'Strings of Freedom' controversy

AP, Palestinian orchestra shut after Holocaust concert, 29 Mar 09 includes a reference to Yad Vashem's Arabic website. Expect the orchestra to feature heavily on online fora in the next few weeks.

Also see NYT, Concert for Holocaust Survivors Is Condemned, 29 Mar 09 "Adnan al-Hindi, the leader of the camp’s Popular Committee, a grass-roots group representing the Palestine Liberation Organization, said the young musicians had been exploited by the orchestra director, Wafaa Younis, for the purpose of “normalizing” ties with Israel. He said by telephone that the children had been “deceived” and dragged unwittingly into a political situation that “served enemy interests” and aimed to “destroy the Palestinian national spirit in the camp.”"

Google Street View: mosques (Bristol)

Islam in Britain, Google Street View: mosques (Bristol) pix have been added. I decided to keep the images on Islam in Britain's blog from now on...

Mohammed Al-Aoufi

Habib Trabelsi, Middle East Online, Saudi Jihadist accuses Iran of sponsoring Qaeda, 30 Mar 09, "A repentant member of Al-Qaeda, the Saudi Arabian Mohammed Al-Aoufi, claimed last Friday that Yemen has become a rear camp for terrorist operations in neighbouring countries, in particular Saudi Arabia, accusing Iran of sponsoring “Al-Qaeda in the Arabian peninsula.”"

Hacking

CSM, Cyber spy network with global reach raises alarms, 29 Mar 09 "A group of hackers based almost exclusively in China has hacked into 1,295 computers in 103 countries. Canadian researchers at the University of Toronto revealed that cyber spies infiltrated systems in foreign ministries, embassies, international organizations, and the offices of the Dalai Lama. Thirty percent of the targeted computers could be considered "high-value" targets. No US government computers were compromised; however, the cyber spies broke into a NATO computer for half a day."

'Saudi's Most Wanted'

Waq al-Waq, al-Qahtani in Sada al-Malahim, 29 Mar 09 "Nayf Muhammad al-Qahtani's article in Sada al-Malahim on Saudi's most wanted list of 85 suspects gives some good background information on a handful of current leaders, particularly al-Wahayshi, Qasim al-Raymi and Said al-Shihri...."

Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi (+ generation gap?)

Caryle Murphy, CSM/ABC News, Jihadi Dispute Points to Deeper Radicalism Among Youths: A Leading Jihadi Theologian Is Under Fire for 'Moderating' His Views, 29 Mar 09"The attacks on Jordanian cleric Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi, who was spiritual adviser for the late Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq, are significant because of Mr. Maqdisi's longtime stature as a revered spiritual mentor who legitimizes violence with his religious interpretations of Islamic sacred texts.

"For some outside experts, the bitter verbal dispute in jihadi online forums is alarming because it heralds the emergence of an even more radicalized younger generation of violent extremists."

Significant issue - generating significant online responses.

Google Street View: mosques (Swansea)

A further part of this ongoing series of images of mosques from Street View (also posted on the Islam in Britain blog):


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Swansea City Mosque & Islamic Centre‎


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Imam Khoei Islamic Centre

I was unable to locate an image of the Hafod Islamic Centre or the Swansea University mosque.

Google Street View: mosques (Glasgow)

Today, in my street view tour, takes me briefly to Glasgow:


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Glasgow Central Mosque (not the best view)


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al-Furqan Mosque


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According to various maps, this is Madrassah Mosque in Dixon Ave. I have no knowledge of Glasgow however, and the site has no labels. Clearly, this is one of the issues associated with Street View (and its use in an academic setting).


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Egypt blogging crackdown

The Guardian Weekly, Egypt cracks down on bloggers, 27 Mar 2009

"In Egypt, victims of a repressive society are daring to find their voice online, writes Patrice Claude in Le Monde." Useful summary.

Bangladesh

The Statesman, ‘Arrest’ after UK charity’s terror turn, 27 Mar 09 "Bangladesh authorities today arrested the UK-based financer of an Islamic seminary, from where a huge cache of weapons and ammunition was seized this week.

"The financer of the madrasa-cum-orphanage on the south-western island of Bhola, identified as Faisal, who lives in London and runs a UK-based charity was arrested in Dhaka, officials said preferring anonymity."

also see Guardian, My son is innocent, says father of Briton held on terror charges in Bangladesh, 27 Mar 09

Nik Aziz on Kelantan's Digital Divide

Bernama, Only 10 Per Cent Of Kelantan Population Are Internet Users, 26 Mar 09, "Only 100,000 of the 1.5 million people in Kelantan are internet users, Menteri Besar Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat said.

