Saturday, February 28, 2015
Friday, February 27, 2015
UK Police Want to Remove ISIL Instruction Manual From Internet
UK Police Want to Remove ISIL Instruction Manual From Internet / Sputnik International "Earlier this month, the militant group operating in Syria and Iraq published "Hijrah [journey to an Islamic country] to the Islamic State," a guidebook for would-be fighters planning to join IS ranks in Syria."
Fighting Islamic State in Brooklyn
WSJ, Fighting Islamic State in Brooklyn "Federal agents monitoring an obscure Uzbek-language website, Hilofatnews, provided the initial thread that would lead to the unraveling of the terrorist plot. Hilofatnews promotes the ideology of Islamic State (aka ISIS or ISIL) and encourages its readers to join. In August 2014, an individual using the handle “Abdullah ibn Hasan” asked on the website if “it was possible to commit ourselves as dedicated martyrs . . . by “shoot[ing] Obama and then got shot ourselves” in order to “strike fear in the hearts of infidels.”"
Tuesday, February 24, 2015
Missing schoolgirls 'in Syria'
BBC News, Missing schoolgirls 'in Syria' comprehensive coverage - web is a key driver in this case
Monday, February 23, 2015
Australia to Challenge Radical Islam Online
VOA, Australia to Challenge Radical Islam Online "The Australian government plans to monitor social media in real time to try to combat terrorist propaganda on the Internet."
Thursday, February 19, 2015
U.S. Muslims Take On ISIS’ Recruiting Machine
NYT, U.S. Muslims Take On ISIS’ Recruiting Machine "Imam Mohamed Magid tries to stay in regular contact with the teenager who came to him a few months ago, at his family’s urging, to discuss how he was being wooed by online recruiters working for the Islamic State, the extremist group in Syria and Iraq."
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
U.S. blacklists German ISIS rapper
alarabiya.net, U.S. blacklists German ISIS rapper "The United States added German former rapper Denis Cuspert to its list of “terrorists” over his role as a fighter with the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq, the State Department said Monday."
Book Review: ISIS: Inside the Army of Terror
Joshua Landis, Book Review: ISIS: Inside the Army of Terror this looks like a useful book, based on this review. ISIS: Inside the Army of Terror, Michael Weiss & Hassan Hassan (Simon & Schuster - UK version publisher page)
German-Based Cyber-Daʿwah 2.0
Erik Munder, German-Based Cyber-Daʿwah 2.0: Back to the Roots with Forward Technology journal article - looks interesting, but there is an expensive pay wall, so I have yet to see it.
Monday, February 09, 2015
Isis
Hassan Hassan, Guardian, Isis has reached new depths of depravity. But there is a brutal logic behind it, 8 Feb 2015 "Savagery is part of Isis’s ideological DNA. The danger of the group lies in its effort to transform the concept of jihad not through individual fatwas, as al-Qaida does to justify suicide bombing in civilian areas, but through a fully fledged ideology. To do so, Isis uses stories from Islamic history and modern jihadi texts to change the paradigm of how to understand and conduct jihad." Useful article.
British ISIS hostage John Cantlie appears in latest propaganda film
Daily Mail, British ISIS hostage John Cantlie appears in latest propaganda film "The Islamic State has released a new propaganda video featuring John Cantlie in which the captured British journalist gives a guided tour of Aleppo."
Experts Debate the Compatibility of AI and Religion
bigthink.com, Experts Debate the Compatibility of AI and Religion | Big Think refers to Zoltan Istvan, Gizmodo, When Superintelligent AI Arrives, Will Religions Try to Convert It? " As artificial intelligence advances, religious questions and concerns globally are bound to come up, and they're starting too: Some theologians and futurists are already considering whether AI can also know God."
YouTube to remain blocked in Pakistan indefinitely, says official
Tech2, YouTube to remain blocked in Pakistan indefinitely, says official "YouTube will remain blocked in Pakistan ‘indefinitely’, an official said Saturday, as experts have failed to find a way to filter content deemed offensive and blasphemous in the Muslim majority country."
