own Correspondent | Radical change for Pakistan's tribal elders non tech, but important nevertheless.
Reuters/MSNBC - Critics of Islam on edge after murder, 8 Nov 04
Sunday Times, Politics: The War for Muslim Minds by Gilles Kepel review of the book (reviewer: Malise Ruthven)
The Command Post - Iraq - Islamist Website Urges Iraqis to Stay Home "The statement, in the name of eight known militant groups, said the unified “Islamic resistance” would step up operations against the “American enemy” in retaliation for the US-led attack on the insurgent stronghold of Fallujah."
Asia Pacific Media Network :: Iran: Tehran steps up arrests of journalists follow-up story on Iranian censorship issues.
BBC NEWS | Magazine | An online war for hearts and minds: "The battle for Muslim minds is not being fought by radicals in Falluja or in the mosques. It is being fought on the net. And one of Europe's experts on Islam in the West says governments must rethink how they are going to win this war." This relates to Gilles Kepel's new book, The War for Muslim Minds, which has picked up on the theme of the significance of the internet in Islamic discourse. I look forward to reading this one ...

Tuesday, November 09, 2004

Guardian Unlimited | Gallery | 09.11.04: Inside Falluja Ghaith Abdul-Ahad's columns, including photographs
Times Online - British hostage calls home from Afghanistan
More on the mobile phone issue:

Khaleej Times Online, Saudi ministries propose lifting ban on mobile phones with cameras, 9 Nov 04: "Four Saudi ministries have submitted requests to the Royal Court to permit mobile phones with cameras in the kingdom, the local Arab News reported Tuesday.

"The ministries were basing their requests on the fact that cellular phones with cameras are a technological achievement equal to television and the Internet."
bushcountry.org, Internet Service Provider Promises To Shut Down Location Showing Beheadings And More - By Jeremy Reynalds

Aljazeera.Net - Hospital hit as fighting rages in Falluja: "Another Sunni grouping, the Association of Muslim Scholars (AMS) urged the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and the Arab League secretary-general and 'all those who live with a conscience around the world' to be aware of the 'massacres and elimination war' in Falluja. "
Bin Laden video spreads a worm for 'The Hobbit' - ZDNet UK News "Security experts are warning that an email claiming to contain a video of Osama Bin Laden’s reaction to the US election, signed by The Hobbit, contains a worm."
Suspected hacking mastermind on 'most wanted' list - ZDNet UK News
AP/Enquirer, Fallujah a place of mosques, piety
More on last week;s announcement by scholars, which featured on the al-Islam al-Youm pages: arabicnews.com, Saudi scholars: al-Jihad is a duty in Iraq; a call to avoid sedition: "The signatories of the statement which was addressed to the 'militant Iraqi people' stressed the 'special situations our people in Iraq are facing for whom support should be given together with exchanging view and consultation.' Among signatories of the message were the jurisprudence teacher at Imam Muhammad Bin Saud University in Riyadh, Sheikh Ahmad al-Khudeiri, the teacher of Sharia in Um al-Qura university ( Mecca), Sheikh Ahmad al-Abdul Latif, the ' Fiqh ' teacher in former Um al- Qura university, Sheikf Safar al-Hawali, the supervisor for ' Islam al-Youm' establishment, Sheikh Salman Bin fahd al-Odeh, Sheikh Awad al-Qarni and Sheikh Nasser al-Mar."
Jihad Unspun - No Cakewalk Yesterday For US Forces Against “Lions Of Fallujah”
City Journal Autumn 2004 | Homeland Security? Not Yet by Heather Mac Donald

Monday, November 08, 2004

Sunday Times, Suicide squads await US troops' assault on Falluja This is an extract from Hala Jaber's on-site report from Falluja, which refers specifically to the types of videos widely available on the internet [although I don't link to them on these pages]:

"As the night wore on, some of the men sat around the computer watching videos of “resistance actions” as the bombs continued to shake their city...

