Marwa al-Shirbini

Times Online, Fatwa fear as Islamic world watches trial of Alexander W over court killing, 27 Oct 09 "The authorities fear a repetition of the riots against Danish and Scandinavian institutions after the publication of cartoons lampooning the Prophet Muhammad in September 2005.

"The fatwa has been issued by a Sheikh Ihab Adly Abu al-Madjd in a video clip on the internet. He calls on all Muslims in Germany to take vengeance and “receive the award of Allah”."

Opinion piece/commentary

Maloy Krishna Dhar, frontierindia.net, Talibanized Pakistan and threat to regional security, 25 Oct 09 opinion piece (brief ref to iMuslims)

Al Mus’haf - iphoneislam

Gaith, arabcrunch.com, iPhoneIslam Launches Al Mus’haf: A Free iPhone Natural Book Flipping App Using Their iFlipePage Engine, 10 Oct 09 "iPhoneIslam the pioneering iPhone applications startup from Egypt that is best known for Arabizing the iPhone and developing Yahoo!Maktoob’s iPhone Dictionary app, has launched today a stunning free Quran app called ” Al Mushaf ” available on iTunes Store.

"Al Mushaf makes you feel like reading the Quran on a real physical Quran; it gives you a very realistic hands-on experience of flipping a paper-book by simply dragging the pages corner. It also has natural paper behavior and natural page reflection, shadows and realistic paper sound effects."



Details: iphoneislam.com

I'm going to write something on apps soon - 3G phone reception is poor in my location in Wales, however, which hinders research. Islamic Calendar would be high on my wishlist.



There's also a range of products at Guidedways, such as iPray:



Also see their Qur'an app:



More suggestions to follow.

Apps

Gaith, arabcrunch.com, An Arab/ Pakistani iPhone Success: After Reaching 1 Million Users, Bandar and Fahed Launches a Dead Simple 2Do App for the iPhone "After Reaching the 1 million user mark, the Arab/Pakistani iPhones duo who won the best User Interface award of 2009, has just launched a new great dead simple 2Do application for iPhone and iPod Touch." cool app

Kzalek

Meedan, Arabic language Twitter client puts right-to-left pickle into the past

"A new Twitter application claims to have made life a lot easier for Arabic speaking users of the hit web service.

"Kzalek helps users write from right-to-left with Arabic and English words combined."

Also see Breaking: Gaith, arabcrunch.com, Kzalek, First Twitter Arabic Desktop App Beta Launched (supports all platforms), Farisi UI Planned, 19 Oct 09 "Few hours ago, Kzalek, founded by Mustafa Farghay from Egypt, launched in beta. Kzalek did not only solve the problem for Mac and Linux users but has a complete Arabic Interface for both platforms, Windows and any platform that can run by Adobe AIR.

"Whats more wonderful, I think that this app has the best Arabic right-to-left (RTL) support."

Also see Saleh Alzaid, twtbase.com, Kzalek

I just tried to locate Kzalek, but it seems to be down at present (it's in Beta, and likely to be suffering server strain). I'll update if I find more.

Internet jihad - research

Mark Dubowitz and Larry Footer, National Post, 'Full Comment', "The code is mightier than the sword" "The Long War against radical Islam is a war of ideas as much as a war of arms. Yet, for too long, the incitement and violent propaganda from Internet platforms operated by violent Islamist extremists have gone unnoticed and unanswered.

"Today, such neglect is not an option. As we have been warned by Harry Wingo — a former Navy SEAL who now serves as Google’s Washington, D.C. policy counsel — “the code is mightier than the sword.”

Some themes familiar to regular readers of this blog. For more info on the article's origins, see Foundation for the Defense of Democracies. This would appear to be part of a series.

IIU attack

pravda.ru, Pakistan Shutters Educational Institutions After Blasts at International Islamic University, 21 Oct 09 "News agencies also report, while Islamic extremists have bombed many foreign and Pakistani institutions in recent years, yesterday's attack was the first at a major university amid the jihadists' battle with the state. The sprawling government-run university has 18,000 students, 1,500 of them foreign."

Guardian, Pakistan suicide attack closes schools and universities, 21 Oct 09

Selangor

bernama.com, JAIS Arrests Relative Of Convicted Malay Prophet, 21 Oct 09, "The Selangor Islamic Affairs Department (JAIS) on Wednesday arrested a close relative of the convicted so-called "Malay Prophet" to help in the investigation into dissemination over the Internet and through SMS of the teachings of a deviant Islamic sect led by the "prophet"."

Twitter Palestine

Sara Elghobashy, Elan Magazine, Palestinian Takes Twitter to the Street - Literally, 15 Oct 09, "When Batheos Vloesman and his colleagues began selling street names to raise money for a children’s center in the West Bank, I bet they never anticipated that one of those streets would be named after a Twitter account. For $140, Arjan El Fassed, a Dutch-Palestinian, was able to name a street “@arjanelfassed tweetstreet.” Now his account will possibly be glorified until the end of time."

