Virtually Islamic: Research and News about Islam in the Digital Age
Gary R. Bunt

Archive: News about Islam, Muslims and Cyberspace

To recommend a news story for this page, please contact . Related themes are discussed and developed in my research on Islam, Muslims and cyberspace. Some of the references to Islam and/or the Internet contained in these articles are quite subtle in nature, but nevertheless they caught my interest. The selection and placement of stories on this page were determined by the site's author (not a computer program!). External links are placed here for information purposes only, and their inclusion does not imply endorsement by this site's author. Some archive articles may require payment to access. The most recent stories can be found on the Virtually Islamic blog.

UNDP - Arab States The Arab Human Development Report in English, Arabic and French contains references to the net/IT access. Also see:

SciScoop || Fuzzy Math And Fuzzy Thinking By The Numbers refers to "the latest volume of the Arab Human Development Report" including the following: "There are 18 computers per 1,000 people in Arab countries, compared with a global average of 78.3 per 1,000 ... Internet access is available to 1.6 percent of the population in Arab countries. Telephone line access in the countries is barely one-fifth that of developed countries."

Middle East Online: "Dubbed by Time magazine as the most important study in 2002, this year's UN's Arab Human Development Report expands on the need for governments to reform economically, politically and socially as well as engage globally or else trail behind the rest of the world.

"Unlike last year's version, which concluded the region faced freedom, gender inequality and knowledge deficits, the 210-page report published this week and compiled by Arab intellectuals and analysts covering the 22 Arab countries, stresses the untapped potential of knowledge."

MEMRI, New Al-Qa'ida Online Magazine Features Interview with a 'Most-Wanted' Saudi Islamist, Calls for Killing of Americans and Non-Muslims, October 17 2003 Extracts from 'The Voice of Jihad'.

Middle-East-Online, Taraweeh in English live from Mecca, 30 Oct 03 "The Saudi Ministry For Islamic Affairs, Endowment, Dawa and Guidance has launched the first ever live English translation of Ramadan 'Taraweeh' prayers from TV studios at the Sacred Mosque in Mecca.

"The project was launched under the directives of the Saudi Minister of Islamic Affairs Sheikh Saleh Bin Abdel Aziz Al Sheikh and with the cooperation of team of Islamic scholars and translators led by Sheikh Wajdi Bin Hamza Al Ghazzawi who developed the translation system being used for this historic project."

Study finds gaps in digital divide theory - News & Technology - CNETAsia: "Charting and Bridging Digital Divides" report on the so-called 'digital divide' paints a more complext picture. There are no references to 'Islamic' contexts in the report.

IHT: Brazil, the new hotbed for hackers, 28 Oct 03

BBC NEWS, Photo Journal: Baghdad family, 30 Oct 03 Not quite Salam Pax, but an interesting insight nevertheless into daily life. Let's hope the BBC paid Mr Kadhim for his contribution.

Globetechnology, Information production on rise: Study, 29 October 2003 " ... the worldwide production of information has increased by 30 per cent each year between 1999 and 2002, according to researchers at the University of California, Berkeley." Enhanced information overload, already an issue for those of us studying Islam on the net.

Straits Times, Seductive voice of political Islam - OCT 27, 2003: "After Dr Mahathir spoke, the Muslim heads of state gathered at the 57-member Organisation of the Islamic Conference gave him a standing ovation for the speech, which ultimately criticised the Islamic world for failing to modernise.

Dr Mahathir is unlikely to remain quiet or uninfluential in retirement.

Mercury News | 10/25/2003 | A hidden voice of Islam A reference to Silicon Valley got this interesting profile of a Muslim community in America into the site

Middle East Online, Cheap Ramadan calls for Thuraya subscribers in Iraq (good photo!) Middle East Online 50% of Arab satellite TVs are loss making

TerraNet Portal Site, Ramadan dinners go online in Turkey, 24 Oct 03 Great headline! "Turkish people lacking time to prepare the traditionally lavish dinners served during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan can this year count on the services of a website which promises to deliver a movable feast at the exact time of fast-breaking."

Pravda, Who Trains Suicide Bombers? - 23 Oct 03: "In 2000, Chechen suicide bombers appeared on this black list for the first time. On July 2nd that year, four blasts perpetrated by suicide bombers in Argun, Gudermes and Urus-Martan left 33 people dead and over 80 wounded. The Internet site of the al-Qaeda cell operating in Chechnya hurried to declare the suicide bombers 'shahids' or martyrs."

albawaba.com: Close to 90 satellite channels compete over 71 million viewers in the Arab World, 22 Oct 03

AP, Bin Laden Hiding but Striking With Words, 21 Oct 2003 " ... Saturday, an al-Qaida-style recording surfaced on the Internet featuring what is described as audio of militants launching a suicide bomb attack in Saudi Arabia in May, killing 26 people in a Western housing compound. A speaker dedicates the attack to bin Laden and the audio includes what appear to be old statements from him calling on Muslims to wage a holy war on the United States and its allies."

MSNBC, Asian terrorists quickly regroup, 17 October 2003: "A leadership vacuum left by the arrest of al-Qaida-linked terrorists in Asia has been quickly filled with a new operations chief and top bomb makers who are plotting deadly attacks on international hotels and other Western targets in the region, intelligence officials tell the Associated Press."

Now, maulvis' fatwa spins out of control: This wasn't an electronic fatwa, but was circulated on the net (including in newspaper articles): "The fatwa, issued by Imam of Hazrat Khwaja Dana Saheb Mufti Mohammed Murtazakhan Razwi of the Sunni sect and Mufti Ismail Wadiwala of the Tablique sect, states: 'Idol worship is against Islam. Any Muslim found worshipping idols should be boycotted from the community. If he has to return to the community, he should remarry and apologise to the Almighty.' The similarity in both the fatwas is striking and they both do not name anyone. "

Times Online - Comment, How to be an Islamic reformer: blame the Jews, 17 October 2003

Independent, General promises to stop talking of Satan and Islam, 18 October 2003 "A Pentagon general criticised for portraying military conflicts as religious battles has said he will desist from his evangelical rhetoric in an attempt to keep his job."

Straits Times, Islam through the eyes of the Western media - OCT 20, 2003

albawaba.com: Bin Laden urges Muslim youths to join jihad against US, 18 October 2003 that's an audio tape - although the article is accompanied by a tv picture of bin Laden.

Libraries revisit Islam - The Washington Times: Nation/Politics

Khilafah.com - Troop Magazine Offers Sex Tips For GIs in Muslim Countries

aljazeerah.info, Muslim Scholars Call for Fairplay in Resolving Conflicts, 16 Oct 2003

Tallahassee Democrat | 10/10/2003 | Shedding tears for the gruesome sacrifice of Haifa refers to "The Trouble With Islam," Irshad Manji's new book, and her website www.Muslim-refusenik.com.

Straits Times, Islam as seen through the eyes of the Western media - OCT 11, 2003"All around the world, the Western media stimulates, corrupts, influences, shapes and challenges Muslims. Television, radio, the Internet and newspapers are inundated with negative images of Muslims, who are routinely portrayed as being fundamentalist, conservative, extremist, uncivilised or despotic."

Straits Times, Radical Islam still being taught in madrasahs - OCT 11, 2003 Refers to a study by the Institute of Policy Studies in Islamabad; "An IPS survey shows that students from such religious schools are hostile to other sects - 20 per cent said they had no tolerance for them.

FrontPage magazine.com, Who Bombed the Baghdad Hotel?

Islam Online, Jewish Websites Under U.S. 'Terrorism' List, 13 October 2003

CNN.com - Egyptians following twins surgery - Oct. 12, 2003: The separation of Ahmed and Mohamed Ibrahim was followed on the net:

Brunei-Online, Muslim countries can have democracy: Nobel prize winner, 13 October 2003 refers to net

BBC NEWS | World | South Asia | The 'university of holy war', 10 October 2003: "Its students and principal call it the University of Jihad (Holy War).

BBC NEWS | World | Middle East | Despair of Palestinian children, 10 October 2003 Relevant to my discussion on the 'cyber-interfada' in Islam in the Digital Age.

BBC NEWS | World | Asia-Pacific | Mahathir calls for peaceful Islam, 10 October 2003

Reason.com, Really Creative Destruction: Economist Tyler Cowen argues for the cultural benefits of globalization Discussion of a new book: Creative Destruction: How Globalization Is Changing the World's Cultures

MPAC, Tablighi Jamaat, Political Jihad & the biggest Mosque in Europe???

MPAC, 'British' and 'Muslim'? article originally in Islam Online

Reuters, Nobel panel sends bold message with Ebadi prize, Fri 10 October, 2003

MSNBC, FBI sent money to Hamas in late ?90s tracking alleged cash routes to Hamas.

IPS News, RIGHTS: U.S. Muslims Warn of New Government Crackdown, 9 October 2003 on Islamophobia.

Wired News: Cloaking Device Made for Spammers, 9 October 2003 'Hidden websites' would have a number of applications for some of the sites/platforms discussed in Islam in the Digital Age.

Commondreams.org, It's the Policy, Stupid, 9 October 2003 Article by Lawrence Pintak.

The Register "Warning: virus terrorism stories may contain nuts", 8 October 2003 "Deadly attacks on the Internet, as we're all aware, are almost entirely the work of isolated dysfunctionals, aided in no small part by woefully secured and supervised computer systems. High tech computer crime, as we're sure the NHTCU is well aware, is largely the work of insiders."

Gamla, A Muslim Reformation? transcript of a radio programme, with a reference by Daniel Pipes to the internet. Also refers to Irshad Manji's new book.

Yorkshire Today, Mosque chief 'beat boy, eight, for not learning lessons', 5 October 2003 not a 'technical' story in relation to Islam, but this relates to notions of religious authority - a key theme of my work to date.

AP/CBS 2: National Wire, Doll offers image of modesty and self-esteem for Muslim girls, 8 October 2003 Muslim 'Barbie', known as Razanne, has achieved most of its sales on the web. My detailed research on this - OK, I admit it, a Google search - revealed a Razanne site.

BBC NEWS | Business | Iraq awards mobile phone licences, 6 October 2003

MSNBC, Quest for the Muslim niche market, 5 October 2003 Discussion on 'spoof' Internet publication Islamica News.

WashingtonPost.com, After Shock use of net cafes in Iraq referred to

Cyberdissent: The Internet in Revolutionary Iran Paper by Babak Rahmi, originally published by the Middle East Review of International Affairs (MERIA) Journal: "Abstract: This paper argues that the internet, as an advancing new means of communication, has played an important role in the ongoing struggle for democracy in Iran. While outlining its history in Iran amidst an ambiguous state response to its rapid development since 1993, the paper also attempts to show how the internet has opened a new virtual space for political dissent. The paper claims that the internet is an innovative method for resistance in that it essentially defies control and supervision of speech by authoritarian rule seeking to undermine resistance."