" ...The men watching this film, although not fighters themselves, analysed his actions and the quick reactions of the sniper much as a group of youths might replay a controversial moment in a football match. They concluded that the Shi’ite was an amateur compared with the Sunni insurgents who would soon be squaring up to the American marines in Falluja."
Reporters sans frontieres - The Internet under surveillance 2004 country-by-country analysis, including a number of Muslim/Islamic contexts
payvand.com, Women's media, rights groups urged to take action after second woman arrested on Internet-related charges in Iran "The latest arrest is that of Mahboudeh Abbasgholizadeh, the editor of Ferzaneh, a magazine about women's issues, who was detained on 1 November on her return from London, where she took part in the European Social Forum. Police searched her Tehran home, confiscating her computer hard drive and other items."

The New York Times > International > Middle East > Iran Jails More Journalists and Blocks Web Sites "Iran has continued its crackdown on journalists, with two arrests in the past week, and has moved against pro-democracy Web sites, blocking hundreds of sites in recent months and making several arrests."
AP/iranian.ws, Saudi Religious Scholars Call for "Holy War" - Persian Journal Latest Iran news & Iranian Article News paper "The 26 Saudi scholars and preachers said in an open letter to the Iraqi people that their appeal was prompted by "the extraordinary situation through which the Iraqis are passing which calls for unity and exchange of views." The letter was posted on the Internet."
Mathaba.Net News/Jihad Unspun, Iraqi Resistance: Who's Who Part 3
Telegraph, Al-Qaeda calls for release of British hostage in Iraq
Al Qaeda's newest weapon - The Washington Times: Commentary - November 07, 2004
Sunday Tribune, Media frenzy make beheadings weapon of choice
AFP/turkishpress.com, Zarqawi group claims string of deadly Iraq attacks more details on this video
Islam Online, Southern Baghdad Forgotten Resistance Bastion "He recalled how US-backed Iraqi troops set fire to Al-Sidik Islamic library in the city, stole personal computers, telephones, videos, while leaving copies of the Noble Qur’an devoured by flames.

"The other day, they burnt out Al-Forqan Islamic library after stealing its computers, photocopiers and arresting its four employees."
Guardian Unlimited | The Guardian | Blast hits Dutch Muslim school "The Wall Street Journal today reported that investigators believed the murder suspect had contacts with Islamic militants in Spain and that the order to kill van Gogh may even have come from a fugitive militant in Spain. The main suspect was carrying a pamphlet threatening death to enemies of Islam."
ThisisLondon (Evening Standard), Video shows 'Black Watch bomb' : "A video claiming to show the suicide bomb attack which killed three Black Watch soldiers has been posted on an Islamic website. "
Murder fuels fears among Dutch "The Dutch police on Saturday arrested two men in their 20s for allegedly distributing a video on the Internet that promised "paradise" for the beheading of Geert Wilders, an increasingly popular right-wing politician who often speaks out on the dangers of radical Islam, according to the Netherlands Press Agency. Police also detained a sixth suspect in the van Gogh killing."

Friday, November 05, 2004

E:M | Worrying death threat Iranian bloggrs have received death threats by a blog called 'Islamic Army', for alleged "'insults' to Allah, Prophet Mohammad and other Shia Imams."
AFP/TurkishPress.com, Islamist web surfers foresee World War III after Bush re-election "Radical Islamists used the Internet Thursday to vent their anger at US President George W. Bush's re-election, with one accusing the American people of choosing "the logic of war"."

Zaman.com, Al-Masri Brigade Threatens US with 'Unbearable Hell', The European leg of Al-Qaeda, the Abu Hafs Al-Asri Brigade posted a statement on an internet site threatening Americans for electing Bush again. "The upcoming days will show you that the person you elected will take you to an unbearable hell."

Intelligence.org.il, Hatred and Terrorism, Critique from an Israeli organisation of the Hamas online children's magazine al-Fateh (and related materials).

International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, Jerusalem pioneers wireless web in some sectors only...

NY Times/SF Gate, Risky film for lesbian, gay Muslims, "Sharma has conducted interviews throughout North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East, in countries like Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Egypt. Many of the people he interviewed were found through the Internet."

