The slow death of al-Qaeda in Algeria

Middle East Eye, The slow death of al-Qaeda in Algeria

"In Algeria this week, Abu Rouaha al-Qassantini - real name Adel Seghiri - was killed by the Algerian army in Jijel, about 400km from Algiers.

"He was the propaganda chief of AQIM, creator of the al-Andalus magazine and mastermind of the propaganda forum "Ifriquya al-Islamiyah" (Islamic Africa), which acted as message board between groups in the region and al-Qaeda in the Middle East."

Ayman al-Zawahri on Libya

alarabiya.net, New Qaeda chief urges Islamic rule in Libya, 12 Oct 2011 "Al-Qaeda’s new leader is calling on Libyan fighters who overthrew Muammar Qaddafi to set up an Islamic state and urges Algerians to revolt against their longtime leader in remarks in a new Internet video."

"Arab web users say Tunisia shows time up for leaders"

Dina Zayed, Reuters, Arab web users say Tunisia shows time up for leaders, 17 Jan 2011 "In a poll on the Web site of Egyptian paper al-Masry al-Youm asking if the Tunisia and Algeria riots will spread to other Arab states, 69 percent of respondents said yes, 17 percent said no and 15 percent were unsure."

Rai

Just found this:

Ted Swedenburg, Foreign Policy, Khaled and the myth of rai, 10 Sept, 2010 interesting analysis - also see a related piece in hawgblawg, Rai myths. Both articles have links to related clips.

Ahlam Mosteghanemi

alarabiya.net, Algerian author preaches to women on Facebook, 5 Sep 2010 "Algerian novelist Ahlam Mosteghanemi launched on her Facebook page a series of religious sermons addressed to women and focusing on ways of choosing a good husband."

For more info, see Facebook: Ahlam Mosteghanemi and mosteghanemi.com

Algeria BlackBerry ban?

alarabiya.net, Canada, US in talks with UAE, Saudi officials, 6 Aug 2010 "In addition to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, India is in talks with the company over gaining access, and both Lebanon and Algeria, according to a newspaper report, are reviewing the situation and might soon also might join the list." Research In Motion under pressure ...

Fatwas in the Maghreb

Walid Ramzi, magharebia.com, Maghreb religious officials discuss curbing extreme fatwas, 25 May 2010, "The "absence of a Maghreb religious marji'ya … has allowed people to move away from moderation", Algerian Religious Affairs Minister Bouabdellah Ghlamallah said at the two-day event in Sidi Okba, which began on Sunday (May 23rd)."

This might apply to the net as well, although it isn't specifically mentioned in this article.

Algeria censorship

Helmi Noman, ONI, Algeria joins the Internet censors club, 2 Jan 10 "Algeria joins an increasingly expanding list of government Internet censors in the Middle East and North Africa. ONI's in-country tests conducted January 1, 2010 verified that access to the the Web site of the Algerian political movement Rachad (www.rachad.org) has been banned in Algeria. Access to the movement's Internet TV channel (tv.rachad.org) and discussion forum (forum.rachad.org) were also found to be inaccessible."

Algeria censorship plan

Brian Whitaker, al-bab.com, Algeria to censor internet, 20 Dec 09 "Algeria is planning to introduce a centralised system for filtering (i.e. censoring) the internet. It is also proposing stiff penalties for anyone who circumvents the government's filtering, according to the Magharebia news website."

AQIM CERN

BBC News, 'Al-Qaeda-link' Cern worker held, 9 Oct 09

"The 32-year-old man of Algerian descent was one of two brothers detained in the south-east town of Vienne on Thursday.

"Police believe they had been in contact over the internet with people linked to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, and had been planning attacks in France."

Algerian Internet survey

StartUpArabia, WebDialn@ Study Of Algerian Internet Users Results, 26 Sep 09 "A new study entitled WebDialn@ (meaning ‘our web’ in the Arab Algerian accent) by Med&Com and Ideatic that polled about 6,000 Algerian internet users on ADSL, mobile internet, online advertising and e-commerce, estimates that 4.5 million people (12.8% of the Algerian population) use the internet, and that they heavily rely on it for news, research and activities such as social networking."

For more information see:

WebDialn@™ Etude sur les Usages et Perceptions des Internautes du Web Algérien

"L’étude WebDialn@™ a été lancée le 22 Juin 2009 sous forme d’un sondage en ligne publié sur neuf (09) sites web populaires algériens (sites de presse, sites professionnels, sites NTIC, sites pour jeunes,…) et envoyé également à une base de données de plus de sept milles (7000) adresses mails."

