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USA Today/WorldWide Religious News, In Malaysia, 'Islamic civilization' is promoted

Reuters/WorldWide Religious News, Banna Family Illustrates Complexities of Modern Islam "In an irony that illustrates the ferment in Islamist thinking, the younger brother of the man who founded Egypt's opposition Muslim Brotherhood has taken on the state-backed Muslim establishment -- from the liberal flank."

AFP/smh.com.au, Two Bulgarian hackers arrested : "The two men sent messages from an Internet site, asking people on behalf of the Al Qaeda terror network to blow up some of the largest public buildings in downtown Sofia in return for $US10,000."

AFP/TurkishPress.com, Six foreigners snatched, US soldier dies as Iraqis watch US election : "'I can get Internet service, go to (the Shiite holy cities of) Najaf and Karbala and read any book I want now without anyone bothering me.'" Opinion of one Iraqi.

TCS: Tech Central Station - Wired Islam "In a battle with the madrasas with their fundamentalist Wahabbist outlook one of the strongest weapons the West has is the openness digital technology offers. Not to mention the sheer wealth of information and entertainment that is on the net for free." Opinion piece.

BBC NEWS | Wales | BBC's web translation launch this interesting software could be applied in other contexts

Northeast Intelligence Network, The al Qaeda Tape Furor – Reality Check: "An hour-long videotape apparently released by al-Sahab Enterprises, the public relations arm of al Qaeda was reportedly obtained by ABC News in Waziristan, Pakistan last weekend. The tape is narrated by a terrorist who identifies himself as “Assam the American”. Videotaped with his face concealed by a head dress, he spoke with an American accent and promised that the next attack will 'dwarf 9/11.'" [details of the tape and a transcript - scroll down the page for this story]

Islam Online, Muslim Preacher Undergoes Successful Surgery refers to Amr Khaled's recent hospitalization.

The Register, Indian Muslim divorces wife by email more on this story of e-talaq (see below), via the Hindustan Times

Islamist website shows beheading of senior Iraqi army officer : HindustanTimes.com

AFP/Khaleej Times Online, Al Qaeda Saudi branch has new chief: reports: "Otaibi was identified as the new chief of “Al Qaeda in the Arabian peninsula” on one of the main Internet sites used by Islamists, where a biography of him was also posted. One contributor posted a section for greetings to the alleged new leader.

"Otaibi signed the editorial of the latest issue of the group’s online magazine, Sawt al-Jihad (Voice of Jihad), but without identifying himself as leader."

Press Trust of India/WorldWide Religious News, Now, man calls triple talaq over e-mail, 1 Nov 04: "Amid the controversy over triple talaq, a man has reportedly used e-mail to divorce his wife in Bareilly district. Rahat Iqbal, living in the US, is reported to have given triple talaq to his wife Rubab Anwar through e-mail."

AP/WorldWide Religious News, Arab Intellectuals Seek to Try Clerics, 1 Nov 04: "Among those the intellectuals want to see tried are Qatar-based Egyptian Sheik Youssef al-Qaradawi, who has condoned attacks on American civilians in Iraq and sanctioned kidnapping in wartime. Two prominent Saudi clerics, Sheik Ali Bin Khudeir al-Khudeir and Sheik Safar al-Hawali, also are mentioned.

'Fatwas issued by these sheiks play a key role in releasing the sadism of terrorists and their desire for death beyond any moral bounds and feelings of guilt,' the group said in a statement to be delivered to U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan (news - web sites) this week.
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t r u t h o u t - Sense of Dread Hangs over Fallujah as Battle Looms: "A militant group called Mohammed's Army claimed to have ambushed and killed 11 Marines trying to enter Fallujah and vowed to post photos of the dead on the Internet. Another, the Lions of God and Victorious Ali, claimed that one of its fighters shot down an American helicopter with a surface-to-air missile, and added that the rebel was 'martyred' by return fire. U.S. military spokesmen dismissed both claims ...

... Suhail al Abdali, a Fallujah fighter in his 30s who wouldn't identify the group he'd joined, said there "absolutely" were foreign Islamic extremists joining the fight. However, he emphasized, most Fallujah militants are Iraqis who are wary of the foreign extremist elements but bound by custom to accept offers of battlefield help from men they consider brothers in Islam."

LA Times, Sorting Friends From Foes interesting piece on Afghanistan, includes a brief reference to the military's access to the net

The Observer | Comment | The coming war Jonathan Dimbleby's opinion piece, written to accompany his TV programme "The New World War: A Reporter's Personal View"

B E L L A C I A O - Osama’s Surprise Osama bin Laden as Global Shock Jock - opinion piece

The Australian: I'll send US broke: bin Laden [November 03, 2004] "Al-Jazeera put the English-language transcript of the full 18-minute appearance on its website yesterday, after on Friday screening 14 minutes of the terror chief's analysis of the war on terror."

al-Jazeera's transcript can be found here

AFP/TurkishPress.com, Qaeda-linked group posts website video of Japanese beheaded in Iraq, 2 Nov 04 : "The grisly footage, posted by the 'information department' of Zarqawi`s recently renamed 'Al-Qaeda Group of Jihad in the Land of Two Rivers (Iraq),' showed three hooded gunmen pouncing on Shosei Koda to chop off his head."