Recent posts

Contesting identities within cultural insecurity

14/09/18 12:32 Filed in: Research | Gender

Currently taking a look at this interesting thesis, which draws on a number of elements associated with the study of cyber Islamic Environments. Kathleen Woodhouse-Ledermann, Contesting identities within cultural insecurity: The case of Muslim women in contemporary France (Rutgers, 2018) [PDF download]

Tags: French Muslims, Gender , Research

Twitter reacts to Begum Kulsoom Nawaz’s demise

12/09/18 20:23 Filed in: Pakistan | Social Media

Express Tribune, Twitter reacts to Begum Kulsoom Nawaz’s demise, 11 Sep 2018

Tags: Politics, Nawaz Sharif

'The next billion users': Google targets India's lucrative mobile market

12/09/18 20:19 Filed in: Social Media | India Internet

Guardian, 'The next billion users': Google targets India's lucrative mobile market, 11 Sep 2018
"As mobile markets in developed world near saturation, Google rolls out Neighbourly, its first Indian-inspired social network"

Tags: Google, Social media

Women Warriors

11/09/18 10:56 Filed in: Islam and Gender

This looks like an interesting read:
Nickolay Nickolov, Mashable, Women Warriors

"“The situation doesn’t favour women,” says Maryam Ado Haruna who works with the Center for Information Technology and Development (CITAD), a Nigerian organisation using tech to develop good governance. Religious beliefs and cultural trends can contribute to attitudes about who can and should access the internet. “The way parents deny access deliberately and husbands deny wives a— they think our religion, Islam, means that internet is not for Nigerian women,” Ado Haruna says."

Tags: Nigeria Internet, Gender,

Man arrested after breakfast with woman in Saudi Arabia

11/09/18 10:28 Filed in: Social Media

BBC News, Man arrested after breakfast with woman in Saudi Arabia, 10 Sep 2018 "In the 30-second video, the man and woman briefly joke about eating their breakfast together, with nobody else invited."
Contrasting views were expressed on social media from Egypt and Saudi Arabia in relation to this incident.

Tags: Saudi Internet, Egyptian Internet, Gender

Facial recognition

Arwa Mahdawi, Guardian, Finding your museum doppelganger is fun – but the science behind it is scary not available in the UK yet: "Facial recognition technology allows Google to find the artwork you most resemble – but it also supports the rise of the surveillance state."

Qiblafinder

 New and noted:

Google Qiblafinder

Celebrating Zaha Hadid

Google Doodles, Celebrating Zaha Hadid

Google Doodle

Indy !00, Republicans really hate today's Google doodle

Google braces for questions as more big-name firms pull adverts

Guardian, Google braces for questions as more big-name firms pull adverts "Google executives are bracing for a two-pronged inquisition from the advertising industry and the government over the company’s plans to stop ads being placed next to extremist material."

UK: Google-hosted Muslim leaders summit linked to Home Office Prevent unit

middleeasteye.net, Google-hosted Muslim leaders summit linked to Home Office Prevent unit, 10 Jan 2017 "According to a source, Imams Online is one of a number of ostensibly grassroots and community-led counter-extremism campaigns being run by Breakthrough Media through third party groups on behalf of RICU which has the final say on content and messaging and funds the work."

US, Private Sector Join Forces in Anti-IS Social Media Project

VOA, US, Private Sector Join Forces in Anti-IS Social Media Project "One of the Obama administration's latest approaches, initiated by an affiliate of Google, seeks to disrupt IS online recruiting efforts by targeted advertising algorithms and the use of YouTube's video platform to dissuade people from enlisting with IS." Also see Wired, Google’s Clever Plan to Stop Aspiring ISIS Recruits

How Google aims to disrupt the Islamic State propaganda machine

CSM/Yahoo, How Google aims to disrupt the Islamic State propaganda machine, 7 Sep 2016 "The internet is one of the most valuable tools for the Islamic State to spread its vision of radical Islam and lure recruits to the battlefields in Iraq and Syria. But the world's most powerful search engine is taking steps that could soon blunt the group's online propaganda machine."