OrlandoSentinel.com: News: More on allegations surrounding Ahmed Fathy Mehalba, a Guantanamo Bay translator, and allegations relating to the hiring of staff at the facility: "Describing the recruitment process in June 2002, a Titan official said some candidates for the translator jobs were found through the Internet, newspaper ads, language associations and word-of-mouth."

ic Wales - Islamic Net cafe aims to build bridges, 2 October 2003 An Islam and the net story from Wales. There's a new Islamic cybercafe in Cardiff (more info at www.theserenity.org)

Progressive.org, Edward Said Interview, by David Barsamian, 1 October 2003 Interview from February 2003 with the late Edward W. Said, whose comment about the net and its impact on his own writings was interesting (the whole interview is worth reading): "There's a form of censorship here in the U.S., which is that you're marginalized. You can't appear in the mainstream media. But my stuff is published in the Arab countries, and then it appears on the Internet. It's picked up and people read it. When I got a request to write an article for The New York Times Magazine about my idea of a solution, a binational state for Palestinians and Israelis, that was because an editor there had read me on the Internet."

The EastAfrican on the Web, Who's Reading My Mail? Everybody, it Seems!, 1 October 2003 "[But] ... under the guise of tracking the bad guys, many self-serving African governments would love to develop a culture of "cyber-security", particularly if that UN summit gives them the excuse. It was only this month that Tanzanian police freed a Pakistani national whose intercepted e-mails to a friend in Pakistan were found suspect."

Washingtonpost.com, Guantanamo Bay Prison Interpreter Arrested for False Statements : "Federal agents at Boston Logan Airport arrested an interpreter from the Guantanamo Bay prison camp for making false statements earlier this week after finding classified computer discs about the jail's operations in his baggage as he returned from a foreign trip, U.S. officials "

Beliefnet: A Joke Becomes a Muslim's Chance to Proselytize Jews"Unlike Jews for Jesus, Ghounem has no sponsors and no missionaries; he relies solely on the Internet for outreach. His Web site, which has had more than one million visitors since it was launched three years ago, has attracted about 200 "converts" who use it as a support group. It also provides a forum for Ghounem to address misconceptions about Islam, like the idea that Islam was spread by the sword, that the Quran is anti-Semitic and that Jews and Muslims worship different gods." Discussion on jewsforallah.com

Yahoo! News - Canada Author Causes Stir with 'Trouble with Islam'The application of the term "Islamo-fetishist" caught my attention here, as well as the author's interest in 'ijtihad' - something I write about in Islam in the Digital Age.

BBC NEWS | Technology | Discord at digital divide talks, 29 September 2003

albawaba.com: Qatar leads IT connectivity in the Middle East, 26 September 2003 as discussed in Islam in the Digital Age

HindustanTimes.com, Women muftis issue fatwa on parlours, 28 September 2003 : "Dar-ul-Iftah, a collegium of muftias (women muftis or religious teachers) formed for the first time in the country in Hyderabad this week, has issued a fatwa, declaring that patronising beauty parlours is unIslamic."

Windy City Media Group, Gays in Azerbaijan Struggle with Tradition, Not Religion, 17 September 2003 "Both Anar and Zaur prefer to go to one of the dozens of Internet cafes that populate the city, and talk to people online for 2000 manat (about 40 cents) per hour. Even in cyberspace, you have to be careful. There are no local gay sites, and the two men have honed their cyber-gaydar. “You learn to hear code,” when exchanging messages online, says Anar. There are also several dating sites that accept men-for-men ads."

Ialbawaba.com, Summer lovin' - Arab Gays, Lesbians coming out of the closet...?, 7 August 2003 refers to several web sites and chat channels (some of which I've discussed in my Virtually Islamic book and other publications), including the LEGAL Institute Website, GayMiddleEast.com, GLAS, Ahbab, gayarab.org, Al-Fatiha, Huriyah and Queer Jihad. There is room for more detailed research in this field.

Inter Press, RELIGION-MALAYSIA: Debate Rages on 'E-divorce', 5 August 2003 More on the SMS controversy: "For all the furore 'e-divorce' has caused, Malaysia is not the first country where SMS 'talaq' has been accepted. Media reports say the first case of an SMS divorce took place in the United Arab Emirates.

"But Islamic authorities in neighbouring Singapore - where using SMS is an everyday habit -- have declared 'talaq' by SMS unacceptable due to "elements of doubt" over the sender's identity and sincerity."

Clearly this opens up a whole range of issues (technical, legal, ethical, gender relations). It is interesting that, in Singapore, emphasis was placed on a sender's identity. There are other issues: what if the intended recipient's phone is non-functional (signal failure, battery dead, phone off, number changed)??

Internet Haganah: Who is Taking Credit for Attacks on the U.S. Army in Western Iraq? Jonathan D. Halevi's overview (hosted on Internet Haganah, originally in Jerusalem Issue) on al-Jam'iya al-Salafiya al-Mujahida includes reference/screenshots of related websites: " ... in an Iraq that is currently in transition after the iron-fisted rule of the Baath party, al-Jam'iya al-Salafiya is likely to find a receptive audience for its ideological platform among a considerable number of Iraqi Sunnis who want to see the removal of the occupying American forces and greatly fear the rise in power of the Shiites, who constitutes a majority in Iraq and who until now had been ruled by force by the Sunni minority."

TECHNOLOGY-AFRICA: Poverty an Impediment to Internet Growth, July 18 2003 Just clocked this one, clearly still a relevant story, access to the net being a key issue when discussing cyber Islamic environments.

The Register, Pentagon pulls Kill-An-Arab futures trading website, 30 July 2003 Essentially this is a follow-up to stories posted below about the DARPA fiasco. One wonders how much money (if not thought) went into this project. The pages were pulled, but remain online thanks to Cryptome.

Wired News: Forums Point the Way to Jihad, 6 August 2003 discussed message boards and websites associated with al-Qaida. Refers to SITE Institute.

Christian Science Monitor, Tailor Muslim practices to fit life in America, 4 August 2003 "Over the Internet, progressive Muslim mailing lists and websites are becoming increasingly popular. Groups like the Progressive Muslim Network and the Network of Progressive Muslims engage in discussions - on everything from matters of ritual to social relationships - that would be unheard of in neighborhood mosques. The online magazine MuslimWakeUp.com which I cofounded, has featured articles that are openly critical of conservative interpretations of Islam - and according to the web-ranking company Alexa, it has become the highest-ranked website geared to Muslim Americans in just six months of operation." This article refers to Omid Safi's book "Progressive Muslims", which is well worth reading. There's an interview with Omid here: MuslimWakeUp, Washing our dirty laundry, 4 August 2003

MEMRI: Latest News, August 04, 2003 "According to the newspaper Al-Shira',supporters of Saddam Hussein sent an email to Paul Bremer, 'copied to Saddam Hussein,' threatening to take revenge against the coalition forces and declared to Saddam that they were all his sons. The alleged revenge, they wrote, would continue for a week, reaching its peak on July 30, 'the Day of Revenge.'" One wonders whether Saddam Hussein is picking up his mail, if messages are being "c.c."-ed to him

Daily Times, Indian hackers duel Pakistanis, 4 August 2003 This links into an issue discussed in Islam in the Digital Age, being the competitive element of hacking and defacement: "So far this year, 114 Pakistani sites have been hacked by pro-India operators while Pakistani groups have hacked or defaced as many as 766 Indian sites — 208 in June alone. Last year, 288 Indian sites were hacked. “For every Pakistani site defaced by Indian hackers, the Pakistanis hack into 10 Indian sites. There is a constant game of upmanship happening online,” said Anubhab Kalia of New Delhi’s flawfinder.com, a service monitoring attacks on Indian sites."

AP Wire, Saudi Arabia's Reformers Feel Under Fire, 3 August 2003 refers to the use of fatwas posted on Internet sites by "extremist clergy" (their term) and the persecution of an individual for making an "offensive" statement to an Internet magazine.

Gulf Daily News, Terror groups 'forged links', 1 August 2003 Links between Jemaah Islamiah Indonesia and al-Qaeda discussed in the Bali trial.

Gulf Daily News, Internet Chatting comes of age in Bangladesh, 3 August 2003 "Several hundred Bangladeshis have come out of the anonymous world of Internet chatting in a first-of-its-kind meet-and-greet for the country's increasing number of online enthusiasts."

Tech News - CNET.com, A high-tech bridge to Middle East peace?, July 31, 2003 Interview with Shimon Peres re the potential for high-tech as a 'bridge to peace'. "Israel will be happy to put at the disposal of its neighbors its know-how in the field of high-tech and develop ties of cooperation in this and other fields." Peres does not use a computer himself.

BBC, Saudi Arabia begins to engage in the war against terror, 31 July 2003 This is Frank Gardner's Newsnight report from Saudi Arabia, showing Saudi security forces in action. Gardner also reported from northern Saudi Arabia, where he discussed with al-Qaida supporters the use of pay-as-you-go phone SIM cards to facilitate communication.

Wired News: Kabul Goes Postal for Web Access, July 31, 2003 Net access is slowly improving in Kabul, although it will take some time for other areas of Afghanistan to be 'connected, given the lack of basic infrastructures in the region: "In the developed world, 1,000 people checking their e-mail may not seem like a big deal. But for people in this war-torn nation who, until the ousting of the militant Taliban government in late 2001, were forbidden from owning a computer, it is understandable why the program is generating excitement." The article has two photos, which are worth viewing.

Inter Press Service News Agency, 88,000 Mosques, One Sermon, 21 July 2003 'old news', relating to Egypt and the production of 'official' sermons written by government officials. The article raises some interesting issues: "... some critics say that confining the space for religious freedom could backfire as it may drive people into the arms of non-official religious groups. Critics say also that the government needs to take the deteriorating economic situation into account in order to fight extremism. Young men turn to violence not because they go to mosques but due to official atrocities and the poor economy"

silicon.com - 'Divorce by text message' up for a re-think, 31 July 2003 - previously discussed on this blog: "...the government is planning to put the brakes on the SMS divorce system, according to Malaysian daily newspaper The Star". GB: Would the lack of a phone signal invalidate the SMS divorce?

albawaba.com: Jewish group urges US administration to ban Hizbullah Al-Manar TV station, 30 July 2003

albawaba.com, Cyber War Against Mubarak & Son??, July 27, 2003 The email group Free Egyptians has been active against the Mubaraks. Echos of the Al-Assad succession here.

'ABC, 'I divorce you' SMS troubles PM', July 30, 2003 This is not the first time this topic has emerged. There was a case a couple of years ago in Singapore, I recall. According to this report: "Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has directed the Islamic Advancement Department to verify the method of SMS divorce. "I can understand why the women are very worried," he was quoted as saying by Bernama news agency. "There's possibility of being duped through SMS.""