CNN Presents Classroom Edition - Educator Guide, Kingdom on the Brink: The Battle for Saudi Arabia

Thursday, November 04, 2004

Top tech nations revealed | The Register
USA Today/WorldWide Religious News, In Malaysia, 'Islamic civilization' is promoted
Reuters/WorldWide Religious News, Banna Family Illustrates Complexities of Modern Islam "In an irony that illustrates the ferment in Islamist thinking, the younger brother of the man who founded Egypt's opposition Muslim Brotherhood has taken on the state-backed Muslim establishment -- from the liberal flank."
AFP/smh.com.au, Two Bulgarian hackers arrested : "The two men sent messages from an Internet site, asking people on behalf of the Al Qaeda terror network to blow up some of the largest public buildings in downtown Sofia in return for $US10,000."

Wednesday, November 03, 2004

AFP/TurkishPress.com, Six foreigners snatched, US soldier dies as Iraqis watch US election : "'I can get Internet service, go to (the Shiite holy cities of) Najaf and Karbala and read any book I want now without anyone bothering me.'" Opinion of one Iraqi.
TCS: Tech Central Station - Wired Islam "In a battle with the madrasas with their fundamentalist Wahabbist outlook one of the strongest weapons the West has is the openness digital technology offers. Not to mention the sheer wealth of information and entertainment that is on the net for free." Opinion piece.
BBC NEWS | Wales | BBC's web translation launch this interesting software could be applied in other contexts
Northeast Intelligence Network, The al Qaeda Tape Furor – Reality Check: "An hour-long videotape apparently released by al-Sahab Enterprises, the public relations arm of al Qaeda was reportedly obtained by ABC News in Waziristan, Pakistan last weekend. The tape is narrated by a terrorist who identifies himself as “Assam the American”. Videotaped with his face concealed by a head dress, he spoke with an American accent and promised that the next attack will 'dwarf 9/11.'" [details of the tape and a transcript - scroll down the page for this story]
Islam Online, Muslim Preacher Undergoes Successful Surgery refers to Amr Khaled's recent hospitalization.
The Register, Indian Muslim divorces wife by email more on this story of e-talaq (see below), via the Hindustan Times
Islamist website shows beheading of senior Iraqi army officer : HindustanTimes.com
AFP/Khaleej Times Online, Al Qaeda Saudi branch has new chief: reports: "Otaibi was identified as the new chief of “Al Qaeda in the Arabian peninsula” on one of the main Internet sites used by Islamists, where a biography of him was also posted. One contributor posted a section for greetings to the alleged new leader.

"Otaibi signed the editorial of the latest issue of the group’s online magazine, Sawt al-Jihad (Voice of Jihad), but without identifying himself as leader."
Press Trust of India/WorldWide Religious News, Now, man calls triple talaq over e-mail, 1 Nov 04: "Amid the controversy over triple talaq, a man has reportedly used e-mail to divorce his wife in Bareilly district. Rahat Iqbal, living in the US, is reported to have given triple talaq to his wife Rubab Anwar through e-mail."
AP/WorldWide Religious News, Arab Intellectuals Seek to Try Clerics, 1 Nov 04: "Among those the intellectuals want to see tried are Qatar-based Egyptian Sheik Youssef al-Qaradawi, who has condoned attacks on American civilians in Iraq and sanctioned kidnapping in wartime. Two prominent Saudi clerics, Sheik Ali Bin Khudeir al-Khudeir and Sheik Safar al-Hawali, also are mentioned.

'Fatwas issued by these sheiks play a key role in releasing the sadism of terrorists and their desire for death beyond any moral bounds and feelings of guilt,' the group said in a statement to be delivered to U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan (news - web sites) this week.
"
t r u t h o u t - Sense of Dread Hangs over Fallujah as Battle Looms: "A militant group called Mohammed's Army claimed to have ambushed and killed 11 Marines trying to enter Fallujah and vowed to post photos of the dead on the Internet. Another, the Lions of God and Victorious Ali, claimed that one of its fighters shot down an American helicopter with a surface-to-air missile, and added that the rebel was 'martyred' by return fire. U.S. military spokesmen dismissed both claims ...