'Google Official: Take ISIS Off the Open Web to Stop Its Propaganda Machine'

Newsweek, Google Official: Take ISIS Off the Open Web to Stop Its Propaganda Machine "Google’s “head of ideas” said in a talk on Monday that the Islamic State militant group (ISIS) needs to be pushed off the open Web in order to sever its propaganda machine."

Iran to allow Google to operate if it respects 'cultural' values

Guardian, Iran to allow Google to operate if it respects 'cultural' values "Iran could allow internet firms such as Google to operate in the Islamic republic if they respect its cultural rules, a senior official has said. “We are not opposed to any of the entities operating in global markets who want to offer services in Iran,” the deputy telecommunications and information technology minister, Nasrollah Jahangard, told the Fars news agency on Sunday."

'Super flagger' status for government

Google gives UK government “super flagger” status for YouTube - 13 Mar 2014 - Computing News: based on the FT story (which is paywalled).  "

"Google has granted the UK security services privileged 'super flagger' status over YouTube videos, enabling the government to demand instant screening of videos it deems threaten national security." I am not sure whether this will make much of an impact - there are numerous alternative channels for distribution, or ways around the system. Such online sources have also been a source of 'intelligence', and could act as honeypots for gaining information on followers.

Top Saudi cleric calls for suing Google over anti-Islam Youtube film

Top Saudi cleric calls for suing Google over anti-Islam Youtube film - Al Arabiya News "Khaled al-Shaya, a top Saudi cleric, recently called on Islamic countries to ban and legislate against Google, after the internet search giant’s apparent “disrespect of Islamic beliefs” in continuing to display an inflammatory video against Islam, news website CNN Arabic reported on Saturday."

Google: Arabic content ranks eighth on the internet

Google: Arabic content ranks eighth on the internet - Al Arabiya News "Arabic is currently ranked the “eighth language in terms of growth and usage on the internet,” a Google spokesperson told Al Arabiya News."

Video: Muslims protest outside Google London HQ

Telegraph, Video: Muslims protest outside Google London HQ, 14 Oct 2012

Iran unblocks Gmail

AFP, Iran unblocks access to Gmail, 1 Oct 2012 "[But] Mohammad Reza Miri, a member of the telecommunications ministry committee tasked with filtering the Internet in Iran, was quoted on Monday by the Mehr news agency as saying the Gmail block was an "involuntary" consequence of trying to reinforce censorship of Google's YouTube video-sharing site.

""Unfortunately, we do not yet have enough technical knowhow to differentiate between these two services. We wanted to block YouTube and Gmail was also blocked, which was involuntary," he said."

'Iran Blocks Google'

Sepidedam - Iran Blocks Google

Google to block Jordan links to anti-Islam film

Ahram Online, Google to block Jordan links to anti-Islam film "Google has agreed to block all links connecting Internet users in Jordan to an anti-Islam film made in the United States that has stirred outrage across the Muslim world, a Jordanian minister said on Saturday."

Google refuses to remove YouTube clip

Google refuses to remove YouTube clip mocking the Islamic Prophet Muhammad - The Times of India "YouTube, the video website owned by Google, said on Wednesday it would not remove a film clip mocking the Islamic Prophet Muhammad that has been blamed for anti-US protests in Egypt and Libya, but it has blocked access to it in those countries."

'Iranian firms told not to use foreign email providers'

The Register, Iranian firms told not to use foreign email providers: Gmail, Yahoo! Mail, MSN et al face the chop, 13 May 2012 "Local weekly Asr Ertebatat claimed on Saturday that Iran’s telecommunications ministry is preventing banks, insurance firms and telephone operators from using the services of foreign email providers such as Yahoo!, Gmail and Microsoft."