Gulf News, Internet chatting is becoming an addiction, July 29, 2003 News from Sharjah about Internet use: "A survey of cyber cafes revealed that many young Internet users spend most of their time chatting and searching "useless" sites. However, some do use Internet cafes for educational purposes." Nothing unusual there, then. Not sure about the survey's source.

Gulf News, IT is leading the way to the future, July 29, 2003 Sample students' projects from Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

Straits Times, Moderates in Indonesia find their voices, July 29, 2003

WorldNetDaily, Foreign holy warriors face shocking reality: Called to jihad against 'infidels,' but find out people side with U.S., July 29, 2003 discusses MEMRI report

Arutz Sheva, Daniel in the Lions’ Den, July 28, 2003 'Daniel' being Daniel Pipes, whose commentaries on Islam and Muslim Affairs can be found on his website.

CNET/MSNBC, World nearing Web address crunch, July 28, 2003 IPv6 clamour

CBS/AP, Betting On Terror, July 29, 2003. I think that Andrew Orlowski in The Register provides a more incisive analysis of this story: The Register, Kill a Middle East head of state, win prizes! - Pentagon shows how, July 29, 2003 "DARPA is launching an online gambling site called the 'Policy Analysis Market'." All in the best possible taste??? Decide for yourself by visiting Policy Analysis Market

Computerworld, Report: Inadequate IT contributed to 9/11 intelligence failure, July 24, 2003 referred to in Islam in the Digital Age

Wired, Iraqis Log On to Voice Chat, July 28, 2003

BBCi, Phone services spring up in Iraq, July 28, 2003 also see Reuters/Wired, Phones Come Alive in Baghdad, July 22, 2003

The New Yorker, The Search for Osama, July 28, 2003

MensNewsDaily, Radical Islamic Cleric Apparently Threatens British House of Commons, July 28, 2003

Reuters/MSNBC, Internet booms in Baghdad, July 25, 2003

FrontPage, Islamic Apostates' Tales, July 21, 2003

Australian IT, Ungodly attacks on the virtual Vatican, July 16, 2003 "The Vatican must also fend off web surfers who harbour no hostile intent whatsoever, such as an insomniac Franciscan friar ... who had repeatedly tried to enter the site."

FrontPage, A New Bin Laden Speech, July 18, 2003

BBCi, Hello Peace: phone network aims to help Middle East divide, July 18, 2003 (requires RealPlayer)

IslamOnline, French Report Condemns Web-based Anti-Arab Racism, July 17, 2003

BBCi, Linux reaches Afghanistan, July 15, 2003 also see UNDP, Linux Training, July 7 2003. In looking at this further, I found a great (as in amusing and fascinating) page on Religion, politics and Linux, which some readers might enjoy if they have a spare week.

BBCi, World's poor to get own search engine, July 15, 2003 an excellent idea from TEK, designed for those with a slow net connection. Also see their publications. Connectivity issues are discussed in my new book.

FrontPage, The Dawning of Dawa, July 15 2003 "Since September 11, Americans have learned, many groups with Dawa-derived names now operate and plot violence from bases in the U.S. But a greater danger may reside in Dawa’s largely invisible nationwide success..."

ChronWatch, Saudis Get Liberal With Gay Rights, July 12, 2003 "Amid pressure from the U.S., winds of change are blowing across one of the world's most notorious violators of human rights, Saudi Arabia, the only country in the world named after its rulers. One sign: The kingdom's Internet Services Unit blocked access to www.gaymiddleast.com on June 16, but after protest faxes and e-mails from the Web site's managers, believed to be based in Egypt, the site was unblocked as of July 1."

Wired, Bloggers Opening Western Eyes, July 11, 2003 news on blogging in Bosnia.

The Register, Iraq: the view from the ground, July 11, 2003

AFP/Taipei Times, Police unveil Bali attack suspect's computer files, July 8, 2003 "A statement claiming responsibility for the Bali bombings and pornographic photos of white women were found on a computer belonging to a key suspect, an Indonesian trial heard yesterday." Article refers to Istimata.com. Also see JoyJunction, Alb. ISP Hosts Terror Web Site Admitting Responsibility for Bali Bombing, n.d.

Christian Science Monitor, A militant who defies cease-fire, July 8, 2003 refers to use of email and net by Mounir Moqdah, a Palestinian who guides "rogue cells of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade" from the Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp in Lebanon.

Internet Haganah, 4th July Greetings from al Qaida. This discusses a Shockwave Flash file that has been circulating on the net, which had been published on a UK computer company's website (since removed), which features a Du'a of Sheikh Muhammad Al Mohaisany recorded in Mecca. Internet Haganah have put up some screenshots to give an indication of the type of 'jihadi' content features on this 'presentation', which continues to circulate on other sites.

Arab News, Rules, What Rules? Ask Internet Cafe Owners, July 7, 2003

The Register, Pakistan to distribute free Net Porn filters, July 7, 2003

Arab News, Women Rights Revisited!, 6 July 2003

Arab News, Internet Regulations Tightened, July 6, 2003

Reuters, Livewire: Web Sites Try to Make Internet Dating Less Creepy, 5 July 2003 includes reference to MuslimSingles (http://www.muslimsingles.com)

Reuters, Search for WMD Finds 'Bomb' on Internet, 4 July 2003

FrontPage, Terrorism: Growing Wahhabi Influence in the United States, July 3, 2003 refers to the Al Haramain Foundation's use of the Internet as a dissemination tool

Reuters/Yahoo!, Campaign Changing Views on Female Circumcision, July 1, 2003 Campaign against Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) aided by the Internet: "Aid workers say campaigns show success in other countries, helped by growing literacy in Africa, where access to the Internet and other information sources is more widely available. They say parents listen increasingly to warnings against FGM."

Straits Times, PAS presents its controversial future, July 2, 2003 refers to Parti Islam SeMalaysia, and related internet discussions

Asia Times, Who Killed Daniel Pearl?, July 2, 2003

Reuters/Taipei Times, Saudi Arabia reaches out to its religious minorities, July 2, 2003 refers to use of internet by al-Qaeda.

it-analysis.com, Web Censorship: Blocking Internet Porn in Iran, July 2, 2003

FrontPageMagazine.com, Portrait of a Wahhabi, 30 June 2003 A perspective on the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology and Homeland Security, including some reference to Internet blogging.

New York Times/Mafhoum, Thomas L. Friedman: Google is a bit like God, 30 June 2003 refers to the use of Broadband by supporters of bin Laden.

Newsday, Saudis inch into debate linking Islam to violence, June 24, 2003 new debate on 'Wahhabism'

FindLaw.com, Hacking for Free Speech: A New Breed of "Hacktivists" Takes on Internet Censorship, 24 June 2003 refers to censorship in Saudi Arabia.

AP/Kansas City Star, Attacks in Saudi Arabia Spark Debate, 24 June 2003 discusses the role of the net in Saudi Arabia in relation to press freedom, linking the discussion to the dismissal of al-Watan's editor Jamal Khashoggi

Straits Times, Flexible face of terror, June 25, 2003 Written by Jessica Stern, lecturer in public policy at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government: "The Internet has also greatly facilitated the spread of 'virtual' subcultures and has substantially increased the capacity of loosely networked terrorist organisations ...

"The obstacles these websites pose for Western law enforcement are obvious. In one article on the 'culture of jihad', available online, a Saudi Islamist urges Osama's sympathisers to take action without waiting for instructions."[discussed in detail in Islam in the Digital Age]

The Guardian, Israel checks out website run by Russian racists, June 25, 2003 "The website says it is run by "Ilya from Haifa and Andrei from Arad", who describe themselves as "people who have pride in themselves and are sick of living among the dirty bastards". Also see earlier Haaretz article (in Google cache), Anti-Semitism, right here at home, n.d.

"They have drawn up a list of "enemies" collectively derided as "black arses". They include Jews, Arabs, foreign workers and, tellingly, immigrants from Muslim republics of the former Soviet Union.

Agence France-Presse/Australian IT, Pope takes on hackers, spammers, June 25, 2003 not so much about Islam, but will the application of Divine Intervention against spammers be effective?

ABC News, Statement of Facts: The Case Against Admitted Al Qaeda Member From Ohio, June 19, 2003 Regarding the USA v. Iyman Faris, a/k/a Mohammed Rauf "... In messages to C-2, those tools were to be referred to as "mechanics shops." The defendant indicated that he had email and was familiar with the internet. C-2 instructed the defendant never to access email immediately after logging on but only after opening other internet sites first." [GRB: I'm not sure how effective that advice would be ]

Newsday, Saudi Terror Plot Suspects Include Teens, June 22, 2003 discusses the "dangers" of the Internet:

""Osama bin Laden has said publicly in interviews that he is targeting people in the 15 to 25 age range. They are the most valuable and the most malleable of the organization's foot soldiers," said Abdul-Rahman al-Motawa, who recently published a book on Saudis detained at Guantanamo.

"Al-Motawa said many Saudi youth who end up as members of al-Qaida cells are recruited through Web sites and private gatherings.

""The Internet is very dangerous. Many of the young men were lured to Afghanistan with the promise of work with relief organizations. Once there, they were trained and sometimes sent back to Saudi Arabia to carry out attacks here," he said."

BBCi, Cyber award for jailed Tunisian, June 19, 2003 refers to Zouhair Ben Saïd Yahyaoui and his imprisonment (and torture); also see Zouhair Yahyaoui's site TUNeZINE.com and Reporters San Frontieres' pages, in particular their report The Internet under Surveillance : Obstacles to the free flow of information online [PDF file], or read one of their country-by-country reports or regional pages

Toronto Star, Al Qaeda mutating like a virus, June 22, 2003 "Using the Internet, the Islamists are spreading their gospel to potential new recruits in the West as well as in the developing world. For some, the Internet is a gateway to membership in militant groups; for others, it's an aid to studies they have already undertaken with local extremists." As discussed in Islam in the Digital Age.

Wired, Saddam's Homepage Gets Face Lift, June 20, 2003

BBCi, Iraq to open up airwaves, June 18, 2003

San Francisco Chronicle, North American media help Iran protests grow, June 20, 2003 "A growing network of Iranian American media outlets -- from television to radio to Web sites -- is helping spark the student-led protests erupting in that Islamic nation ..."

World Press Review, Double Vision, June 18, 2003 refers to Internet censorship in Iran, as does Reuters, Iran Internet Use at Risk from Conservatives, June 17, 2003 "The diary of a former prostitute is one of the hottest Web sites in Iran, a strict Islamic society where the Internet is coveted for the access it gives users to a forbidden world."

