Québec City mosque attack

Guardian, Québec City mosque attack: man charged with six counts of murder, 31 Jan 2017 "A local group dedicated to welcoming refugees, Bienvenu aux réfugiés, said Bissonnette’s name was familiar to them, describing him as an online troll who had denigrated refugees and expressed support for Marine Le Pen, the leader of France’s far-right Front National."

Bahrain

CBC, Canadian company helped Bahrain block opposition, anti-Islam websites, says report Allegations: "Canadian technology company Netsweeper helped the Bahraini government block opposition party websites, various news websites and content critical of Islam, according to a new report by the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto's Munk School of Global Affairs." Report link here: Citizen Lab, Tender Confirmed, Rights At Risk: Verifying Netsweeper in Bahrain

Royal Canadian Mounted Police report - Youth Online and at Risk: Radicalization Facilitated by the Internet

The National, Extremists using web tools to recruit kids: RCMP, 6 Jun 2011 "A new RCMP report says extremist groups — from Muslim radicals to violent animal rights activists to white supremacists — are employing increasingly sophisticated multimedia tools to attract a young, computer-savvy generation of followers."

Here's the link page for the report:

Royal Canadian Mounted Police report - Youth Online and at Risk: Radicalization Facilitated by the Internet 

I have yet to read this report.

Hossein Derakhshan gets 'temporary bail'

oneindia.in, Iran blogger Hossein Derakhshan released on temporarily bail "The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran (ICHRI) said that Derakhshan had requested a prison furlough, or temporary release."

cultureclashdaily.com, The Man Who Opened Iran To The World, The Blogfather, Released On Bail

"The man known as the Blogfather of Iran, Hossein Derakhsah, has been released from an Iranian prison on bail of $1.5 million.

"The 35 year old former journalist rose to fame around the world for beginning an internet revolution that challenged the tightly controlled theocracy, under President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad."

Canada: 'Muqawamah Al Islamiya' website

Stewart Bell, nationalpost.com, Hate crime unit probes fugitive's new website, 21 Nov 2010 "Police are looking into a newly launched Internet site, run by a wanted "jihadist" from Ontario, that urges terrorists to kill Canadians using dirty bombs.

"The website is registered to Salman Hossain, a 25-year-old Canadian extremist who is already sought by Ontario Provincial Police for advocating the genocide of Jews."

Canada: net case dropped

Globe and Mail, Judge spikes child-porn case against Muslim preacher targeted by CSIS , 6 Oct 2010, "The written decision says CSIS spent years targeting Mr. Mejid, convincing him to take a polygraph test, threatening to expose an alleged extramarital affair, and directing law-enforcement agencies to search for porn on his computers. Prior to his handing over his laptop, CSIS agents told him his “life would change” if he did not co-operate."

Hossein Derakhshan

Los Angeles Times, IRAN: Persian 'blogfather' Hossein Derakhshan faces death sentence | Babylon & Beyond, 23 Sep 2010 "Hossein Derakhshan was revered as the "blogfather" of Iran even after he alienated much of the online community by renouncing his reformist ideals to become one of the government's staunchest defenders."

More on the situation of Hossein Derakhshan.

Hossein Derakhshan

Richard Spencer, Telegraph, Iranian prosecutors demand death penalty for 'blogfather', 23 Sep 2010 "Hossein Derakhshan, 35, who has both Iranian and Canadian nationality, won his nickname after developing a blog platform for Persian characters that was widely copied by online activists and commentators."

A Facebook campaign page can be found here: Free Hossein Derakhshan // Libérez Hossein Derakhshan This is regularly updated, and links to other campaigns.

I write about Derakhshan's blogging activities in my book iMuslims.

Magazine for children

Carol Sanders, winnipegfreepress.com, Kids' magazine promotes a kinder Islam: Winnipeg mom created the glossy publication, 28 Aug 2010 "It's a labour of love," says Rawia Azzahrawi, who has a master's degree in Arabic language and literature and three children aged 14, seven and five. "We needed it... I scanned the Internet to subscribe to a magazine for my kids."

"Traditionally, print materials for kids about Islamic history and Arabic language instruction have been dry and "boring," she says. There was nothing appealing, or presented in a "fun and attractive" format, so she decided to create something that was."

