BBC NEWS | Middle East | US to raise troop levels in Iraq: "... the Islamist group Ansar al-Islam claimed to have abducted and killed three Iraqis who 'collaborated' with the US, in a statement posted on the internet. "

Daily Times - Thinking Aloud: Too clever by half —Razi Azmi: "Like dynamite and nuclear power, the Internet can be used constructively or destructively, positively or negatively. It is an instrument, a massive force multiplier, which can be employed to proliferate and assimilate knowledge or to propagate ignorance, distortions and half-truths." Nice turn of phrase here.

WorldNetDaily: CAIR trains FBI in 'sensitivity' "Although it has been described by two former FBI counter-terrorism chiefs as a spin-off of a U.S. front for the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, led the workshop on "Islam and the American Muslim community" at the FBI's Jacksonville Division All Employee Conference."

Khilafah.com - Miss Afghanistan has been liberated

Zenit News Agency - Pakistan Textbooks Don't Make the Grade on Plurality non-tech, but relevant to underlying blog themes

The Star Online: Captured by the Taliban, rescued by Islam profile of Yvonne Ridley - a former editor of al-Jazeera's English pages, and a newly prominent convert to Islam

Daily Times, BOOK REVIEW: What times demand by Yoginder Sikand:

Discussion of Barelvi sect, and the madrassa syllabus, in this review of Dini Madaris Aur Ahad-i Hazair Ke Taqazey (‘Islamic Religious Schools and Contemporary Demands’) (Urdu) by Ghulam Yahya Anjum:

"Recognising that the employment prospects of madrassa graduates are limited, Anjum suggests that madrassas introduce professional courses, such as computers, tailoring, calligraphy, motor repair, watch repair, hotel management and journalism. In this way graduates would be able to go in for a range of careers other than as imams of mosques and madrassa teachers. This would enable them to support themselves and relieve the community of a great burden on its meagre resources."

The phenomenon of removable lenses is discussed in depth here, including references to IT use (the reason why some end up having to use lenses in the first place). New technology and health - Are removable eye lenses just for flirts? - health - Yemen Times: "The girls we see today wearing the artificial colorful removable lenses in order to tempt others, especially the girls that are veiled, they use their eyes as a kind of magic to deceive others. Where does this happen?"

Seattle Post-Intelligencer: AP - High-Tech: 'Blog' most popular word on web dictionary

Europeans ditch TV for PC | The Register "The internet is causing people in Europe to spend less time watching TV, according to new market research. In a report entitled "Evolution of Media Use in Europe - Web Impacting Consumption", JupiterResearch said that 27 per cent of web users in Europe are spending less time in front of the telly and are instead surfing the web. In 2001, only 17 per cent of respondents to a similar survey admitted to watching fewer hours of TV in favour of the net."

freemuslims.org, Sign Petition to Punish Religious Leaders who Preach Violence and Justify Terrorism: Free Muslim Coalition Against Terrorism

MEMRI: An Open Letter from a Saudi Islamist to Those who Shirk Jihad transcripts of statement from "Abu 'Abd al-Rahman al-Athari Sultan Ibn Bijad".

Occupation Watch: Rash of killings creates climate of fear in northern Iraq: "In a statement posted on the Internet, the group, calling itself al-Qaeda Organisation of Holy War in Iraq, said it had killed 14 members of the Iraqi National Guard and three members of a specialist rapid reaction force since November 25.

"The authenticity of the statement, posted on Monday, could not immediately be verified. But the US military believes Zarqawi and many of his followers probably fled Fallujah, west of Baghdad, ahead of a US offensive there earlier this month and may now be hiding out in cities like Mosul."

FrontPage magazine.com :: Saudi Arabia: An "Ally" We Could Do Without by Nir Boms "Al-Hawali has been linked to some of the September 11th hijackers. Currently he works with the Saudi regime to contain al-Qaeda militancy in Saudi Arabia. His radical website, www.alhawali.com, discusses the need for global jihad. Saudi militants, he writes, "should begin by propagating the message of Allah and end by fighting the infidels and conquering countries." In the perverse logic of Saudi officials, exporting insurgents to Iraq and Afghanistan may indeed alleviate the problem of militants within the Saudi kingdom." Opinion piece written by the vice president of the Center for Freedom in the Middle East

Cyberterror threat small but growing refers to the Canadian Office of Critical Infrastructure Protection and Emergency Preparedness:

""Our research shows that terrorist groups are definitely interested in attacking critical infrastructures," said Eric Byres, research director at the Internet Engineering Laboratory of the British Columbia Institute of Technology in Burnaby. "The good news is that we don't think they have the technical ability yet — in other words, the combined IT and control system skills needed to penetrate a utility network. The bad news is that they're beginning to acquire some of these skills.""

AAFATHIS News, The President calls for the full utilisation of available resources to promote cooperation, peace and harmony among Islamic countries, and to restore the past glory and might of the Islamic community, 1 Dec 04 News from the Maldives:

"The President noted that the world was at present experiencing an era of technology, the Internet and satellite communication, where mankind was being introduced to new discoveries, and that their mindsets were being changed continuously. He added that, as a result, Islamic scholars had to be academically and intellectually capable, in order to fulfil their duties to the utmost."

Asia Times - Anti-Semitism peddled in Southeast Asia: "The Internet, it has been written, is a massive, unregulated 'Wild West' technological frontier in which anything goes. Hatred and racism seem to go very well, and the Internet has indeed facilitated the dissemination of racist propaganda. For example, RadioIslam.org, a Sweden-based organization founded by Ahmed Rami, claims to reveal the truth of the Jewish conspiracy and carries the text of the Protocols in 11 languages. The Protocols has become so widespread that the Wiesenthal center has translated its 'Debunking the Big Lie' into Arabic and will soon make it available on its website. The Anti-Defamation League's website says that 'the Internet has given free access to the hatemongers in the US to cross-pollinate with anti-Semites globally to spread their venom of hate on a scale [like] never before possible'.
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Daily Times - First American Muslim TV channel goes on air for image discussion of Bridges TV

Arutz Sheva - Israel National News, When Israeli Women Marry Arab Men: "Aliza met her Arab lover via the internet, and like most girls in her situation, she was promised the world in exchange for a Muslim conversion and a marriage license." Discussion of domestic violence issues and religious opinions (from Arutz Sheva perspective).

Daily Times - VIEW: How Van Gogh provoked Islamists —Farida Majid This is a review of the Van Gogh/Hirst Ali film (previously blogged) and the issues arising from it. Majid writes:

"I watched the Theo van Gogh film on the Internet, and, like many viewers, found it troubling. Formally and visually it is nicely done, as one would expect from the bearer of one of the greatest names in European art. Even the flashing of the Quranic verses on the flesh was filmed artistically — though the very idea offended many Muslims.

"For me, the objectionable element was the content in its abstract obtuseness. Ayaan Hirsi Ali, the writer and co-producer of the film, could have been more upfront and situated the script honestly in the context of her own background of contemporary Somalian society...."

This review should be read in conjunction with the following news:

Faith Freedom International - Ayaan Hirsi Ali plans "Submission: part 2"