Friday, October 27, 2017
ISIL’s Execution Videos
ISIL’s Execution Videos: Audience Segmentation and Terrorist Communication in the Digital Age | Radicalisation Research "This article offers a bottom-up understanding of the media strategy employed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) as it relates to the production and dissemination of its hostage execution videos." Journal link here
The couple who put IS at heart of marriage
Dominic Casciani, BBC News, The couple who put IS at heart of marriage, 26 Oct 2017 "Three members of the same family have been convicted for being part of what could have been a major terror attack on the streets of Birmingham. Prosecutors say that at the centre of the plot foiled earlier this year were a husband-and-wife team who put the self-styled Islamic State's cause at the centre of their marriage." Online elements in this case.
Social media brings Pakistan's persecuted women rare justice after the violence
Guardian, Social media brings Pakistan's persecuted women rare justice after the violence "Together, Gill, Ali and Siddiqi represent a growing movement of Pakistani women using the internet to demand justice for the crimes they have suffered. This month, the #MeToo campaign – in which women globally have used social media to condemn sexual harassment and assault – has also trended in Pakistan, with one media commentator noting that, unlike previous popular campaigns against patriarchal violence, the #MeToo movement has gained “alarmingly high traction” in the country." Must-read.
Israel's 'predictive policing' sees online crackdown on Palestinians
alaraby, Israel's 'predictive policing' sees online crackdown on Palestinians "Israeli security agencies are using advanced technology to trawl through Palestinian social media posts to identify and detain users who have not yet committed a crime."
Sawab Center
Washington Times, Muslim-run messaging center wages cyberwar on Islamic State, 19 Oct 2017 "The little-known Sawab Center, which had its origins in Washington but has been run by the UAE government since 2015, also circulates its own intense — and, at times, violent — videos, made by Muslims to scare Muslims away from extremist content and to promote anti-terrorist sentiment online."
Tuesday, October 24, 2017
Libyan activists team up with Al-Azhar to tackle extremism
al-monitor, Libyan activists team up with Al-Azhar to tackle extremism "Not everybody is convinced that Al-Azhar can have a significant influence in Libya. Blogger Mohammad Khalil, 37, noted that Wahhabism, a fanatic and relatively modern interpretation of Islam originating from Saudi Arabia, is propagated far more than the views of Al-Azhar sheikhs. In the last 50 years, Riyadh has invested at least $86 billion in spreading Wahhabism worldwide, according to a study released in July by the Henry Jackson Society, a British think tank."
Tuesday, October 17, 2017
Online Jihadism workshop
ICSR, ICSR Workshop – Online Jihadism: Beyond The English-Language Literature This ongoing event (concluding today) is being live-tweeted #beyondeng
New and Noted: 'Islam on YouTube'
Al-Rawi, Ahmed, 'Theoretical Framework and Methodology', in Islam on YouTube: Online Debates, Protests, and Extremism, ed. by Ahmed Al-Rawi(London: Palgrave Macmillan UK, 2017), pp. 7-42. I have yet to view this. Book information is here.
Monday, October 16, 2017
Sudan's e-Rebels
The New Arab, Austin Bodetti, On the front lines with Sudan's e-Rebels, and the state hackers targeting them, 16 Oct 2017 "A little-known hacker group operating under the name "Electronic Jihad" (sometimes translated from Arabic as "Cyber Jihad") spearheads the Sudanese government's efforts at cyber-warfare in Darfur, the Blue Nile, and the Nuba Mountains, where rebels representing ethnic minorities have been resisting its authority for decades."
Networking
MIT Technology Review, How Close Are You Really?, 16 Oct 2017 "A diagram of your social network reveals the strength of your individual relationships, network scientists say."
Friday, October 13, 2017
How paralysed London cleric uses social media to help families flee Islamic State
Middle East Eye, How paralysed London cleric uses social media to help families flee Islamic State "Once, Hasan Anyabwile was a coup leader in Trinidad and Tobago. Now, based in London, he fights IS using a battered iPad."
Thursday, October 12, 2017
Sally Jones was fleeing Raqqa as Isis's capital fell
Guardian, Sally Jones was fleeing Raqqa as Isis's capital fell "During her years with Isis, Jones, dubbed “the white widow”, had become one of the group’s most senior females, given the job of indoctrinating other women, as part of the Anwar al-Awlaki brigades, and sending some on suicide missions. Killing her had been a priority of both US and UK intelligence, which had painstakingly tried to dismantle the group’s external operations capacity which was tasked with carrying out attacks abroad."
Monday, October 09, 2017
Muzbnb
News.com.au, Many Muslims have been rejected from airbnb by potential hosts "Founded by a group of US entrepreneurs based in Washington DC, Muzbnb’s goal is to give Muslim travellers an alternative to Airbnb, where they often face discrimination."
Isis supporter jailed for planning to bomb Birmingham train lines
Guardian, Isis supporter jailed for planning to bomb Birmingham train lines, 9 Oct 2017 "Jurors at Birmingham crown court heard that Hussain became radicalised while viewing hundreds of Isis images and videos of the war in Syria."
Saturday, October 07, 2017
The driving lesson selfie that enraged some Saudis
BBC News, The driving lesson selfie that enraged some Saudis "Faisal BaDughaish, an analyst in a gas and oil company from Dhahran in the east of Saudi Arabia, tweeted a photo of him with his wife in an empty car park. The tweet read: "I started teaching my wife how to drive in one of the private parking spaces in a safe and legal way, preparing for the law to take effect.""
Thursday, October 05, 2017
These Young Black British Muslims Were So Tired Of Being Erased They Made Their Own Web Series
Aisha Gani, buzzfeed, These Young Black British Muslims Were So Tired Of Being Erased They Made Their Own Web Series "In a six-minute preview featuring historian Habeeb Akande and rapper Muneera Williams, black British Muslims discuss their identity. In one candid moment, educator Amira Marius says: “People don’t recognise Islam as a 'black' religion a lot of the times because they don’t have that knowledge and understanding ... so they see it as an adopted religion.""