A press release relating to the report is available as a pdf. This contains charts and other interesting data (in French).

AQIM

Telegraph, China pleads for understanding as al-Qaeda vows revenge over Uighur deaths, 14 Jul 09 "Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Mahgreb (AQIM) said it would target the 50,000 Chinese workers in Algeria and elsewhere in Northern Africa,

"Two extremist web sites affiliated with al-Qaeda also made threats against the large numbers of Chinese people working in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East."

Musical Interlude

I thought I'd assemble some music-related links for this blog, for material which has caught my attention over the past month or so - some of it has been out much longer. There's scope for some serious research on Muslim musicians and the internet. I've been listening to this as I posted the blog today:



Celt Islam contains a multitude of world music influences, integrated into a DJ/dub/drum'n'bass fusion. The MySpace page has plenty more about the Analogue Fakir, a slideshow, YouTube clips and various downloads ...



Next, Justin Adams and Juldeh Camara, Tell No Lies, Real World is out today on CD/download. Juldeh Camara (from The Gambia) plays the ritti, a fiddle with one string:

"Juldeh Camara is an African Master Musician, taught to play by his blind father, who himself was taught directly by the djinn. Playing the ritti, a one-stringed fiddle and West African ancestor of the violin, he participated as a griot (a West African poet, praise singer and repository of oral tradition) in traditional Fula society."

Justin Adams plays blues guitar, and is well known for his work with Robert Plant and Tinarawen (as well as solo materials). The result is excellent, if you haven't heard them already. There are samples on this page, and also a video explaining some of the background to the music.

I'm looking out for the new Khaled CD Liberte, but can't find much information at present on the official French site. The site also includes a video extract.

Also listening to Amadou & Mariam and Bob Dylan (not sure how to fit his latest into this blog, however). Should also mention Yusuf's new one 'Roadsinger', which I haven't heard yet (except clips).

AQIM

Reuters, Al Qaeda urged Mauritania attacks over Gaza-group, 18 Jan 09 "Al Qaeda's North African wing has urged attacks against Israeli and Western interests in Mauritania, an Internet monitoring agency said, after the Arab state froze political links with Israel over its Gaza offensive.

"Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) also called on Algerians to disobey a long-standing government ban on public demonstrations and stage strikes to protest Israel's campaign against Hamas in Gaza."

Berberus

startuparabia.com, Berberus, The Semantic Maghreb Blog Aggregator, 2 Oct 08

Details: Berberus "Berberus is a new blog aggregator that was recently launched to cover blogs from the Maghreb region. The name is an obvious reference to the region and its roots. The site also says it references the existence of a form of berberism (free man) in every blogger who aspires to express themselves freely."

It's a useful resource: et'll be even more effective when they have RSS functioning.

Algeria

Reuters Africa, Al Qaeda says it was behind Algeria bombing, 1 Oct 08

"Al Qaeda's north Africa wing said it was behind a deadly suicide bombing in Algeria on Sunday, according to a statement posted on the Internet on Wednesday."

Algeria

elkhabar.com, A new anti cyber-criminality bill to be examined by the Government "The Government is to examine an anti cyber-criminality bill before the end of the year, the general manager of state owned internet provider Eepad told El Khabar. Nouar Harzallah said the bill is to be set for examination during the upcoming weeks. It aims to set clear definitions to different informatics and internet crimes."

Algeria

AP, Al-Qaida branch claims recent attacks in Algeria, 15 Jun 08 "Al-Qaida in Islamic North Africa claimed responsibility in an Internet posting Saturday for a recent attack on an Algerian train station that killed a French engineer.

"The statement also claimed responsibility for an attack on a military barracks and another at a cafe on June 4 and a roadside bombing June 5.

"The authenticity of Saturday's statement could not be independently verified, but it was signed by Al-Qaida in Islamic North Africa and appeared on a Web site commonly used by Islamic militants."

Berbers

Strategy Page, It's Hip To Be Dead, 11 May 08 "The one thing al Qaeda has to offer is media recognition. Any terrorist action associated with al Qaeda gets more coverage. Since terrorism lives and dies according to how much media attention it gets, this is a persuasive pitch. Still, the Berber radicals have not shown any inclination become another al Qaeda franchise."

Algeria

Reuters, Qaeda N.Africa wing claims Algeria attack-Web, 30 Jan 08 "Al Qaeda's north Africa wing said it was behind a blast at a police station in Algeria which authorities said killed two people, according to a statement posted on the Internet on Wednesday."