Tech-skeptic Erdogan sends first tweet
alarabiya.net, Tech-skeptic Erdogan sends first tweet " “Get a grip of yourself against this poison,” Erdogan wrote, using the hashtag #SigarayaTeslimOlma (Don’t give in to cigarettes) and signing off with his initials RTE."
Social media's fruitful exchange with Gulf women
yourmiddleeast.com, Social media's fruitful exchange with Gulf women "Many high-profile women in the Gulf have taken to social media platforms, from Saudi Arabia’s Princess Ameerah Al-Taweel, a regional leader in women’s education development, to the United Arab Emirates’ Noura Al Kaabi, leading the region in digital business development. Where women’s exposure was once shied away from, women role models are now making bits of their personal and public lives accessible to large audiences on Twitter and Instagram. With a mobile penetration of over 110% in the Middle East, people are increasingly engaging with social media, which has activated a key group: women."
Slaying, Slaughtering, and Burning: ISIS, the Cinematic Caliphate
Islam Sakka, al-akhbar.com, Slaying, Slaughtering, and Burning: ISIS, the Cinematic Caliphate "Watching the latest videos posted by the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq (ISIS), it is easy to see the changes in cinematic technique and the group’s choice of English as the main language. Their latest video, showing Jordanian pilot Moaz Kasasbeh being burned alive, sets a new precedent for brutality, ruthlessness, and high quality propaganda."
Thursday, February 05, 2015
'Average Mohamed'
USA Today, Average Mohamed tries to thwart Islamic State "Frustrated by a slick social media campaign on the Internet by the Islamic State that authorities say has helped lure dozens of young Muslim Americans to the fight in Iraq and Syria, Ahmed has already poured thousands of dollars of his own money over the last six months into producing a series of animated cartoon messages to rebut the extremist group's messaging." Check out Average Mohamed here- and here's an example of one of the videos:
'Watch Out For Satanic Earrings!' IS Publishes Women's Manifesto
RFE/RL, 'Watch Out For Satanic Earrings!' IS Publishes Women's Manifesto "A manifesto for women published by the Islamic State (IS) group has criticized Western attitudes to women, saying that this so-called "Western model" has failed, that a woman's place is in the home, and that Western women's fashions, like earrings, are the work of the devil. "
How Online Radicalization Is Drawing Young Western Women to the Islamic State
Vice, How Online Radicalization Is Drawing Young Western Women to the Islamic State "The internet is the main tool for radicalizing these young women and creating a culture of peer pressure. And a report by the UK-based Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) released last week studied the tweets of 12 Western female migrants who have traveled to join the Islamic State, in an attempt to unravel their journey and better understand the phenomenon. The paper, titled Becoming Mulan, also explores the reality of their lives there and the potential threat they pose." I haven't read this report.
Jihadists increasingly wary of internet, experts say
AFP/ABC, Jihadists increasingly wary of internet, experts say "After using the internet profusely for propaganda and recruitment, jihadist organisations have realised that investigators are gleaning crucial information from their posts and are increasingly concealing their web presence."
Source: ISIS video may show woman linked to kosher grocery attack
Source: ISIS video may show woman linked to kosher grocery attack - CNN.com "French authorities say a woman in the latest video released by French-speaking ISIS fighters may be Hayat Boumeddiene, who is believed to have knowledge about the deadly January 9 attack on a Paris kosher grocery, a source close to the investigation told CNN."
ISIS execute two Imams and four civilians for condemning pilot's death
Mail Online, ISIS execute two Imams and four civilians for condemning pilot's death "ISIS militants have executed six people, including two Muslim clerics, for condemning the horrific execution of the Jordanian pilot Moaz al-Kasasbeh."
ISIL hated Moaz al-Kassasbeh because air strikes work
Crispian Cuss, aljazeera.com, ISIL hated Moaz al-Kassasbeh because air strikes work opinion "The air campaign, which started in August last year, has had a dramatic impact on the fortunes of ISIL. It has stopped their advances in their tracks and bought the Iraqi army breathing space in which to regroup and retrain."