Christian Science Monitor, WMD terrorism: The next phase?, June 18, 2003 Reference to the use of the Internet by al-Qaeda and Ansar al-Islam: "It is undeniable that Al Qaeda, for example, is seeking to deploy the full arsenal of WMD. It would be difficult to conclude otherwise, given the discovery of notes, manuals, videos, hard drives, and Internet documents found in abandoned Al Qaeda safe houses, caves, and training camps in Afghanistan and more recently in the Ansar al-Islam camp in formerly Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq. This evidence contained material on conventional explosives, WMD (including dirty bombs), and potential target sites, such as nuclear power plants."

BBC News Online, Kabul's cyber cafe culture, June 16, 2003

Observer, Mobilising Islam against terror, June 15, 2003

AME Info, IslamicFinder portal offers prayer timings in over 5 million cities and towns across the globe, June 16, 2003 This article is not exactly 'news', but an interesting overview of IslamicFinder nevertheless.

Azcentral, New bride defends deported husband, June 15, 2003 Convert's story (influence of the web?)

BBC News Online, India gears up to fight hackers, June 16, 2003

UPI, Interview: Hamas head Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, June 16, 2003 not directly web related, but associated with some of the sites I write about in Islam in the Digital Age.

Haaretz, Jerusalem bus attack death toll rises to 17, June 12, 2003 refers to the use of the Internet to announce the bomber's name (on the Hamas and al-Kassam websites)

The Register, Al-Jazeera cracker charged, June 12, 2003 illustrates a Network Solutions' 'vulnerability'. Also see AP/Mercury News, Web designer charged with rerouting Al Jazeera material to patriotic site, June 12, 2003 and BBC News, Al-Jazeera hacker pleads guilty, June 13, 2003 Coincidentally, a related scam is detailed on The Register/Security Focus, Cracking down on cyberspace land grabs, June 11, 2003

ChannelNewsAsia, France says arrested German Islamic militant is top man in al-Qaeda, June 12, 2003 "Christian Ganczarski, 36, is a "high-ranking al-Qaeda official" and "computer and telecommunications expert" who was "in contact with Osama bin Laden", Mr Sarkozy told parliamentary deputies."

New York Times, E-Mail Message Blitz Creates What May Be Fastest Fad Ever, June 12, 2003 It's those Iraq 'most wanted' playing cards...

Egypt Today, Holier Than Thou, June 2003 issue "It seems that people are genuinely hungering for information and interpretations of the Quran, yearning for a stronger sense of belonging to their religion. This demand has helped to create a new breed of nontraditional Islamic preachers who aim to fill the void that Al-Azhar created by years of apathy regarding the way religion was taught. These new preachers are everywhere: in mosques, on television, on the Internet, in private homes and even in sporting clubs." Also refers to Amr Khaled and his preaching.

BBC News, In search of profitable connections, June 12, 2003 Useful article, discussing the 'digital divide' in Ghana

The Guardian,The Audrey look is very in and the mood is defiant, June 12, 2003 Article about Iran: "On the internet, young women express their frustrations in anonymous weblogs, complaining about discriminatory laws and patriarchal attitudes. In the workplace, female graduates are making inroads as lawyers, doctors and managers. But Iran's laws have failed to keep pace with social change, according to Shirin Ebadi, a human rights lawyer."

The Guardian, Mobile calling: Mobile phones occupy a special place in the lives of Pakistanis, June 12, 2003

IRNA, Abdullah Sultan al-Qahtani issues internet 'threat' in Saudi Arabia, June 12, 2003

Washington Post, In Karbala, postwar successes, June 12, 2003 contains a reference to 'improved' net access in Karbala

"While online diaries, or weblogs, have captured headlines, with writers such as Salam Pax lauded for his fascinating insights into life in Iraq during the recent war, there are many other kinds of personal sites on the web."

BBC News, Egypt bans 'too religious' Matrix, June 11, 2003. Also see MSNBC, Egypt censor unloads ‘Matrix’ sequel, June 12, 2003 which mentions that The Message (a film about Muhammad's life - which I use in my lecturing) has just been released in Egypt some 20+ years after being banned.

The Guardian, BBC suicide bomb drama fuels hatred, say Muslims, 11 June 2003 includes discussion on the email responses to the BBC programme 'Spooks'

YellowTimes, Israel's guide to making a suicide bomber, June 6, 2003 written by Sharif Hikmat Nashashibi, Chairman of Arab Media Watch

BBC News Online, CIA spies shun computers, June 6, 2003

The Guardian, I'll just check my diary..., June 5, 2003 relates to the Save the Children's Eye-to-Eye website... "For Mona and other young Palestinians writing on the Eye-to-Eye website, the internet offers the chance to tell the world about their daily lives, hopes and fears in refugee camps in Lebanon, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

MSNBC, Ashcroft wants Patriot Act widened, June 5 2003

BBC News Online, Cow pats fuel computers, 3 June, 2003 Refugees in Tanzania are using computers powered by cow manure ......

CNSNews.com, The Decline and Fall of Islam, June 6, 2003 discusses secularislam.org and the books of Ibn Warraq. The columnist Alan Caruba from the National Anxiety Center states: "... before this millennium is over, Islam is likely to have joined the myths of ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome as a religion that was tested and failed." Further 'opinions' about Islam from the National Anxiety Center can be found on their website

The Electronic Intifada, The new anti-Semitism?, 3 June 2003

The Guardian, Highway to hell, June 2, 2003 refers to net censorship, in an article predominantly about heavy metal music in 'Islamic countries'.

Washington Post, Teens tutor FBI in cyber-slang, June 4, 2003 isn't about cyber Islamic environments, but raises some interesting issues regarding surveillance and 'slang'.

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Analyst Speaks About 'Globalization' Of Islam, 28 May 2003 Interview with Olivier Roy, who states: "I am struck by the homogenization of what is circulating all over the world under the name of Islamic religious literature. The ideas, the teachings -- especially under the Wahhabi or Saudi influence -- the media are more and more homogenous and transnational. If you go to the Internet -- in English or in modern Arabic -- you find all the literature which has been produced by the [radical] Salafis, the Wahhabis and so on. It's very important to the extent that young educated Muslims who are going to other countries for studying and so and so look at these websites. They exchange information. And I cannot say the same with liberal Islam, [whose ideas are] less circulating." I discuss this issue in Islam in the Digital Age.

365Gay.com, Cairo Court Frees Four Convicted In Gay Club Raid, June 5, 2003 "Since the raid on the Queen Boat Egyptian police have arrested dozens of other gay men, many of them entrapped through internet personal ads placed by police informants."

American Daily, An al Aqeda Users Guide, June 2, 2003 Seems as if the membership listing of Islamic Awakening has been compromised, and passed through to the FBI by an 'unnamed source', according to this American Daily report. If they were interested, I think the FBI would have done this already, for the well-known site which is linked to Azzam Publications (discussed in Islam in the Digital Age). Any email address is likely to be of the hotmail variety (and therefore not particularly useful), rather than a pointer to 'al-Qaeda' 'supporters'.

AP, Saudi Cleric's Followers Face Charges, May. 31, 2003 "Sixteen months after his death, Saudi authorities still grapple with the legacy of a blind cleric who preached that the United States was the enemy of Muslims and that those allied with the West were nonbelievers." The cleric was Sheik Hammoud bin Oqla al-Shuaibi, whose edicts can be found on the net (for example, at aloqla.net). Also see Knight Ridder Newspapers. Arrests signal tougher stance by Saudis against extremists, May. 30, 2003

News24, Bali suspect 'knows' bin Laden, 28 May 2003 Comment from Bali bomb suspect Imam Samuda about Abu Bakar Bashir: "Samudra said Bashir, 64, had never ordered any bombings and dismissed the cleric as out of touch and boring. 'It's the age of the Internet but he still talks about mysticism while Muslims are being slaughtered.'"

National Post, Terror Web site sells Canadian firearms, June 3, 2003

MEMRI (Middle East Media Research Institute), Saudi Media Trends: In the Wake of the Riyadh Bombings, June 1, 2003 According to MEMRI's translation from Al-Watan's columnist Abd Al-Qadr Tash, it now seems that the Internet is being seen as a 'cause' of 'terrorism': "The Satans of the streams of violence and terror rely on the same flawed culture that young people draw from many sources, beginning with the educational institutions, through Fatwas... the pulpits of the mosques and the cassettes, and ending with television programs and what appears on the completely uncensored Internet forums. Unlike young people in the past, the young people of today no longer receive religious law from a single reliable source."

Here's a report I missed first time around: MEMRI, Saudi Religious Police Launch Website, May 13 2003 The Al-Madina regional branch of the Saudi religious and morality police, formally known as "The Authority for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vices," recently launched its new website. The site posts news items, citizens' violations, and includes a section that allows citizens to inform anonymously on persons they suspect of violating religious and moral laws."

The Daily Star (Lebanon), Washington’s likely plans to restore the Iranian monarchy are foolhardy, June 2, 2003 discusses 'The Internet Prince': "Reza Pahlavi had been living quietly in Maryland until Sept. 11, when he began to address the Iranian community via the internet and satellite television. This prompted the Iranian community to dub him the 'Internet Prince.'"

CNN, Iraqis scramble to restore Internet, May 31, 2003 "Because the Internet here will largely be rebuilt from scratch, it can be configured in the prewar manner with all traffic funneled through a central location -- making censorship easier -- or it can be rebuilt with multiple earth stations, which will make filtering more difficult to impose later." It will be interesting to see which option is selected.

The Guardian, Salam's story, May 30, 2003 Salam Pax, 'The Baghdad Blogger', has been tracked down, and will be writing for The Guardian. No sign of Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf writing a column yet, although he was tracked down by The Mail on Sunday according to a Sky News report ...

Dar al Hayat, Young Saudis Volunteer To Preach In 'Modern' Way, 27 May 2003: "Young Mohammed, who is a Saudi preacher, tells Al-Hayat that the variety of means that are used to spread Islam is a direct result of society's development in Saudi Arabia. According to him, had the means not been so multiple, they would have not been as attractive and persuasive... According to him, the most efficient means of preaching nowadays are the Internet and satellite channels, even though some people tried to spread other teachings by pretending to be them, and hence ruin their reputation. Mohammed admits that tapes and booklets are no longer sufficient, considering the wideness and quick development of cities. Thus, he believes that the direct call from the mosques, through preaching and orientation, has become more organized as it is happens under the supervision of the Mosque." [discussed in Virtually Islamic and Islam in the Digital Age]

BBC News Online, Muslims seek love online, 29 May, 2003 also see: The Guardian, How to net a husband, May 19, 2003 discusses Muslimmatch.com and muslim-marriages.co.uk.

Wall Street Journal (reproduced on FrontPage.com website), MSA Figure Seized By FBI, May 29, 2003 discusses at length the Muslim Students Association and the alleged links of some of its members. It also refers to the role of the MSA's website, which is a long-standing resource.