... Suhail al Abdali, a Fallujah fighter in his 30s who wouldn't identify the group he'd joined, said there "absolutely" were foreign Islamic extremists joining the fight. However, he emphasized, most Fallujah militants are Iraqis who are wary of the foreign extremist elements but bound by custom to accept offers of battlefield help from men they consider brothers in Islam."

Tuesday, November 02, 2004

LA Times, Sorting Friends From Foes interesting piece on Afghanistan, includes a brief reference to the military's access to the net
The Observer | Comment | The coming war Jonathan Dimbleby's opinion piece, written to accompany his TV programme "The New World War: A Reporter's Personal View"
B E L L A C I A O - Osama’s Surprise Osama bin Laden as Global Shock Jock - opinion piece
The Australian: I'll send US broke: bin Laden [November 03, 2004] "Al-Jazeera put the English-language transcript of the full 18-minute appearance on its website yesterday, after on Friday screening 14 minutes of the terror chief's analysis of the war on terror."

al-Jazeera's transcript can be found here

AFP/TurkishPress.com, Qaeda-linked group posts website video of Japanese beheaded in Iraq, 2 Nov 04 : "The grisly footage, posted by the 'information department' of Zarqawi`s recently renamed 'Al-Qaeda Group of Jihad in the Land of Two Rivers (Iraq),' showed three hooded gunmen pouncing on Shosei Koda to chop off his head."
Reuters.com, Zarqawi Group Shows Beheading of Japanese-Web
Reuters | UAE president Sheikh Zayed dies
: "The president of OPEC member the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahayan, has died and officials expect a smooth transfer of power in the oil-rich Gulf Arab country."
Guardian Unlimited | World Latest | Israel Destroys Home of Suicide Bomber "The Israeli army destroyed the home of a teenage suicide bomber Tuesday despite his mother's public and impassioned criticism of the group that sent her son on the deadly mission."
Reuters, Captors threaten to hand hostage to Zarqawi
CNS STORY: Syria's Christian churches face political, religious challenges
The Globe and Mail, Dutch filmmaker who criticized Islam slain: "Mr. Van Gogh made headlines recently with a film critical of some elements of Islamic culture. He also wrote columns about Islam which were published on his website, www.theovangogh.nl and in the Dutch newspaper Metro. It was reported he had received death threats following the airing of the film."

Monday, November 01, 2004

BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Press outrage at hostage killing: "Japanese dailies are unanimous in condemning the slaying in Iraq of Japanese hostage Shosei Koda. Most back the government's stand in not giving in to terrorism, but question the wisdom of continuing the country's mission in Iraq beyond the December expiry date."
Gulf Daily News, Work underway on e-learning centre Islam 101 is compulsory.
Forum 18 Archive: "Uzbekistan's former chief mufti, Muhammad Yusuf, has called for restrictions on Islam in the country to be lifted. He is widely regarded as one of the most authoritative Muslim theologians of Central Asia, and has a freedom unique in Uzbekistan to publish his views in books, on a website, and via a private radio station. "
BBC News, Bin Laden's October surprise, 30 Oct 04
Yemen Times, Reflections - The Bin Ladens of Yemen's internet service - Yemen needs a Privacy Act - opinion - Yemen Times
Middle East Online, In Egypt, Ramadan television faces Internet competition "Egypt witnesses surge of interest in Ramadan-related surfing this year as Muslim websites provide variety of sections."
MEMRI: Osama Bin Laden Tape Threatens U.S. States Not to Vote for Bush
Zaman Online, Bush: Bin Laden's Tape, Zero Impact
AFP, Senior Baghdad official shot dead : "The killing was later claimed by Ansar Al-Sunna, a group linked to the Al-Qaeda network, in a statement on its internet website.

"...The statement on the Ansar Al-Sunna website (http://ansar-alsunnah.5u.com/) said: "Your heroic brothers, the Mujahedeen (holy warriors) of Ansar Al-Sunna, executed the judgement of God by shooting dead the apostate Hassam Kamel Abdel Fattah, the deputy governor of Baghdad, as well as his driver and guards."