"He said although they formed only 10 per cent of the state population, the gap would become wider if no action was taken to bridge the digital gap.

"The communication gap between the internet and non-internet users would be wider and also between that of those with and without knowledge, he said at the launch of the Wifi Aptus Net and the Tok Guru Blog here today.

"Nik Abdul Aziz said efforts should be made to get more people, like senior citizens, housewives, traders, imams and students at "pondok" (religious) schools, to be computer savvy and learn to surf the internet for information.

""Surfing the internet can help enrich our knowledge," he added."

And here is Nik Aziz's blog blogtokguru.com, with integrated video.

DAM

Palestinian rap group DAM have a new video, Alef to Ya



seen on hawgblawg

More on MySpace. Interesting to note that they are touring US in April, which is bound to capture some attention. Other rap perspectives are available (as discussed in Mark Levine's entertaining 'Heavy Metal Islam')

Iraq

AFP, Iraq kidnappers claim deal to free Britons: report, 27 Mar 09 "A group that kidnapped five British men in Baghdad nearly two years ago claims a deal is in place to release the hostages in exchange for prisoners being held by US forces in Iraq.

""There is an agreement between Britain and the US and our group," Abu Ali, a leader of the Shiite Iraqi movement claiming to hold the hostages, said in an interview with Arabic online newspaper Elaph published on Thursday."

Facebook Arabic

The National, Arabic language finds a friend, 20 Mar 09, "A version of a popular networking website in Arabic is being hailed by media and business analysts as a step forward in bringing more of the language’s 250 million speakers online."

I've previously blogged on Facebook Arabic, but this is a useful summary.

Jihadica

Proving that, alas, it is impossible to take a break in this field of study, here's Thomas Hegghammer Jihadica, Back. A succinct title, article points to recent material issued online by Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi. Also pdf links to Sada al-Malahim 8 and Turkestan al-Islamiyya 3.

Malaysia: Nik Aziz - "No Smoking"

alarabiyya, Muslim smokers worse than cows: Malaysia cleric, 27 Mar 09, "Muslims who smoke and try to portray themselves as religious are worse than cows that defecate in the street, a top Malaysian Muslim cleric and politician said on Friday, pointing out that smoking was banned in Islam because the habit was hazardous to health." also refers to an Indonesian fatwa on smoking

Radio 1: Istanbul

iPlayer, Gilles Peterson takes us on a guided tour of Istanbul, Turkey. BBC Radio 1, 9:00pm Tuesday 24th March 2009
Duration: 60 minutes Available until: 11:02pm Tuesday 31st March 2009

I have yet to hear this.

Princeton Digital Library

princeton.edu, New digital library of Islamic manuscripts online, 16 Mar 09 "Princeton University has placed a new digital library of 200 Islamic manuscripts online for scholars to consult and study.

"These manuscripts were selected from some 9,500 volumes of Islamic manuscripts in Arabic, Persian, Ottoman Turkish and other languages of the Muslim world in the University Library's Department of Rare Books and Special Collections. Princeton's extraordinary holdings constitute the premier collection in the Western Hemisphere and among the finest in the world, according to Don Skemer, curator of manuscripts."

Click this link to access the library. Be persistent. I got a '404' first couple of times of trying...

Google Street View: mosques (Manchester)

I've chosen a few from Manchester today. Clearly, it would be possible - given time and endurance - to build up a complete picture. I may well assemble these pictures onto the main website in due course. It can take time to locate mosques, using postcodes and cross-referencing, given that the results are often not immediate. There are some mosques which have good pix on flickr, but are obscured in Street View. I have ended up on several detours, but presumably this situation will improve in due course, unless someone pulls the plug. I'm keeping an archive copy of the snapshots as well. It helps to have a fast connection ... This is also on my islaminbritain blog. We could take it international as well (any offers?):


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View Larger Map Central Mosque & Islamic Cultural Centre‎


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View Larger Map Zakariya Mosque‎

'Conversion narratives' ++

publicservice.co.uk, Monitoring online chat is essential to disrupt terror recruitment, 26 Mar 09 "Despite a large opposition to government plans to increase its electronic surveillance, Dr James W Jones, professor of religion and adjunct professor of clinical psychology at Rutgers University in the US, says the modern recruitment of extremists could be wholly online and explains the actions that could prevent it."