CBSNews.com, Muslim Foundation's Assets Frozen, May 29, 2003 refers to the Al-Aqsa Foundation

BBC News Online, Online communities get real, 29 May 2003 which discusses the publication of a report by the Work Foundation: "The notion that virtual communities would allow people to unite in a global village, creating false online personas and moving rapidly from one internet community to another are not being borne out." Something of a generalisation, perhaps, but the report ('You don't know me, but ... Social Capital and Social Software [PDF file] makes for interesting reading when considered in relation to Muslim communities.

Newsweek, Al Qaeda’s British Connection, May 29 2003 discusses 'Londonistan' and Saad al-Fagih's Alsaha.com.

Newsweek, Hard to Kill, May 30, 2003 which refers to the 'dismissal' of Al-Watan's editor Jamal Khashoggi: "Ever since the Riyadh bombing, Khashoggi had been on a virtual crusade against the clerics, blaming them for fomenting an atmosphere of religious intolerance and extremism that has helped fuel bin Laden’s terrorist movement."

AME Info, Islam Online goes with Comtrust, May 29, 2003 "According to Islam Online, its IT staff recently became concerned over possible downtime occurrences. “We realized the time zone differences between our existing service provider outside this region and our target audience in the Middle East left us vulnerable,” said Dr Yousef Alhorr, General Manager, Islam Online. “We have worked hard to create a portal that ultimately has become a reference for everything that deals with Islam, its sciences, civilization and nations."" Islam Online are featured in my new book New Book: Islam in the Digital Age

Herald News, Terror expert: People still need to be on alert, May 29, 2003 Cites Steven Emerson (NBC's 'terrorism expert'): "Emerson said terrorists have been using the Internet effectively to recruit people, raise money, indoctrinate and instruct." Article doesn't give any examples. [Emerson is discussed by CAIR in the following article: CAIR responds to Daniel Pipes anti-Muslim hysteria]

Computerworld, Study finds CIA falling behind in IT know-how, May 29, 2003 "A new unclassified report, titled "Failing to Keep Up With the Information Revolution," offers a withering assessment of the CIA's use of IT for intelligence analysis ..." [the report is here]

Reuters/Swiss Info, Attack warning after Saudi arrests, May 28, 2003 "The daily Okaz said five people had been arrested at an Internet cafe in Medina on Tuesday. It reported the alleged mastermind was a Saudi national who was among 19 men wanted by local authorities on terrorism charges following a shoot-out with security forces in Riyadh early this month"

Wired, Blogs Opening Iranian Society?, May 28, 2003

(Word Document) PRISM, YES to WMD: The first Islamist Fatwah on the use of Weapons of Mass Destruction, May 2003 written by Reuben Paz at the Global Research in International Affairs (GLORIA) Center in Israel. According to Dr Paz: "The ruling of Sheikh Naser al-Fahd is a precedent in the case of the use of WMD. Since this was an answer to a question by an anonymous person we cannot know if the question was a real one or invited by the Sheikh or any element linked to Qa`idat al-Jihad. Yet, the clear acceptance of the use of WMD in the Western sense - nuclear, biological, and chemical - is very significant."

The Age, Still alive and kicking, May 28 2003 Rohan Gunaratna (author of 'Inside al-Qaeda: Global Network of Terror') provides his analysis of the current status of al-Qaeda.

The Age, Al-Qaeda No.3 captured, May 28 2003

The Age, Saudis target Islamic charities, May 23 2003

Atlanta Business Chronicle, Internet Security Systems' 'honeypot' site gets hacked, 19 May 2003 "A hacker-monitoring Web site run by Internet Security Systems Inc., whose business is keeping other companies' networks safe from hackers and security breaches, was itself hacked in early May by a group that posted derogatory anti-war messages against American, British and Israeli leaders"

International Policy Institute for Counter Terrorism, Al-Muhajiroun: The portal for Britian’s suicide terrorists, May 21, 2003 written by Michael Whine, Communications Director, Community Security Trust and Director of the Defence and Group Relations Division of the Board of Deputies of British Jews. Whine has previously written about the Internet for the Board of Deputies. He discusses the impact of Al-Muhajiroun, Supporters of Shariah, and other organisations in relation to the beachbar suicide bombing in Tel Aviv. Whine's analysis suggests: "People who are recruited by AM [Al Muhajiroun] are taught by the organisation that Israel, the Jews and the West are evil and that it is their Muslim duty to fight them. This is not to state that AM is itself a terrorist organisation. It is not, at least in Britain, but it does serve as an important radicalising agent in the process of turning young British Muslims against Britain and into militant Islamists, and serves as a portal through which some of them have been encouraged to pass on their way to becoming terrorists." Al-Muhajiroun are discussed in Islam in the Digital Age and also in a piece I wrote in 1999 ("islam@britain.net: British Muslim Identities in Cyberspace", Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations, Vol. 10, No. 3, 1999, pp. 353-362). Al-Muhajiroun remain online at http://www.almuhajiroun.com.pk

Frontpage.com, The Real Roots of Islamic Extremism, 22 May 2003 A brief reference to the net here, in an article by Stephen Schwartz (author of The Two Faces of Islam: The House of Sa'ud from Tradition to Terror): " ... two generations of Saudi subjects are educated and entrepreneurial. They know how the real world works, have access to satellite television and the Internet, and are tired of their ambitions being blocked by the corrupt and sclerotic Saudi system. They want to live in a modern society, such as would most resemble Malaysia — a constitutional and parliamentary Islamic monarchy."

New York Post, Apartheid, Saudi Style, 22 May 2003

Wired, Pentagon Defends Data Search Plan, May 21, 2003

New Zealand Herald, Independent, Why suicide bombers die with a smile, May 23, 2003 Not really a net story, but it links into content on *some* sites discussed in Islam in the Digital Age.

Asia Times, A lesson to be learned, May 21, 2003 (re. Lebanon)

Islam Online/Cyber Counsellor, We met on the net, May 20, 2003 not strictly news... but an opinion on online Muslim 'relationships'.

Dar al Hayat, Why Did Bin Laden Emulate The New York Attacks in Riyadh?, May 17, 2003 refers to al-Qaeda's use of laptops.

Wired, Indian IT Success Sparks Backlash, May 20, 2003

Frontpage/Guardian, Terror Crackdown Has Not Reduced Al-Qaida Threat, May 19, 2003 Guardian article, discussing the International Institute for Strategic Studies' annual report, which refers to al-Qaeda:

"While its [al-Qaeda's] leaders had "blended" into Pakistani cities such as Karachi, new technology enabled it to operate as a "virtual entity", without the need for physical bases ...

"Otherwise, notebook computers, encryption, the internet, multiple passports and the ease of global transportation enabled al-Qaida to function as a 'virtual' entity that leveraged local assets - hence local knowledge - to full advantage in coordinating attacks in many 'fields of jihad'."

Arab News, 'People Claiming the Last Word on the Qur’an Pose a Problem’, May 17, 2003

Wired, "If We Run Out of Batteries, This War is Screwed", 11.06, June 2003 Seems the forces used Microsoft Chat...

New York Times, Video Game Mounts Simulated Attacks Against Israeli Targets, May 17 2003 discusses the game 'Special Force': "The hottest video game for the teenagers of Beirut's southern Shiite neighborhoods is "Special Force," a creation of Hezbollah...

"While not the first politically oriented video game to enter Middle Eastern cyberspace, "Special Force" is a sign of Hezbollah's elaborate propaganda efforts. Its popularity is also an indication of Hezbollah's success in permeating popular consciousness in Lebanon and in gaining political legitimacy here."

Details on the game can be found at specialforce.net [please note my site disclaimer]

Wired, The Baghdad blogger is back, 14 May 2003

BBC News, Africa's tech pioneers play catch up, 17 May 2003 discusses aspects of the 'digital divide'

Palestine Chronicle/Free Expression Policy Project, The Impact of the USA PATRIOT Act on Free Expression, 14 May 2003 "In conjunction with the passage of the USA PATRIOT Act, the U.S. Justice Department issued revised FBI guidelines in May 2002 that greatly increase the bureau's surveillance and data collection authority to access such information as an individual's Web surfing habits and search terms ...

"Just as people who borrow murder mysteries are unlikely to be murderers, so those seeking information about Osama bin Laden are not likely to be terrorists. "

Balochistan Post, Al-Qaeda is back and stronger than ever, n.d. This reproduces a Guardian article by Richard Norton-Taylor, and is interesting in that it is juxtaposed with a quote from Surah al-An'am: "Leave alone those who take their religion to be mere play and amusement, and are deceived by the life of this world. But proclaim (to them) this (truth): that every soul delivers itself to ruin by its own acts..."

IRNA, After US failed to encrypt message, Indian boy hacked Al-Qaeda, May 18, 2003 "The Americans had tried almost everything, but they just couldn't crack an encrypted message they came across while investigating the 9/11 attacks but finally, they approached a 17-year-old boy in Delhi, local press reported here on Sunday. Over the next 10 days, Ankit Fardia hunkered down in his room in Delhi and came up with the key to crack the message."

Open Democracy, Muslims and European multiculturalism, 15 May 2003

BBC News, Forget sci-fi and guns - The Matrix is really about religion, 14 May 2003 Neo-religious movements?

There has been substantial coverage of the use of e-mail by 'al-Qaeda' and its affiliates. For example:

ABC News, West on edge amid spike in Al Qaeda terror 'chatter', 17 May 2003 ""There has been a definite increase in chatter over the past couple of weeks," said one US official, referring to intercepted telephone and email conversations and interrogations of terror suspects by intelligence agencies."

Straits Times, Twisted terror: Prospect of Muslim deaths is no deterrent to Al-Qaeda which wants to show it is alive and well, May 21, 2003

AP/MSNBC, Some Saudis urge the government to crack down on radical Islamic clerics after Riyadh attacks, May 15 2003: "An Internet statement Wednesday signed only ''Islamic warriors'' was addressed to Abdullah, his family and his government, vowing to ''blow up your institutions and your palaces over your heads.'' ... 'We are the ones who proved to the whole world that we are people of action not words,'' the statement said. ''Do you, stupid people, understand or will the horrendous sound of explosions, of which we have plenty, make you understand?'' Some militant figures make extensive use of the Internet, which affords the fanatics a platform to incite and spread their radical messages."

Asia Times, Al-Qaeda: Dead or alive?, May 15 2003 "Last week, the Arab magazine al-Majallah said it had received an email from Thabet ibn Qais in which he proclaimed "an attack against America was inevitable"."

Also see Channelnewsasia, Al-Qaeda implied in email it carried out Riyadh attacks: report, 14 May 2003 and Arab News, Al-Qaeda Plans Attacks in the Gulf, 14 May 2003: "A senior Al-Qaeda leader has unveiled the organization’s long-term plans to carry out major terrorist attacks in Gulf countries. “We’ll attack the rear of the American Army,” he warned. In an e-mail message to Al-Majalla, a sister publication of Arab News, Abu Muhammad Al-Ablaj disclosed the presence of large quantities of weapons and explosives in Gulf cities to carry out the planned attacks."

