Related Research
publishersweekly.com, Focus on Theology: Islamic Publishing, 27 Oct 08 "With a topic as broad and varied, and as potentially confusing, as Islam, the comparative approach is appealing. By lining up Islam alongside religious traditions their readers may be more familiar with, university presses educate on Islam in an accessible manner, leaving the door open to greater commercial sales." Refers to my own iMuslims, and also an intriguing title: Devin R. Springer, James L. Regens and David N. Edger, Islamic Radicalization and Global Jihad (Georgetown, 2009) [which] "will look at, among other things, extremist Muslims' Internet postings in order to to better understand their movement." No further details yet.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Malaysia
Times Online, Malaysia to impose fatwa on yoga, 29 Oct 08 "Malaysia's National Fatwa Council is going to impose Fatwa on Yoga after Zakaria Stapa, a lecturer of University of Kebangsaan's Islamic Studies Centre, yesterday advised Muslims who have taken up yoga to stop practising it fearing that it could deviate their belief, local news reports said." I haven't seen the reading on this yet, or the context in which this 'fatwa' was delivered. Here's the Centre's website.
Times Online, Malaysia to impose fatwa on yoga, 29 Oct 08 "Malaysia's National Fatwa Council is going to impose Fatwa on Yoga after Zakaria Stapa, a lecturer of University of Kebangsaan's Islamic Studies Centre, yesterday advised Muslims who have taken up yoga to stop practising it fearing that it could deviate their belief, local news reports said." I haven't seen the reading on this yet, or the context in which this 'fatwa' was delivered. Here's the Centre's website.
East London Mosque
East London Mosque, Imam of Ka’ba leads prayer at ELM, 28 Oct 08 "One of the Imams of the Ka'ba Shakh Adel Salem Al Kalbani led the congregational evening prayer last night at the East London Mosque."
Also see eastlondonadvertiser.co.uk, Mecca’s First Imam in secret talks with East London council leaders, 27 Oct 08 "His entourage rushed him into the building past a waiting photographer—despite the sheikh indicating he was willing to meet the local press."
East London Mosque, Imam of Ka’ba leads prayer at ELM, 28 Oct 08 "One of the Imams of the Ka'ba Shakh Adel Salem Al Kalbani led the congregational evening prayer last night at the East London Mosque."
Also see eastlondonadvertiser.co.uk, Mecca’s First Imam in secret talks with East London council leaders, 27 Oct 08 "His entourage rushed him into the building past a waiting photographer—despite the sheikh indicating he was willing to meet the local press."
Egypt
Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (Cairo), Egypt: Student Denied University Housing As Punishment for Opinions Expressed On His Blog, 27 Oct 2008 "The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) condemns the exclusion of blogger Ahmed Abdel Kawi from the lists of students eligible for university housing, despite his meeting all the necessary conditions, because he has voiced his opinions publicly on his blog (http://akeedinegypt.blogspot.com)."
Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (Cairo), Egypt: Student Denied University Housing As Punishment for Opinions Expressed On His Blog, 27 Oct 2008 "The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) condemns the exclusion of blogger Ahmed Abdel Kawi from the lists of students eligible for university housing, despite his meeting all the necessary conditions, because he has voiced his opinions publicly on his blog (http://akeedinegypt.blogspot.com)."
ubuntu
Business Day (Johannesburg)/allafrica.com, South Africa: Shuttleworth Sticks With His Free Ubuntu Software "Canonical develops the Ubuntu operating system using open-source technology, allowing anyone to modify it or translate it into different languages.
"That makes it particularly appealing to emerging nations which find the licence fees for big-brand software packages prohibitive."
Business Day (Johannesburg)/allafrica.com, South Africa: Shuttleworth Sticks With His Free Ubuntu Software "Canonical develops the Ubuntu operating system using open-source technology, allowing anyone to modify it or translate it into different languages.
"That makes it particularly appealing to emerging nations which find the licence fees for big-brand software packages prohibitive."
Turkey
Asharq Alawsat, Fatwa Gives Women the Right to Hit Husbands, 28 Oct 08
"A fatwa originating from Turkey has given women the right to strike their husbands in cases of self-defense."
Asharq Alawsat, Fatwa Gives Women the Right to Hit Husbands, 28 Oct 08
"A fatwa originating from Turkey has given women the right to strike their husbands in cases of self-defense."
aQ
AP/MSNBC, U.S.: Suspect made videos glorifying al-Qaida, 28 Oct 08 "One of Ali Hamza al-Bahlul's videos depicted the 2000 suicide bombing of the USS Cole in Yemen and was shown at terrorist training camps in Afghanistan to inspire recruits, Army Maj. Daniel Cowhig, lead prosecutor in the second Guantanamo war crimes trial, said in opening statements."