Twitter Top 10

Farrah Hamid, Elan Magazine, The 10 Best Twitter Accounts Muslims Should Follow, 19 Oct 09 [Tip: Huffington Post] "Check out our list (the first of it’s kind, as far as we can tweet) of the 10 Best Twitter Accounts that Muslims should follow. Our list includes the best of the best - from royals to athletes, to maybe even your Mom."

AK47 prize

Fox News, Al Shabaab Awards AK-47 to Winner of Koran Reciting Competition, 19 Oct 09 "The winner of a Koran recital contest and general knowledge competition organized by Islamist militant group al Shabaab in Somalia was rewarded with an AK-47, two hand grenades, an anti-tank mine, and a computer."

al-Shabaab

alarabiya, Somalia's Shabaab destroy mosque & Sufi grave, 19 Oct 09 "Al-Shabaab, which Washington says is al-Qaeda's proxy in the failed Horn of Africa state, has targeted Sufi holy sites and religious leaders in the past, saying their practices go against the insurgents' strict interpretation of Islamic law."

Tunisia

Middle East Online, Ben Ali campaign goes cyberspace, 19 Oct 09

"The campaign committee of Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali has launched three websites on the Internet to be distinct spaces for the different activities of the campaign at home and abroad.

"The sites offer room for visitors to know what has been achieved in Tunisia since the Changement that brought Ben Ali to power in 1987, in terms of gains and achievements under his leadership.

"The official website of the election campaign of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali is:

www.benali.tn

VEVO

Middle East Online, Abu Dhabi invests in music video site VEVO, 19 Oct 09

"ADMC chairman says deal is part of integrated approach to expanding firm’s global digital presence, brand portfolio."

Hamas on the beach

Rory McCarthy, Guardian, Hamas patrols beaches in Gaza to enforce conservative dress code, 18 Oct 09 "This education campaign is called fadeela or virtue, and in part consists of posters distributed across the city. Some advise young people against smoking or taking drugs. Others warn against internet pornography or satellite television: "Be careful. Watching dirty channels corrupts the family and the coming generation." That particular poster lists recommended channels: all are religious and Islamic."

Dagestan

The Sun, Koran boy's skin mystery, 19 Oct 09

"A baby boy has left doctors baffled after passages from the Koran were found on his skin.

"The parents of nine-month-old Ali Yakubov were stunned when the word Allah appeared on his chin soon after his birth.

Hajj hotel

Riazat Butt, Guardian, Mecca super-hotel to offer spa, butler and a chocolate room, 15 Oct 09 "Raffles, which gave thirsty wanderers the Singapore Sling, is opening a luxury hotel in Mecca offering pilgrims a coffee sommelier, a chocolate room where chefs will prepare bespoke pralines and truffles, and a 24-hour butler service.

"Undeterred by restrictions on beautifying oneself during the Hajj, the hotel will also have segregated gyms, beauty parlours, grooming salons and a spa."

Non-tech, but interesting story. There's an artist's impression of the new hotel. Not sure if it is subject to planning permission (the hotel seems to overshadow the precincts of Mecca), nor is it clear how its luxurious facilities are justified on other religious grounds.

Islam4UK

Telegraph, 'Muslims want sharia law in Britain' claim "Radical Muslim group Islam4UK has launched a campaign to impose sharia law on Britain, starting with a rally in London, according to a report.

"Members of the organisation have Muslims from all over Britain to meet in the capital on October 31 for a procession to demand the full implementation of sharia law.

"The demonstration will start at the House of Commons and will then converge on Trafalgar Square."

Also in The Daily Express, Now Muslims demand full sharia law, 15 Oct 09

Islam4UK's website is currently experiencing 'difficulties' (maybe overloaded by Express readers)

bitterlemons.org

peacenow.org, Hard Questions, Tough Answers with Yossi Alpher - October 12, 2009 "Yossi Alpher is an independent security analyst, co-founder and co-editor of the Israeli-Palestinian internet dialogue bitterlemons.org and Middle East roundtable bitterlemons-international.org. He is the former director of the Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies at Tel Aviv University, and a former senior official with the Mossad, Israel's national intelligence agency. His views do not necessarily reflect those of Americans for Peace Now or Peace Now."

Internet rumours in Iran

Damian Thompson, Telegraph, Internet rumour: Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, 'is dead', 15 Oct 09

"Is Ayatollah Khamenei of Iran dead? This is the story being put out this morning by Realite EU, a news service “supported by individuals concerned with the growing threat of Iran and extremism in Europe and the Middle East”. It is unconfirmed and turns out to be based on questionable sources."

One of these is Antimullah