BBC News, Al-Qaeda 'still a deadly threat', 15 May 2003

Khilafah.com, Differentiating between tradition and Islam, May 13, 2003 Some interesting interpretations and references to technology in this article: "Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta’aala) allowed for us to use various types of technology as long as it is in a Halal way. "He it is Who created for you all that is on earth." (Al-Baqarah 2:29). This includes cars, mobile phones, the internet, satellites, missiles and DVD’s. The Prophet (SalAllahu Alaihi Wasallam) utilized the various technologies at his time, he even used the style of digging a trench which taken from Persians, in the Battle of the Ditch, otherwise known as Ahzab. Technology can be used for Halal or Haram, it is not the thing which is Haram it is what you do with it. As an example, the Internet and DVD’s can be used for Haram such as promoting indecency or can be used in a Halal way to promote Islam."

News Tribune/AP, Car bombs kill at least 3 in Saudi Arabia, May 13, 2003 "A previously unknown Saudi group, the Mujahedeen in the Arabian Peninsula, earlier vowed on an Internet site to strike against American targets worldwide, but it was not clear whether the explosions in Riyadh were linked to the group."

The Register, Al-Qaeda said to be using stegged porn, May 12, 2003 One of those stories that gets recycled from time to time. The Register cast their objective eye over proceedings, discussing the more sensationalistic New York Post, 9/11 Plot hidden in e-porn, 9 May 2003. This theme is discussed in my forthcoming book: Islam in the Digital Age

CNN, Al-Jazeera to probe whether Iraqi agents infiltrated staff, May 12, 2003

Newsweek, Murder at the Mosque, 19 May 2003 explores the murder of Abdel Majid al-Khoei.

Observer, Al Qaeda: And What it Means to be Modern (book review), May 11, 2003 A review of a book by John Gray: "John Gray's essay on the modern geo-political landscape is an immensely thought-provoking piece of work, not least for identifying the paradox at the heart of al-Qaeda, an organisation devoted to the destruction of the global civilisation that bore and nurtured it and without which it could not exist."

The Oregonian, Terror case draws two starkly different portraits of Hawash, May 11, 2003

Reuters, Iran blocks thousands of Web sites, May 12, 2003 and BBC News, Iran steps up net censorship, May 12, 2003 - refers to the detention of blogger Sina Motallebi. Also see BBC News, Bloggers unite to fight, May 2, 2003

Wired, Muslim TV Network in the Making, 19 May 2003. Also see WorldNetDaily, Muslim TV coming to America Network challenges Islam's image as 'religion of our enemies', May 2, 2003 There is a net link here: "Bridges TV's CEO is Muzzammil S. Hassan, most recently a bank vice-president in Buffalo, N.Y. Its chief investor is Omar S. Amanat, founder of Tradescape, an Internet brokerage firm sold to E*Trade last year for $280 million."

BBC News, Baghdad blogger re-appears, May 12, 2003 Dear Raed back online

BBC News, Rebuilding Iraq's media, May 11, 2003

BBC News, Delhi jail takes up computing, May 10, 2003

New York Times, What Drove 2 Britons to Bomb a Club in Tel Aviv?, 12 May 2003. Also see Times, Islam in Britain: Extremists are preying on disaffected young Muslims, May 2, 2003 doesn't refer directly to the web, but there is no doubt (in my view) that the type of materials available on some websites are significant influences on so-called 'disaffected' Muslims. This issue has brought out sentiment such as the following quote from Frontpage: "Like the printing press that helped Luther, modern global communication technology should make it possible to reach the hundreds of millions of Muslims who may be ready for such a needed change -- a change that will make the Muslims welcomed as equal partners in the modern world."Frontpage, Where Are the Moderate Muslims?, May 2, 2003. Plenty of terminology issues to consider here... (beyond the scope of this page)

BBC News Online, Gagging the bloggers, May 2, 2003 leads with a photo of women in hijab, before discussing the merits of blogging.

MEMRI, Al-Qa'ida Affiliated Website: The Shi'a Threat to Sunni Islamists is No Less than the 'Judeo-Christian' Threat, 2 May 2003

BBC News Online, Computers to Africa scheme criticised, May 1, 2003

Shia News, Saddam's letter asks for uprising, 30 April 2003 reports al-Quds al-Arabi receiving 'letter'

The Onion, CIA: Syria Harbouring More Than 15 Million Known Arabs!, 30 April 2003 satirical online perspective about current events.

Guardian, Drive to put in a good word, 1 May 2003 discusses the Bookmobile project organised by Brewster Kahle (Internet Wayback Machine creator). Significant in terms of how technology can reduce barriers to knowledge.

This is London, Londoner behind suicide bomb, 1 May 2003

Newsweek, Saudi Government: Bin Laden Loyalists: How High Do They Go?, May 5 2003 explores funding issues in Germany ...

New York Times, Saudi Arabia Awakes to the Perils of Inbreeding, 24 April 2003 not the most sensitive of headlines, but an interesting non-net related story (reflecting my interest in medical ethics)

Time Europe, Culture Clash, 27 April 2003 useful articles about Muslims in Europe - nothing net specific

Silicon Valley News, Broadcast/Internet Journalist Pinpoints Saddam Hussein's Location, 30 April 2003

Yahoo! News, CAIR: Readers of Right-Wing Site Threaten Muslims, April 30, 2003 "Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today reported that it has received numerous hate-filled and threatening messages from the readers of a right-wing Islamophobic Web site." Note that ACAIR (anti-Cair) have now emerged - complete with a website - details of which can be found in this article: WorldNetDaily, Group forces censure for 'Islamophobia' Party official's offending e-mail thanked God Muslims not majority, April 30, 2003

PRISM, PRISM No. 5: Rantisi vs. the United States, April 2003 Dr Reuben Paz's article discusses Hamas and the web (other related materials on e-prism.org). NOTE: this is a Word Document.

National Geographic, Hunt for Stolen Iraqi Antiquities Moves to Cyberspace, April 30, 2003 more on the looting disasters

Payvand's Iran News, The Emergence of a New Axis: Los Angeles/Tel Aviv/Tehran, 29 April 2003 Interesting reference to the net and censorship here; the article's author Dr. Mohammad Sahimi writes: "The Tehran reactionaries have closed independent newspapers, and control most means of mass communications. Similarly, our die-hard royalists, with the funding that they receive from the Israeli lobby in the US, own almost all means of mass communications in the Iranian community (except, of course, the internet), and, taking a page from their Israeli allies, threaten everybody with economic boycott, if they deviate from their line (while they themselves are at each other's throats!)..."

Media Monitors Network, American Jihad, n.d. extracts from a new book on Osama bin Laden.

AFP/Middle East Times, Saudi mufti calls for boycott of Yahoo! over porn links, 17 April 2003

New York Times, A New Way to Catch a Hacker, April 29, 2003

New York Times, Suspect Charged With Plotting to Fight U.S. in Afghanistan, 28 April 2003 " ... Maher Hawash, a 38-year-old software designer in Portland, was accused of conspiring with a group of six others who had already been charged with trying to provide material support to Al Qaeda and the Taliban." Hawash had links to Intel. Also see Wired, Coder Charged in Terror Probe, 28 April 2003 and the Free Mike Hawash website

Reuters, Saudi Career Women Slowly Crack Brick Ceiling, 29 April 2003 refers to Saudi women as Internet engineers and also creating their own sites (marketed by men).

The Guardian, Winners in the war, April 21, 2003 discusses al-Jazeera and its future plans.

Wired, Mosaic Blows Out 10 Candles, April 29 2003 where would we be without Mosaic? this article includes some nostalgic screenshots... the browser still looks good

Guardian, Billy will be a hero, God willing, Bilal Shafayat is a precocious talent eager to play for England, 29 April 2003 Shafayet is seen as a phenomenal cricketing talent, whose progress is monitored by relatives in Pakistan via the internet.

MEMRI, Second Thoughts About Hating Jews?, 29 April 2003

Los Angeles Times, A road to Ansar began in Italy: Wiretaps are said to show how al-Qaida sought to create in northern Iraq a substitute for training camps in Afghanistan, 28 April 2003. Also see the related article Los Angeles Times, Militants' crude camp casts doubt on U.S. claims, 28 April 2003 and Los Angeles Times, In Italian jail, al-Qaida suspects curse U.S., 28 April 2003. They refer to the use of satellite technology and surveillance techniques. Amongst materials found on the bodies of Ansar al-Islam members were floppy disks containing strategic and tactical information.

Khilafah.com, Kyrgyz authorities outlaw access to Khilafah.com, 29 April 2003 "Kyrgyz authorities are bolstering their efforts to counter the growing influence of the extremist Islamic movement Hizb ut-Tahrir."

New York Times, As Iraqi Clerics Go Home, Talk of Schism With Shiite Hard-Liners in Iran, April 28, 2003 "This month in an article on a reformist Web site, Forouzan Assef Nakhai, an Iranian journalist, wrote, "The Islamic Revolution will suffer defeat if Qum fails to produce a model in which Islam would reconcile with democracy," in its competition with Najaf."

Wired, Looted Iraqi Art Displayed Online, 28 April 2003

alBawaba, British weekly: Documents link Saddam to al-Qaeda, 27 April 2003

MalaysiaKini, Islam is submission to God, regardless of race or language, 28 April 2003 discusses the Arabic word for God/Allah, and refers to the net as a 'research tool'

The Guardian, The paranoia that paid off, 24 April 2003 about the 'net benefits'(!) of concerns surrounding cyber-security prior to the invasion of Iraq.

New York Times/Star Tribune, Cairo cracks down on gay scene, 20 April 2003 refers to the use of the net by Cairo's gay community, in the wake of the 'Queen Boat' case

The Washington Dispatch, Politics, War and the Web: Exclusive commentary by W. James Antle III, 19 April 2003 discusses blogging in relation to so-called "radical Islam".

Wired, Army's Apple Shines in the Desert, March 8 2003 [new to this listing]

AP/MSNBC, E-mail spoofers target Arab activists, Provocative messages sent under their names to others, 20 April 2003 "Arab-American activist Nawar Shora checked his e-mail one day and found scores of angry messages asking why he hated Americans and Jews. The messages were responding to e-mails marked as coming from him. Only one big problem: Shora never sent the hate mail."

Independent Online (South Africa), Uday's passions: his mom, the Net and torture, 19 April 2003

AP/ABC, Arab Web Sites Plagued by Attacks, 17 April 2003 Islam-Online received 250 attacks a day...

alBawaba, Already missed..., 13 April 2003 more on Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf and the websites that have built up around him.