ISIL hated Moaz al-Kassasbeh because air strikes work
Crispian Cuss, aljazeera.com, ISIL hated Moaz al-Kassasbeh because air strikes work opinion "The air campaign, which started in August last year, has had a dramatic impact on the fortunes of ISIL. It has stopped their advances in their tracks and bought the Iraqi army breathing space in which to regroup and retrain."
Fox News under fire for showing uncut ISIS video
alarabiya.net, Fox News under fire for showing uncut ISIS video "By posting the video, Fox News was propagating “exactly what ISIS wants to propagate,” counter-terrorism and radicalism expert Malcolm Nance told The Guardian." Correct.
Jordanian airstrikes kill 55 ISIS militants
alarabiya.net, Jordanian airstrikes kill 55 ISIS militants "Jordanian fighter jets flew over the hometown of a pilot killed by Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group and the capital Amman on Thursday after completing a mission, state television said without giving the location of their sortie, Reuters reported."
Wednesday, February 04, 2015
Jordanian pilot
Mail Online, ISIS supporters watch murder of Jordanian pilot on big screens
Mail Online, Is this where the pilot was torched to death? Syrian activists claim to have pinpointed location in Raqqa by identifying landmarks in execution video on aerial photographs
Mail Online, 22 minutes of sickening savagery: Carefully edited and highly choreographed footage that ISIS knows will horrify the West - and entice even more jihadists to their cause
Mail Online, ISIS knew burning Jordanian pilot alive would spark backlash in Islamic world - so prepared a list of justifications beforehand
Mail Online, Is this where the pilot was torched to death? Syrian activists claim to have pinpointed location in Raqqa by identifying landmarks in execution video on aerial photographs
Mail Online, 22 minutes of sickening savagery: Carefully edited and highly choreographed footage that ISIS knows will horrify the West - and entice even more jihadists to their cause
Mail Online, ISIS knew burning Jordanian pilot alive would spark backlash in Islamic world - so prepared a list of justifications beforehand
Muadh al-Kasasbeh
thedailybeast.com, ISIS Snuff Films’ Sleight of Hand interesting article (not sure about the headline). "A horrifying video of Jordanian pilot Muadh al-Kasasbeh being set ablaze inside a cage by his ISIS captors shocked the world Tuesday and rocked governments in Washington and Amman. But the film may have also been an act of perverse theater, and one ISIS has performed before."
Clerics denounce burning alive of pilot as un-Islamic
alarabiya.net, Clerics denounce burning alive of pilot as un-Islamic "“This weakens the popularity of Islamic State because we look at Islam as a religion of mercy and tolerance. Even in the heat of battle, a prisoner of war is given good treatment,” said Abu Sayaf, a Jordanian Salafist cleric also known as Mohamed al-Shalabi who spent almost ten years in Jordanian prisons for militant activity including a plot to attack U.S. troops.
“Even if the Islamic State says Muath had bombed, and burnt and killed us and we punished him in the way he did to us, we say, OK but why film the video in this shocking way?” he told Reuters. “This method has turned society against them.”
“Even if the Islamic State says Muath had bombed, and burnt and killed us and we punished him in the way he did to us, we say, OK but why film the video in this shocking way?” he told Reuters. “This method has turned society against them.”
Tuesday, February 03, 2015
Hackers stole from Syrian rebels by posing as women
yourmiddleeast.com, Hackers stole from Syrian rebels by posing as women "Hackers targeted Syrian opposition members with online "honey traps," posing as female supporters to steal battle plans and the identity of defectors, a security firm said in a report Monday."
Peter Greste
huffingtonpost.co.uk, What Your First Tweet Looks Like After Being Jailed In Egypt For 400 Days "After he was freed this weekend, Greste took to Twitter to post this joyful picture of himself standing in the sea, with arms outstretched making "peace" signs."
Monday, February 02, 2015
The beauty and diversity of Muslim life
Ted, The beauty and diversity of Muslim life "Bassam Tariq is a blogger, a filmmaker, and a halal butcher — but one thread unites his work: His joy in the diversity, the humanness of our individual experiences. In this charming talk, he shares clips from his film "These Birds Walk" and images from his tour of 30 mosques in 30 days — and reminds us to consider the beautiful complexity within us all."
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