'Jihadi Converts' - radio programme

Radio 4, The Report, 'Jihadi Converts' "Converts to Islam are far more likely to be involved in terrorist incidents than those who were born into Muslim families: converts account for around a quarter of terrorist convictions in Britain since 9/11 yet they represent only 2-3% of the UK's Muslim population."

Revolution Muslim 'Influence'

Daily Beast, Terry Lee Loewen, the Mellow Kansas Man Who Dreamed of Jihad, 16 Dec 2013 "Like the elder of the alleged Boston Marathon bombers and the would-be Times Square bomber and the Fort Hood shooter, Loewen was allegedly a big fan of Anwar al-Awlaki, the al Qaeda on the Arabian Peninsula leader killed two years ago by a drone strike in Yemen who continues to arouse the worst in lost souls seeking to find meaning in mass murder justified by religious mumbo jumbo.

"Exactly what prompted Loewen to convert to Islam is not yet clear, and none of the mosques in his area acknowledge ever having any contact with him. The criminal complaint quotes an email in which he said that he became attracted to radical fundamentalism when he began visiting a now defunct website called Revolution Muslim."

Convert issues and the net

OnIslam, Dar Al-Arqam – A New Muslim Safe Haven (Part 2) "Maryam, formerly known as Molly, was certain of her belief in Islam, and converted when she was only 17 years old. She still lived at home with her parents in the state of Arkansas. The nearest masjid was over 100 miles away, and she had never met another Muslim face-to-face.

"Her only support was from Muslims she met online. While she gained some emotional support from them, she received very little else. The little she learned about Islam was from YouTube videos and Facebook groups."

Converts In Mexico Online

Muslim Converts In Mexico Make Up A Diverse, Fast-Growing Community | Fox News Latino: "Although still a small community in comparison to other Latin American countries, the Muslim community in Mexico is extremely diverse. In Mexico City alone, there exists a Shi’ite Muslim women’s organization, a Sufi organization headed by two women, and a fundamentalist Salafi organization run by Muhammed Ruiz al-Mekisi, a Mexican convert to Islam." Interesting article, which highlights the role of the net in conversion processes.

Court case - net link

Guardian, Muslim convert from BBC documentary pleads guilty to terrorism charges, "Richard Dart, 29, admitted plotting a terror attack in Royal Wootton Bassett after receiving training at camps in Pakistan."

 Also see: Brendan Hughes, WalesOnline, Court hears of Cardiff family's extensive links with terrorism, Mar 15 2013 "Jahangir Alom, who admitted getting involved in terrorism, is the husband of Cardiff woman Ruksana Begum, whose brothers plotted to blow up the London Stock Exchange.

 "Begum was jailed in December for a year at the Old Bailey for having al Qaida terrorist material in her mobile phone."

U.S. suspects use social media

alarabiya.net, Two of four U.S. terror suspects were Islamic converts: "Authorities won’t say how the investigation began, but at least two members of the group shared their beliefs on Facebook and held Skype phone calls with Kabir - all of which was recorded by an FBI informant or captured by agents monitoring their activity."

OnIslam opinion: "Can I Convert in Secret?"

Can I Convert in Secret? - New to Islam - counsels - OnIslam.net: "My advice is that you accept Islam in your heart and do your best to learn and practice the rituals like ablution and Prayers, but not tell your parents yet. The Prayers can be performed in secret in your room; since you live far from a mosque, you do not have to perform them in congregation. And you have almost a year until you have to worry about fasting Ramadan. Even that can be done in secret, though with difficulty.

"Al-hamdu lillah , (all praise to Allah) you now have access to the Internet, via which you can learn the basics of Islam and how to pray and fast."

See the full response by clicking above.

Zachary Adam Chesser

New article: Christopher Anzalon, Perspectives on Terrorism - Zachary Chesser: an American, Grassroots Jihadist Strategist on Raising the Next Generation of Al-Qaeda Supporters: "Zachary Chesser, the 20-year-old Virginia man best known for issuing thinly-veiled threats to the creators of the Comedy Central TV show South Park earlier this year, was a prolific writer and self-styled grassroots jihadist strategist. He was a regular poster on several major jihadistInternet forums, including Al-Qimmah al-Islamiyyah (Islamic Summit), a Somali-English-Arabic forum dedicated to covering the activities of the Somali jihadistgroup Al-Shabab. It is this group that Chesser was accused by US authorities of attempting to join. He signed his online writings with his nom de guerre Abu Talhah al-Amrikee, which combines the name of a prominent historical companion of the Prophet Muhammad with the geographical marker “American.”"