BBC News Online, Computers to Africa scheme criticised, May 1, 2003

Shia News, Saddam's letter asks for uprising, 30 April 2003 reports al-Quds al-Arabi receiving 'letter'

The Onion, CIA: Syria Harbouring More Than 15 Million Known Arabs!, 30 April 2003 satirical online perspective about current events.

Guardian, Drive to put in a good word, 1 May 2003 discusses the Bookmobile project organised by Brewster Kahle (Internet Wayback Machine creator). Significant in terms of how technology can reduce barriers to knowledge.

This is London, Londoner behind suicide bomb, 1 May 2003

Newsweek, Saudi Government: Bin Laden Loyalists: How High Do They Go?, May 5 2003 explores funding issues in Germany ...

New York Times, Saudi Arabia Awakes to the Perils of Inbreeding, 24 April 2003 not the most sensitive of headlines, but an interesting non-net related story (reflecting my interest in medical ethics)

Time Europe, Culture Clash, 27 April 2003 useful articles about Muslims in Europe - nothing net specific

Silicon Valley News, Broadcast/Internet Journalist Pinpoints Saddam Hussein's Location, 30 April 2003

Yahoo! News, CAIR: Readers of Right-Wing Site Threaten Muslims, April 30, 2003 "Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today reported that it has received numerous hate-filled and threatening messages from the readers of a right-wing Islamophobic Web site." Note that ACAIR (anti-Cair) have now emerged - complete with a website - details of which can be found in this article: WorldNetDaily, Group forces censure for 'Islamophobia' Party official's offending e-mail thanked God Muslims not majority, April 30, 2003

PRISM, PRISM No. 5: Rantisi vs. the United States, April 2003 Dr Reuben Paz's article discusses Hamas and the web (other related materials on e-prism.org). NOTE: this is a Word Document.

National Geographic, Hunt for Stolen Iraqi Antiquities Moves to Cyberspace, April 30, 2003 more on the looting disasters

Payvand's Iran News, The Emergence of a New Axis: Los Angeles/Tel Aviv/Tehran, 29 April 2003 Interesting reference to the net and censorship here; the article's author Dr. Mohammad Sahimi writes: "The Tehran reactionaries have closed independent newspapers, and control most means of mass communications. Similarly, our die-hard royalists, with the funding that they receive from the Israeli lobby in the US, own almost all means of mass communications in the Iranian community (except, of course, the internet), and, taking a page from their Israeli allies, threaten everybody with economic boycott, if they deviate from their line (while they themselves are at each other's throats!)..."

Media Monitors Network, American Jihad, n.d. extracts from a new book on Osama bin Laden.

AFP/Middle East Times, Saudi mufti calls for boycott of Yahoo! over porn links, 17 April 2003

New York Times, A New Way to Catch a Hacker, April 29, 2003

New York Times, Suspect Charged With Plotting to Fight U.S. in Afghanistan, 28 April 2003 " ... Maher Hawash, a 38-year-old software designer in Portland, was accused of conspiring with a group of six others who had already been charged with trying to provide material support to Al Qaeda and the Taliban." Hawash had links to Intel. Also see Wired, Coder Charged in Terror Probe, 28 April 2003 and the Free Mike Hawash website

Reuters, Saudi Career Women Slowly Crack Brick Ceiling, 29 April 2003 refers to Saudi women as Internet engineers and also creating their own sites (marketed by men).

The Guardian, Winners in the war, April 21, 2003 discusses al-Jazeera and its future plans.

Wired, Mosaic Blows Out 10 Candles, April 29 2003 where would we be without Mosaic? this article includes some nostalgic screenshots... the browser still looks good

Guardian, Billy will be a hero, God willing, Bilal Shafayat is a precocious talent eager to play for England, 29 April 2003 Shafayet is seen as a phenomenal cricketing talent, whose progress is monitored by relatives in Pakistan via the internet.

MEMRI, Second Thoughts About Hating Jews?, 29 April 2003

Los Angeles Times, A road to Ansar began in Italy: Wiretaps are said to show how al-Qaida sought to create in northern Iraq a substitute for training camps in Afghanistan, 28 April 2003. Also see the related article Los Angeles Times, Militants' crude camp casts doubt on U.S. claims, 28 April 2003 and Los Angeles Times, In Italian jail, al-Qaida suspects curse U.S., 28 April 2003. They refer to the use of satellite technology and surveillance techniques. Amongst materials found on the bodies of Ansar al-Islam members were floppy disks containing strategic and tactical information.

Khilafah.com, Kyrgyz authorities outlaw access to Khilafah.com, 29 April 2003 "Kyrgyz authorities are bolstering their efforts to counter the growing influence of the extremist Islamic movement Hizb ut-Tahrir."

New York Times, As Iraqi Clerics Go Home, Talk of Schism With Shiite Hard-Liners in Iran, April 28, 2003 "This month in an article on a reformist Web site, Forouzan Assef Nakhai, an Iranian journalist, wrote, "The Islamic Revolution will suffer defeat if Qum fails to produce a model in which Islam would reconcile with democracy," in its competition with Najaf."

Wired, Looted Iraqi Art Displayed Online, 28 April 2003

alBawaba, British weekly: Documents link Saddam to al-Qaeda, 27 April 2003

MalaysiaKini, Islam is submission to God, regardless of race or language, 28 April 2003 discusses the Arabic word for God/Allah, and refers to the net as a 'research tool'

Frontpage, The Antiwar Movement's Nazi Connection, 25 April 2003

The Guardian, The paranoia that paid off, 24 April 2003 about the 'net benefits'(!) of concerns surrounding cyber-security prior to the invasion of Iraq.

New York Times/Star Tribune, Cairo cracks down on gay scene, 20 April 2003 refers to the use of the net by Cairo's gay community, in the wake of the 'Queen Boat' case

The Washington Dispatch, Politics, War and the Web: Exclusive commentary by W. James Antle III, 19 April 2003 discusses blogging in relation to so-called "radical Islam".

Wired, Army's Apple Shines in the Desert, March 8 2003 [new to this listing]

AP/MSNBC, E-mail spoofers target Arab activists, Provocative messages sent under their names to others, 20 April 2003 "Arab-American activist Nawar Shora checked his e-mail one day and found scores of angry messages asking why he hated Americans and Jews. The messages were responding to e-mails marked as coming from him. Only one big problem: Shora never sent the hate mail."

Independent Online (South Africa), Uday's passions: his mom, the Net and torture, 19 April 2003

AP/ABC, Arab Web Sites Plagued by Attacks, 17 April 2003 Islam-Online received 250 attacks a day...

alBawaba, Already missed..., 13 April 2003 more on Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf and the websites that have built up around him.

ITN, Americans react to Ali airlift plea, 15 April 2003 also see International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Hopes left abandoned in Baghdad, 11 April 2003

Ananova, 'Most Wanted Iraqis' playing cards for sale on internet, 15 April 2003

Australian IT, Iraqi currency big on eBay, April 15, 2003

Liberal Slant, The Iraq War's Trashiest Piece of Propaganda, 15 April 2003

Arab News, Criminals Target the Unwary Online, 15 April 2003

AlBawaba, Iraqi refugees: Al-Sahaf committed suicide, 15 April 2003 Also see: Wired, Wacky Iraqi Minister a Web Star, 14 April 2003 refers to the new We Love The Iraqi Information Minister (Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf website (see cache which contains some of his quotes. Previously on these pages: The Guardian, 'Baghdad is safe, the infidels are committing suicide', 8 April 2003 discusses al-Sahaf, and his status in (some) internet chatrooms as "the "Harpo Marx" of Baghdad".

Robert Fisk: Library books, letters and priceless documents are set ablaze in final chapter of the sacking of Baghdad. Fisk managed to save some documents, but many were looted (including copies of the Qur'an). Also see BBC News Online, Prized Iraqi annals 'lost in blaze', 14 April, 2003

BBC News Online, Syrians join Iraq 'jihad', 14 April, 2003

BBC New Online, Britons seek war news on the net, 14 April, 2003

Guardian, Sony to cash in on Iraq with 'shock and awe' game, 10 April 2003 "Japanese electronics giant Sony has taken an extraordinary step to cash in on the war in Iraq by patenting the term "Shock and Awe" for a computer game." They didn't get the URL though, which belongs to an online commentary about conflict-related issues

Wired, IQ Test for Rebuilding Iraqi Net, 14 April 2003, previously reported at The Register, Iraq, its domain and the 'terrorist-funding' owner, 9 April 2003 gives the background to the .iq domain

CNSNews, Clerics Call for Jihad; Experts Ponder Terrorism Risk, April 14, 2003

alBawaba, Prominent Egyptian and Arab female artists exposed in pornography films. April 13, 2003 discusses an ongoing Internet scam.

New York Times, Cyberattacks With Offline Damage, 14 April 2003 " ... a recent paper by a computer security researcher at Johns Hopkins University suggests that there are plenty of gateways that connect the cyberworld with the more familiar terrain that some call "meatspace."

There is substantial online coverage of the murder of Abdel Majid al-Khoei. See the Al-Khoei Foundation's tribute and a video clip from BBC News. Also The Guardian's obituary and ABC, Murder in the Mosque, 14 April 2003

World Net Daily, Al-Qaida website bemoans fall of Baghdad, 13 April 2003 refers to al-Neda

Financial Review, The Cybercaliphate, 11 April 2003 "Each jihadi group in South-East Asia has its own website and is comfortable with mobile phones (provided they do not have a musical ring tone). What these groups envisage, then, is not the establishment of just any global caliphate, but a cybercaliphate ..." Paper by David Martin Jones (senior lecturer in the School of Government at the University of Tasmania).

AP image (right image) of man looting a computer monitor from a Baghdad warehouse; also see this AP image and this one showing technology being removed. Taken from Fox News and BBC News Online, 9 April 2003.

Stuart Hughes' Northern Iraq Weblog

AP, Arab Web Sites Bemoan Iraq 'Occupation', 10 April 2003

Reuters/Wired, Afghan Women Usher in IT Age, 8 April 2003

Washington Post, Ethics of War Blogging, 8 April 2003

BBC News Online, Kashmir anger over Iraq war, 8 April 200

Daily Princetonian, Students voice opinions on media coverage of Iraqi war, 7 April 2003

AP, Not Guilty Plea Entered For Accused Terror Professor: Al-Arian Accused Of Heading U.S. Operations For Palestinian Islamic Jihad, 8 April 2003. Also see Seattle Post Intelligencer, Idaho student eludes agents, 21 March 2003

The Guardian, Latest 'Bin Laden' tape urges suicide attacks, 8 April 2003 tape emerges in Pakistan - also see BBC News Online, 'Bin Laden tape' urges attacks, 8 April 2003 - these tapes often appear on the net too ... and here is the transcript from Jihad Unspun which originally appeared on Rightword.net (+ Arabic pages

Washington Post, Blogging the War: A Guide, 28 March 2003

Wired, Al Qaeda Website Refuses to Die, 7 April 2003 This is the latest episode in the al-Neda site saga, which is also referred to in my forthcoming book Islam in the Digital Age.