AP/MSNBC, U.S.: Suspect made videos glorifying al-Qaida, 28 Oct 08 "One of Ali Hamza al-Bahlul's videos depicted the 2000 suicide bombing of the USS Cole in Yemen and was shown at terrorist training camps in Afghanistan to inspire recruits, Army Maj. Daniel Cowhig, lead prosecutor in the second Guantanamo war crimes trial, said in opening statements."
Filter
argosy.ca, Australia readies mandatory Internet filter, October 27th, 2008, Vol. 138, Issue 6 "Australia's current centre-left Labor Party, lauded by many for their 2007 decision to scrap the previous government's plans for a national ID card, is now raising the ire of civil liberty groups across the globe with a new AU$125 million 'Plan for Cyber-Safety.' Similar to the UK's child-pornography filtering system, 'Cleanfeed,' Australia's proposed infrastructure will block any content deemed by the government to be 'inappropriate for children'; that is, pornography of all stripes. However, instead of being 'opt-in,' Australians who don't want their connection filtered will merely be placed on a different filtering system and will be unable to view what the government describes as 'illegal material.'"
argosy.ca, Australia readies mandatory Internet filter, October 27th, 2008, Vol. 138, Issue 6 "Australia's current centre-left Labor Party, lauded by many for their 2007 decision to scrap the previous government's plans for a national ID card, is now raising the ire of civil liberty groups across the globe with a new AU$125 million 'Plan for Cyber-Safety.' Similar to the UK's child-pornography filtering system, 'Cleanfeed,' Australia's proposed infrastructure will block any content deemed by the government to be 'inappropriate for children'; that is, pornography of all stripes. However, instead of being 'opt-in,' Australians who don't want their connection filtered will merely be placed on a different filtering system and will be unable to view what the government describes as 'illegal material.'"
Arrest
scmagazineus.com, Turkish hacker arrested by FBI made video giving tips for installing ATM skimmers, 28 Oct 08 "A Turkish hacker known as “Chao” and arrested as part of the FBI operation against underground forum DarkMarket produced his own training videos, researchers revealed this week at the RSA Europe conference in London."
scmagazineus.com, Turkish hacker arrested by FBI made video giving tips for installing ATM skimmers, 28 Oct 08 "A Turkish hacker known as “Chao” and arrested as part of the FBI operation against underground forum DarkMarket produced his own training videos, researchers revealed this week at the RSA Europe conference in London."
Bloomberg.com, "The U.K. government said schools in England must do more to prevent violent extremists and terrorist groups including al-Qaeda from recruiting students, and issued guidelines on how to combat the threat.
"A 44-page pamphlet released today by the Department for Children, Schools and Families advises teachers how to spot and help vulnerable pupils age 5 to 11 in schools across the country."
It states:
"Access in the past has often been via leafleting and local contacts but evidence suggests that the internet is now playing a much more important role – both violent extremist videos and propaganda accessed via websites or contact via social networking sites."
Department for Children, Schools and Families, Learning together to be safe: A toolkit to help schools contribute to the prevention of violent extremism (p.3) [PDF]
"A 44-page pamphlet released today by the Department for Children, Schools and Families advises teachers how to spot and help vulnerable pupils age 5 to 11 in schools across the country."
It states:
"Access in the past has often been via leafleting and local contacts but evidence suggests that the internet is now playing a much more important role – both violent extremist videos and propaganda accessed via websites or contact via social networking sites."
Department for Children, Schools and Families, Learning together to be safe: A toolkit to help schools contribute to the prevention of violent extremism (p.3) [PDF]
Saudi Arabia
The Economist, The struggle against al-Qaeda, 23 Oct 08
"State television has aired extensive testimony from “repentant” jihadists as well as from scholars challenging the textual basis of jihadist beliefs. A campaign in prisons has targeted more than 3,000 jihadist detainees for counselling, with sweeteners such as housing loans and financial support for their families as well as religious re-education (pictured above). Saudi authorities say that some 1,500 radicals have been rehabilitated and freed, with only a tiny fraction subsequently reverting to jihadist ways. A separate programme has sought to combat jihadist ideas on the internet, by hiring moderate religious scholars to engage in debate on extremist chat sites. New laws have made incitement to terrorism over the internet a crime punishable by up to ten years in prison."
The Economist, The struggle against al-Qaeda, 23 Oct 08
"State television has aired extensive testimony from “repentant” jihadists as well as from scholars challenging the textual basis of jihadist beliefs. A campaign in prisons has targeted more than 3,000 jihadist detainees for counselling, with sweeteners such as housing loans and financial support for their families as well as religious re-education (pictured above). Saudi authorities say that some 1,500 radicals have been rehabilitated and freed, with only a tiny fraction subsequently reverting to jihadist ways. A separate programme has sought to combat jihadist ideas on the internet, by hiring moderate religious scholars to engage in debate on extremist chat sites. New laws have made incitement to terrorism over the internet a crime punishable by up to ten years in prison."