Useful overview.

'Muslim Punk Rock'

Carla Power, Time, Muslim Punk Rock: A Mashup of Piety and Politics, 3 Dec 09 "Whether they're the voices of Muslim feminists going back to read the Koran and the Hadith as documents of liberation, gay Muslims working out a theology that embraces homosexuality or even the millions of Muslim youths trusting Islamic chat rooms — which one British Muslim leader has dismissed as "Sheik Google" — over the local imam, they, like Muslim punks, are expressing a growing dissent with the Islamic world's mainstream theologians."

"Love Jihad: luring girls online and forcing them to convert to Islam"

asianews.it, Love Jihad: luring girls online and forcing them to convert to Islam, 6 Oct 09 "The High Court of Kerala asks the state police and the Interior Minister in New Delhi to investigate the forced conversion campaign dubbed "Love Jihad" and "Romeo Jihad." Young people attracted by promises of marriage end up in the hands of Islamic organizations. It is feared that there are over 4 thousand cases. For the boys who act as bait there is a reward of 100 thousand rupees ...

" ... The main instrument used for grooming is the Internet. The profile of young people involved is well defined: Hindu or Christian, a student in college or their first job, coming from wealthy families. The primers were precise: two weeks to verify the feasibility of converting the girl, six months for submission to real brainwashing. During their mission the young men are given cell phones, bikes and clothing needed to lure young women; if the conversion occurred 100 thousand rupees, about 1,400 Euros, as financial aid to start a business of their own."

Sensationalistic story - expect to see this in the tabloids.

'Revolution Muslim'

Huffington Post/The Brooklyn Ink, Yousef Al-Khattab, Man Behind Virulent Islamic Website, Grew Up Jewish, 13 Mar 09 ""I don't know if this is my jihad," says Yousef Al-Khattab. "It's my obligation to command the good and forbid the evil." His American based website, Revolution Muslim, has become the scourge of Jewish bloggers and cyber vigilantes across the country, an odd achievement for a person born into Judaism and educated in Jewish schools, who has lived in Hassidic communities in Williamsburg and Jewish settlements in Gaza."

Full story

Revolution Muslim

Conviction

Press Association, Restaurant bomber jailed for life, 31 Jan 09 "The court was told Reilly decided to carry out his attack on the Giraffe restaurant in Exeter after being encouraged by others on the internet."

Times Online, Nicky Reilly, Muslim convert, jailed for 18 years for Exeter bomb attack, 31 Jan 09 "He is thought to have met British-based Muslim radicals in internet cafés near his council home, which he shared with his mother.

"Security sources said that radicals encouraged him to visit internet chat rooms and other websites, where he encountered men based in Pakistan who helped to mould a violent hatred of the West. He discussed with the men what his targets should be and they directed him to bomb-making websites."

Documentaries

For readers with access to iPlayer:

BBC One Wales, New Nation: White, Welsh and Muslim, 19 Jan 09 "Omer Williams and his brother Stuart are both Welsh Muslims. They have converted to Islam and are part of a growing UK trend.

"Stuart and his convert wife Kate are expecting their first baby, believing their child will be the first white Welsh-born Muslim. Omer's wife Shereen, meanwhile, experiences Islamophobia first-hand on the streets of Cardiff."

Not sure about the claim, but the programme (which I have yet to see) looks interesting, and can be viewed on the above link (at least in the UK).

Of related interest:

BBC One Wales, New Nation: Hijabs and Hairdos, 26 Jan 09 "The cameras lift the veil on an Asian women-only beauty and fashion boutique in Cardiff."

New Muslims Project Wales

South Wales Echo, Wales Online, New Muslims get support as they switch faith, 26 Jan 09 "Mr Rahman, an administrator for the Islamic Social Services Association, is reaching out to reverts via the internet, including social networking site Facebook, and has already got the names of 78 reverts in South Wales on his database."

Details: New Muslims Project Wales