Commercial Break: Hashtag Islam - Australia and New Zealand

Hashtag Islam can be obtained through all the usual channels in Australia and New Zealand, including through Footprint Books. Their October catalogue has details and prices.

Publishers Weekly Review: Hashtag Islam

Publishers Weekly, Nonfiction Review, Hashtag Islam: How Cyber- Islamic Environments Are Transforming Religious Authority

" ... by investigating how Muslim communities are utilizing (and being transformed by) the ongoing worldwide digital revolution, this work proves to be an important addition to literature on contemporary Islam."

New and noted: Hello World: How to be Human in the Age of the Machine,

Hannah Fry, Hello World: How to be Human in the Age of the Machine, Penguin Books

Another one for the Reading list (helped by her TV documentary 'The Joy of Winning').  

CIC Saudi Arabia

It's been interesting to review the output of CIC Saudi Arabia on Twitter during Hajj 2018, presenting human stories within the hajj.  Some examples are below (check my @garybunt Twitter feed for more):







The following video isn't on theYouTube channel yet, but here's a Twitter link: in contemporary times, the long distance journey to hajj on foot becomes all the more remarkable #hajj CIC Saudi Arabia, [@CICSaudi], "Hajj is over but for Othman AlShahin the journey is not over yet. The man who walked 450km to Hajj (the equivalent distance of #Paris to #Geneva) is now on his way home by foot. "

New and noted: LikeWar: How Social Media Became The Locus Of 21st Century War

Interesting review of Peter W. Singer and Emerson T. Brooking's book 'LikeWar: How Social Media Became The Locus Of 21st Century War' via @TaskandPurpose - another entry for the Reading List.  Task and Purpose, LikeWar: How Social Media Became The Locus Of 21st Century War

Tatar Muslims

CJ Werleman, Middle East Eye, How Russia is trying to erase Tatar Muslims Analysis/opinion.

Dina Torkia interview: the Muslim fashion blogger talks Boris Johnson and burkas

The Times, Dina Torkia interview: the Muslim fashion blogger talks Boris Johnson and burkas

Profile of Dina Torkia, high profile fashionista based in Wales. Interesting in terms of her social media use in particular. (Pay walled article).

 "Dina Torkia is a social media sensation, a Muslim fashionista with more than two million followers. But her fans get a lot more from her controversial posts than how to look fab in a hijab. Julia Llewellyn Smith meets her at home in Wales."

This is an excellent article.

'Manufacturing Consent: Saudi and Amazon Deploy Twitter Bots to Insist They Are Virtuous'

albawaba, Manufacturing Consent: Saudi and Amazon Deploy Twitter Bots to Insist They Are Virtuous Allegations.

Hajj: how globalisation transformed the market for pilgrimage to Mecca

Seán McLoughlin, The Conversation, Hajj: how globalisation transformed the market for pilgrimage to Mecca, 15 Aug 2018

Iran hacking allegations

Independent, Iranian hackers attack UK universities to steal secret research allegations. "Hackers linked with the Iranian government are targeting universities and academic institutions around the world as part of a major campaign to steal unpublished research and obtain intellectual property, security researchers have revealed."

#hajj

The Times, Pilgrims make progress with haj app "This year the authorities have been determined to clean up the image of the haj, the annual pilgrimage of millions of Muslims to Saudi Arabia’s holy cities. In an attempt to bring it up to date, this week’s haj was, the government insists, “green, healthy and high-tech”." [pay walled article]

New and Noted: The Islamic State in Britain

CUP, Michael Kenney The Islamic State in Britain

al-Baghdadi speech

Reuters, Islamic State chief, in rare speech, urges followers to fight on "Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, in his first purported speech in nearly a year, has called on followers to fight on despite recent defeats, according to an audio recording posted on the group’s media outlet."

ISIS report

ICSR, Reintegrating ISIS Supporters in Syria: Efforts, Priorities and Challenges

Hajj Pod

Guardian, Hajj 'nap pods' being introduced for pilgrims to Saudi Arabia "A Saudi charity, the Haji and Mutamer Gift Charitable Association, is offering between 18 and 24 capsules for pilgrims to nap in for free in the coming days."

Hajj Tech

The National, Hajj 2018: bringing technology to the millennia-old pilgrimage " "The Saudi government is using technological advances to ease the pilgrimage for millions."