Media Representation
huffingtonpost.com, Author Jack Shaheen on Election 2008 Arab and Muslim Stereotypes, 29 Oct 08 "OffTheBus caught up with Shaheen to discuss Arab and Muslim portrayals in the 2008 election and how an Obama presidency can make a positive impact." Shaheen's work is well worth reading.
huffingtonpost.com, Author Jack Shaheen on Election 2008 Arab and Muslim Stereotypes, 29 Oct 08 "OffTheBus caught up with Shaheen to discuss Arab and Muslim portrayals in the 2008 election and how an Obama presidency can make a positive impact." Shaheen's work is well worth reading.
Omar Bakri Mohammed
This is London, Hate preacher Bakri targets young people through Web campaign, 29 Oct 08 "The Home Office wants to introduce rules making it easier to bar preachers of hate from Britain.
"But a Standard investigation has uncovered dozens of YouTube videos filmed by a radical Islamic sect and its exiled leader Omar Bakri Mohammed as part of its latest recruitment drive."
Also see Jamie Bartlett, Comment is Free, Guardian, Extremism: live by webcam, 29 Oct 08 "First, listening to radical preachers rant and rave about Jewish conspiracies or the importance of jihad doesn't turn someone into an Islamic extremist. In Demos' research into the relationship between radicalisation and violence, we are finding that vitriolic speeches calling on people to fight infidels are readily available. But on their own, they never lead anyone into action.
"Indeed, the leaked MI5 report on violent extremism in Britain suggested the influence of extremist clerics had "moved into the background". There is a much more tangled web of influences at work, and forcibly shutting up radical preachers can even be counter-productive. Anything the government ever bans usually becomes, by default, more exciting. Just as 16 year olds will clamber to watch any video that has been banned by MTV, the hits on a preacher's website will quadruple the instant he is not welcome in the UK."
Bartlett writes for Demos, whose main website is here, which includes an indication of their perspective on a number of issues.
This is London, Hate preacher Bakri targets young people through Web campaign, 29 Oct 08 "The Home Office wants to introduce rules making it easier to bar preachers of hate from Britain.
"But a Standard investigation has uncovered dozens of YouTube videos filmed by a radical Islamic sect and its exiled leader Omar Bakri Mohammed as part of its latest recruitment drive."
Also see Jamie Bartlett, Comment is Free, Guardian, Extremism: live by webcam, 29 Oct 08 "First, listening to radical preachers rant and rave about Jewish conspiracies or the importance of jihad doesn't turn someone into an Islamic extremist. In Demos' research into the relationship between radicalisation and violence, we are finding that vitriolic speeches calling on people to fight infidels are readily available. But on their own, they never lead anyone into action.
"Indeed, the leaked MI5 report on violent extremism in Britain suggested the influence of extremist clerics had "moved into the background". There is a much more tangled web of influences at work, and forcibly shutting up radical preachers can even be counter-productive. Anything the government ever bans usually becomes, by default, more exciting. Just as 16 year olds will clamber to watch any video that has been banned by MTV, the hits on a preacher's website will quadruple the instant he is not welcome in the UK."
Bartlett writes for Demos, whose main website is here, which includes an indication of their perspective on a number of issues.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Feud: Hamas v. Palestinian Islamic Jihad
Asharq Alawsat, Hamas and Islamic Jihad Still Feuding, 26 Oct 08 "It is no secret that the line adopted by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad in the Palestinian territories contradicts that of the Hamas movement, which controls the Gaza Strip. Their disagreement dates back to the time when they were first established in the late 1980s and has clearly manifested itself in the Palestinian street, institutions, universities, associations, and prisons. By simply raising a political or religious discussion among the members of both movements, one can realize that they disagree over everything."
Asharq Alawsat, Hamas and Islamic Jihad Still Feuding, 26 Oct 08 "It is no secret that the line adopted by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad in the Palestinian territories contradicts that of the Hamas movement, which controls the Gaza Strip. Their disagreement dates back to the time when they were first established in the late 1980s and has clearly manifested itself in the Palestinian street, institutions, universities, associations, and prisons. By simply raising a political or religious discussion among the members of both movements, one can realize that they disagree over everything."
aQ Twitter
AFP/tech.yahoo.com, Terrorist 'tweets'? US Army warns of Twitter dangers, 25 Oct 08 "A draft US Army intelligence report has identified the popular micro-blogging service Twitter, Global Positioning System maps and voice-changing software as potential terrorist tools.
"The report by the 304th Military Intelligence Battalion, posted on the website of the Federation of American Scientists (FAS), examines a number of mobile and web technologies and their potential uses by militants.
"The posting of the report on the FAS site was reported Friday by Wired magazine contributing editor Noah Shachtman on his national security blog "Danger Room" at wired.com."