Hossein Derakhshan trial begins

Golnaz Esfandiari, RFE/RL, Trial Of Iran’s 'Blogfather’ Begins, 20 Months After His Arrest, 24 June 2010 "Iran’s hard-line Fars news agency reports that the trial of controversial blogger Hossein Derakhshan, known as Iran’s “Blogfather" for helping to popularize blogging in the Islamic republic, began in Tehran on June 23."

There's a good update on Robert Mackey, The Lede, Trial of Iran’s ‘Blogfather’ Begins in Tehran, 24 June 2010

Further information on the case can be found at Free Hoder, and also via the label on this blog post. The image on the left comes from that website. There is also a Facebook: Free Hossein Derakhshan group. The Twitter feed is here

Also see his sisters' blog in support of Hossein:

عدالت برای حسین درخشان

GIMF

theglobeandmail.com, Quebecker gets life sentence in Internet bomb plot "Said Namouh, 37, who plotted over the Internet from his basement apartment in Maskinongé, Que., was handed a life sentence with no chance of parole for 10 years."

Hossein Derakhshan: update/reminder

Robert Mackey, The Lede, News of Iran’s Detained ‘Blogfather’, 23 Oct 09 "After a long silence, there is suddenly news on the fate of Hossein Derakhshan, an influential Iranian blogger with Canadian citizenship who was detained in Tehran almost a year ago."

Canada

Sheema Khan, Extremism: Canadian Muslims must keep their eyes on the ball, 13 Oct 09 "Widespread skepticism of the terrorist threat is far too common among Muslims. Community leaders need to take this threat seriously and warn the faithful of its danger."

Canada: GIMF

National Post, Terror plotter undone by online activities, 2 Oct 09 "Said Namouh thought his apartment in Trois-Rivieres was an ideal location to plot jihad, far from the prying eyes of anti-terrorism investigators. But the Internet that allowed him to spread hatred from the boondocks also proved his undoing, and yesterday -- largely on the strength of his online activity -- the 36-year-old Moroccan was convicted of four terrorism charges

" ... Hundreds of pages of transcribed conversations, retrieved from password-protected web sites and Namouh's computer, proved that he was an active member of the Global Islamic Media Front, a propaganda arm for al-Qaeda and smaller terrorist cells in Gaza and Somalia."

Media awareness programme in Afghanistan

The Star, Can Toronto woman win propaganda war in Kabul?, 15 Jun 09 "After moving to Kabul three years ago to help train local broadcasters, Sharif started a media company with two friends. Her main client is the U.S. Department of Defence, for whom she has created hundreds of ads that highlight the war's toll on civilians, explain how to detect roadside bombs and urge locals not to become suicide bombers." Profile of Mina Sharif

Hossein Derakhshan: update/reminder

The Lede, Blogger and Aid Worker Still Held in Iran, 11 May 09

Hossein Derakhshan

I have added this to my sidebar:

Also see Free the BlogFather. Ahmadinedjad asks to defense rights for Hossein Derakhshan and Roxana Saberi, 19 Apr 09, which notes:

"According to the Iranian national press agency IRNA, iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called this sunday for a fair treatment of iranian-american journalist Roxana Saberi, sentenced to 8 years of Prison this week as US SPY and Hossein Derakhshan, detained since 1 november, 2008 in an unknown place in Tehran."

Canada

AFP, Canadian court eases bail for third terror suspect, 10 Mar 09 "In all three cases, the federal court found that incarceration, strict bail conditions upon release and increased media scrutiny had neutralized, to varying degrees, the threat each individual posed to Canada's security." net theme to this

GIMF

montrealgazette.com, Internet a boon for terrorists, expert testifies, 17 Feb 09 "The Internet has become one of the most important tools for Al-Qa’ida and jihadists for recruiting, communicating and creating virtual cells and Saïd Namouh took full advantage of it, according to an American counter-terrorism expert who testified at the suspected terrorist’s trial Tuesday."

'Detox' programme

'Detox'

CTV, Toronto mosque offers 'detox' for Islamic radicals, 11 Feb 09 "Muhammed Robert Heft, a team member of the Specialized De-radicalization Intervention program, says the program is based on the idea that Islamic extremism can be fought by incorporating traditional teachings of the Qur'an into a "12-step Extremist Detox Program.""