New York terror suspect Sayfullo Saipov defended by mother

BBC News, New York terror suspect Sayfullo Saipov defended by mother "The BBC's Will Vernon tracked her down in Uzbekistan, the country that was home to terror suspect Sayfullo Saipov until 2010 when he moved to the US." Excellent report.

Central Asia Digital Islam Project

Registan, The Central Asia Digital Islam Project: How the Internet and Social Media are Reshaping the Islamic Marketplace in Central Asia "Advances in communications technology and large-scale migration are rapidly eroding these obstacles, however, allowing Central Asians to increasingly participate in trans-national Islamic discourses through digital media."

Taliban, IMU form Ansar al Aseer to free jihadist prisoners

longwarjournal.org, Taliban, IMU form Ansar al Aseer to free jihadist prisoners, 5 Feb 2013"In a recent video, the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan announced the formation of the Ansar al Aseer, a unit tasked to free jihadist prisoners and support their families. The video features Adnan Rasheed, a dangerous Pakistani jihadist who was freed in a jailbreak last year; Yassin Chouka, a wanted German commander in the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan; and Abdul Hakeem, a Russian IMU member." Draws on other sources

Tajikistan, jihad and the net

Khayrullo Fayz, BBC Uzbek Service, Tajikistan youth turn to radical Islam, 27 Sep 2010 "Furqon.com is the website of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), an al-Qaeda-affiliated Central Asian group that now fights alongside the Taliban from a base in northern Pakistan.

"Written in local and Arabic languages, it offers a mix of Islamic texts, atrocity videos and exhortations to join the jihad."

Note: furqon.com is currently down

Uzbekistan censorship allegations

Forum 18, UZBEKISTAN: Internet censorship continues, 16 Mar 2010"Uzbekistan continues to impose widespread and swift internet censorship on Russian-language websites, Forum 18 News Service notes."

German 'jihadists'

Yassin Musharbash and Holger Stark, Spiegel, Islamists in Pakistan Recruit Entire Families from Europe, 21 Sep 09 "The latest recruitment video from the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) is a half-hour in length and is addressed to our "beloved" brothers and sisters back in Germany. The video is presented by, among others, Mounir Chouka, alias "Abu Adam," who grew up in the western German city of Bonn.

"The video shows shacks erected against a backdrop of lush greenery and craggy rock formations. Women wearing blue burqas are seen surrounded by their children. One small girl is holding an artillery gun."

Islamic Movement Uzbekistan (IBU)

bild.de, Islamist extremists threaten attacks on Germany "The video, created by the Islamic Movement Uzbekistan (IBU), has been released to mark the start of the trial of alleged terrorists in Düsseldorf."

Jundullah Studios

NEFA Foundation, A Unique Look Inside the IMU's "Jundullah Studios" (March 2009), "The NEFA Foundation has obtained new video footage of day-to-day operations inside "Jundullah Studios", the official media wing of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU)-an Al-Qaida and Taliban mujahideen ally fighting in pockets along the Afghan-Pakistani border."

Background: NEFA

Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU)

IJU

IJU

CBS News, Uzbek Group Releases Video Showing Kids Groomed For Jihad, 13 Feb 09 "Children as young as four or five years old were shown undergoing military training in a new video released by the Islamic Jihad Union (IJU), a militant Uzbek group based in Pakistan’s tribal area."

Germany - Islamic Jihad Union

RFE/RL, Uzbek Group Linked To Video Terror Threat Against Germany, 28 Jan 09 " Referring to Germany's involvement in international coalition operations in Afghanistan, six masked men claiming to be members of the Islamic Jihad Union in a video posted on the Internet say the group has prepared a "few surprise gifts for the occupation forces.""

uzbekistan.neweurasia.net, Kyrgyz authorities accuse Islamic extremists in the death of the journalist, 31 Oct 07 "After the death of Alisher Saipov, a famous journalist from Osh, Kyrgyzstan, almost all internet sites of Central Asia, especially the ones about Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, had been hotly discussing the assassination."

RFE/RL, Uzbekistan: Presidential Hopefuls Emerge As Election Date Announced, 18 Sept 07 "An unregistered group, the Alliance of Human Rights Defenders of Uzbekistan, earlier this year nominated three men by Internet for the top post."