Here's the article by Shachtman: Wired, Danger Room, Spy Fears: Twitter Terrorists, Cell Phone Jihadists, 24 Oct 08 This issue is put into appropriate proportion here: "Steven Aftergood, a veteran intelligence analyst at the Federation of the American Scientists, doesn't dismiss the Army presentation out of hand. But nor does he think it's tackling a terribly seriously threat. "Red-teaming exercises to anticipate adversary operations are fundamental. But they need to be informed by a sense of what's realistic and important and what's not," he tells Danger Room. "If we have time to worry about 'Twitter threats' then we're in good shape. I mean, it's important to keep some sense of proportion.""
Shachtman links to the report here (pdf): Federation of the American Scientists, Sample Overview: alQaida-Like Mobile Discussions & Potential Creative Uses, By 304th Ml Bn OSINT Team, October 16, 2008
AFP/tech.yahoo.com, Terrorist 'tweets'? US Army warns of Twitter dangers, 25 Oct 08 "A draft US Army intelligence report has identified the popular micro-blogging service Twitter, Global Positioning System maps and voice-changing software as potential terrorist tools.
"The report by the 304th Military Intelligence Battalion, posted on the website of the Federation of American Scientists (FAS), examines a number of mobile and web technologies and their potential uses by militants.
"The posting of the report on the FAS site was reported Friday by Wired magazine contributing editor Noah Shachtman on his national security blog "Danger Room" at wired.com."
Here's the article by Shachtman: Wired, Danger Room, Spy Fears: Twitter Terrorists, Cell Phone Jihadists, 24 Oct 08 This issue is put into appropriate proportion here: "Steven Aftergood, a veteran intelligence analyst at the Federation of the American Scientists, doesn't dismiss the Army presentation out of hand. But nor does he think it's tackling a terribly seriously threat. "Red-teaming exercises to anticipate adversary operations are fundamental. But they need to be informed by a sense of what's realistic and important and what's not," he tells Danger Room. "If we have time to worry about 'Twitter threats' then we're in good shape. I mean, it's important to keep some sense of proportion.""
Shachtman links to the report here (pdf): Federation of the American Scientists, Sample Overview: alQaida-Like Mobile Discussions & Potential Creative Uses, By 304th Ml Bn OSINT Team, October 16, 2008
UAE: Arabic domain names
Gulf News, UAE set to change domain name norm, 25 Oct 08 "The UAE is set to become the first country worldwide to offer complete internet domain names in a language other than English by late next year."
Gulf News, UAE set to change domain name norm, 25 Oct 08 "The UAE is set to become the first country worldwide to offer complete internet domain names in a language other than English by late next year."
IPv6
The National, Dubai meeting to decide future of the internet, 27 Oct 08 "A body that oversees the regional distribution of internet protocol (IP) addresses – the unique numbers that identify every device connected to the internet – will make a decision on migrating to a new addressing system that can cope with the explosive growth of the global network.
"The current IP address format means that only 4.3 billion unique addresses can be generated, a supply widely predicted to be exhausted by late 2010. The new format, known as IP Version 6 (IPv6), allows for considerably more: 79 billion billion billion times as many as the current system."
The National, Dubai meeting to decide future of the internet, 27 Oct 08 "A body that oversees the regional distribution of internet protocol (IP) addresses – the unique numbers that identify every device connected to the internet – will make a decision on migrating to a new addressing system that can cope with the explosive growth of the global network.
"The current IP address format means that only 4.3 billion unique addresses can be generated, a supply widely predicted to be exhausted by late 2010. The new format, known as IP Version 6 (IPv6), allows for considerably more: 79 billion billion billion times as many as the current system."
Google Arabic
startuparabia.com, Google Launches Arabic Transliteration Tool, Takes On Yamli "Google recently launched a new Arabic transliteration tool, that allows users to use their Latin keyboards to type in Arabic text. This move puts them in direct competition with Yamli, a small startup that has proven very popular and generated great feedback; simulating a modern day tech reenactment of David vs. Goliath."
The tool is here
startuparabia.com, Google Launches Arabic Transliteration Tool, Takes On Yamli "Google recently launched a new Arabic transliteration tool, that allows users to use their Latin keyboards to type in Arabic text. This move puts them in direct competition with Yamli, a small startup that has proven very popular and generated great feedback; simulating a modern day tech reenactment of David vs. Goliath."
The tool is here
Egypt
AP, Egyptian police arrest couple for swinger parties, 27 Oct 08 "The couple — a civil servant and his teacher wife — are accused of soliciting other couples over the Internet and inviting them to their home, said the security officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media."
AP, Egyptian police arrest couple for swinger parties, 27 Oct 08 "The couple — a civil servant and his teacher wife — are accused of soliciting other couples over the Internet and inviting them to their home, said the security officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)