Salam Pax, Where is Raed? (Iraqi weblog)

BBC News Online, How the web makes 'desk-chair generals' of us all, 7 April 2003 includes the opinions of 'web guru' Jakob Nielsen.

After protest arrest, soldier's mother says, 'I'm fighting a war.' Protester (and former security software designer) emails her son on the front

Washington Post, Muslims Protest Bush Nominee: Groups Say Peace Institute Choice Sends 'Wrong Message', April 7, 2003 refers to Daniel Pipes' website and the CAIR-Pipes URL controversy last year.

The Slate, The War on the Web: Sites to see on the road to Baghdad, 19 March 2003

The Slate, The Saddam Show: How to watch Iraqi TV on the Web, March 25, 2003

Press of Atlantic City, Internet offers new viewpoints in war coverage, 6 April 2003 reviews various online press coverage of the Iraq crisis

AP/Washington Post, Pakistan Tries to Blocks Porn Web Sites, 7 April 2003

Reno Gazette-Journal, Ely cyber-terrorism not attributed to Islamic Web site, 6 April 2003 The day after the war with Iraq began, computers at a 40-bed hospital in Ely came under electronic attack from hackers who were initially traced to Al Jeezera, the Arab news network famous for broadcasting messages from terrorist chief Osama Bin Laden ... The rumors were false, but the truth is almost as strange." An unusual story about trojans and hacking.

New York Times, Akamai Cancels a Contract for Arabic Network's Site, 4 April 2003 More on why the al-Jazeera English language site 'disappeared'. See Cursor's Al-Jazeera page for other information. A related cartoon can be found on the Al-Jazeera site.

Michael Moore, Bowling for Columbine: Get Involved: Operation Oily Residue features a weblog on war, the media, liberty and politics (including references to the application of the Internet in reporting).

Independent, Held under house arrest by Saddam for a decade, could this cleric be a secret weapon for the Allies? April 4, 2003 refers to Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Ali al-Sistani, whose website is discussed in Gary Bunt's forthcoming book.

WorldNetDaily, Muslim cleric wants to see Americans orphaned: Palestinian sheik slams Arab leaders, gives pep talk to Saddam, 3 April 2003 cites March 28, 2003 sermon by Abu al-Hunud (Gaza), broadcast by Palestine Authority Television, and translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute

AP/The Washington Times, Radical Islamic groups making resurgence,April 2, 2003 discusses use of Internet chat rooms as recruitment tool

NYT/International Herald Tribune, Reform's 'turtle' pace upsets granddaughter of ayatollah, 3 April 2003 discusses the 'reform' views of Zahra Eshraghi, grandaughter of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. No Internet reference, but interesting...

BBC News, Looking for the voice of Muslim youth, 4 April 2003 refers to Birmingham Central Mosque and Hizb ut-Tahrir

Business2, Rewiring Afghanistan, April issue

Independent, Robert Fisk: Wailing children, the wounded, the dead: victims of the day cluster bombs rained on Babylon, 3 April 2003 also see Independent, Geoff Hoon, Robert Fisk and reporting the truth, 4 April 2003

Independent, This Europe: Belgian Arabs find a radical new champion (and pin-up)3 April 2003 Refers to Dyab Abou Jahjah's website; also see (and listen to) BBC, 'Crossing Continents', Belgium's Malcolm X

Time, Best Of The War Blogs: Online diarists are flooding the Web with battle news, analysis and debate, 7 April 2003

Financial Times, Diary of a post-Jihad wanderer, 29 March 2003 A discussion of Gilles Kepel's book, Vignettes, with a reference to al-Qaradawi: " Bin Laden's jihad against the west, according to al-Qaradawi, has no meaning in a world where the internet and satellite TV are widely available. Islam can be proselytised through the media, rendering violence unnecessary. "

Sky News, FBI warns of poison plot, 3 April 2003 "Documents and computer disks found in the Ansar camp are now being checked for names and locations of Ansar associates living in the US and Europe." This refers to a report by Time magazine.

New York Times, Cairo, Once 'the Scene,' Cracks Down on Gays, 3 April 2003 refers to use of Internet by gay Egyptians

The Globalist, Women Are the Key, 3 April 2003 refers to Internet access in Arab contexts

Toronto Star, Why non-Iraqis want to join the war, April 2 2003 "In the weeks leading up to war, Abdullah and his activist classmates did do something. They undertook an informal project to infiltrate Internet chat rooms on behalf of the cause. He describes spending as much as six hours a day in various online cafes in Damascus, surfing for Americans. "We were always polite, just trying to have a conversation, just trying to explain our view of American policy and what this terrible aggression might trigger," he says. But within days of the first air strikes on Baghdad, two of his classmates — both from Yemen — made the leap, announcing they were leaving for Iraq as volunteer fighters. Two more followed last week. Abdullah was next."

Nation, Thai Muslim’s website offers different view, 2 April 2003 Discussing MuslimThai.com

MSNBC, Iraq war a 'milestone' for Web news, April 1 2003,

Boston Globe, Iraq crisis sparks debate on jihad in Saudi Arabia, 1 April 2003

Australian IT, Viruses rampage as war rages, 1 April 2003

ABC News/AP, Pakistan Radicals Use Iraq War to Recruit, 1 April 2003

The Register, 419 scammers surface in Baghdad, 1 April 2003 Note date of article.

CNN, Al-Jazeera most sought-after in Internet searches, 3 April 2003, Wired/AP, Web Surfers Flock to Al-Jazeera, 1 April 2003 and related stories: Wired, Hackers Condemn Arab Site Hack, March 31, 2003, Wired, War Hack Attacks Tit For Tat, 28 March 2003, Wired/AP, Hackers Beat Up on Al-Jazeera, March 27 2003. See Cursor's Al-Jazeera page for other information. Al-Jazeera now has an English page(currently mirrored following the hacking crisis) as well as the 'original' Arabic site.

CNN, Iraq war sparks tit-for-tat hacker attacks, 29 March 2003

Toronto Star, Islamic clerics preaching 'holy war' against U.S., 29 March 2003 use search engine to locate this article

MSNBC, The data gaps of digital warfare, 28 March 2003

The Guardian, War prompts text message boom, 28 March 2003

The Register, FBI seeks Internet telephony surveillance, 27 March 2003 Also see The Register, The Pentagon's tactical Internet - a war too early?, 21 March 2003

Associated Press, Muslim rage takes on stronger religious tone, 24 March 2003 "Dia'a Rashwan, an expert on radical Islamic groups at Egypt's Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, said he has noticed a trend as he navigated Web sites and chat rooms in recent days. "Now we have many calls to jihad, and those calls aren't only coming from what we usually call radicals or extremists," he said. More moderate clerics are using similar language, as are Islamic thinkers who usually confine themselves to political analysis, not calls to arms, he said."

Washington Post, A Medium Meets Its War, 21 March 2003

The Register, VX writers latch onto Gulf War II tricks to spread worms, 19 March 2003 and subsequently BBC News Online, E-mail virus exploits war interest, March 21, 2003

Reuters, As missiles fly, so do Web messages, March 21, 2003

BBC News Online, The morality of war, 19 March 2003 Interviews with representatives of various religious communities in the UK, including Sheikh Ibrahim Mogra of Leicester.

BBC News Online, 'Black day' for UK says Muslim leader, March 21, 2003

MSNBC, CIA had fix on Hussein, March 20, 2003

Islam Online, Pakistani, Indonesian Muslim Leaders Call For Jihad Against U.S., March 20, 2003

MSNBC, Alleged Bin Laden aide ‘talking’, March 17 2003

BBC World Service, Go Digital: Afghanistan plants it flag in cyberspace and anti-war activism on the web BBC World Service Real Player broadcast, including features on Afghanistan, archiving (as below), and digital activism. Also see the Go Digital programme on 24 February about Info Wars in Iraq, and the pre 9-11 piece on how Afghan women used technology to fight the Taliban.

BBC News Online, Digital race to save languages, March 20, 2003 Reference to digital archiving issues and formats of data.

BBC News Online, Mosques help fight floods, 19 March 2003 How satellite technology provides advance news of flood dangers.

The Independent, Hope fades as the citizens of Baghdad begin to foresee the appalling fate awaiting them, 19 March 2003 Robert Fisk's article includes reference to anonymous emails circulating Iraq "outlining the medical treatment to be given in the event of chemical or biological attack. They don't suggest who might use these weapons of mass destruction, nor who might have sent the messages. The very few Europeans left here suspect this could be a US military Psyops job, another attempt to throw panic into a civilian population ... Oddly, the e-mails did not mention something the Americans might prefer to hide from both Iraqis and their "allies" in the West: that they fully intend to use depleted uranium (DU) ammunition in the coming conflict."

BBC, Correspondent, Israeli nuclear 'power' exposed, 16 March 2003 This programme was strangely booted from its normal slot, into the backwaters of BBC scheduling. See The Independent, BBC rouses anger by 'burying' documentary on Israel, 19 March 2003

Islam Online, Rachel Corrie A Paradigm Of Bravery, Faithfulness and Israeli Bulldozer Runs Over U.S. Pacifist

Time Asia, Standing Up for Islam Series of reports and viewpoints about Islam in South East Asia. Includes Ending the Patriarchy and various interactive maps.

Washington Post, Saudi Rulers Walk Political Tightrope: Support for U.S. Played Down at Home, 14 March 2003 Article indicating the impact of the net on how the conflict is represented in the media: ""From the Saudi government's point of view, the ideal situation would be to let Americans know how much we are cooperating, while keeping the Saudi population completely in the dark," said a leading Saudi intellectual. "But you can't do that in an age of satellite television and the Internet.""

Wired, Reporter Takes His Weblog to War, 14 March 2003 See Back-to-Iraq 2.0 for Christopher Allbritton's independent news coverage. He requires financial support to ensure this reports reach the wider world.

The Register, US to disrupt GPS, satellite comms in Gulf?, 18 March 2003

Washington Post, U.S. Heightens Cybersecurity Monitoring, 18 March 2003

Washington Post, Military Brings 3-D Advantage to War Preparation, Advanced Training Technologies Allow Pilots, Soldiers to Rehearse Missions, March 17, 2003 3-D Baghdad created for pre-fly missions.

Arab News, E-Ministry of Haj Within 6 Months, 14 March 2003 Electronic streaming of hajj services planned for the next year.

CNN, Pakistan sets up cyber crime wing, March 14, 2003

CNN, Who's Googling you right now? Stalkers, the curious troll sites, March 14, 2003

Newsweek, High-Tech Battle Planning, March 14, 2003 Tech in the bunker at Camp As Sayliyah in Qatar.

MSNBC, Where’s Osama? Al-Qaida leader’s whereabouts are hot topic across Pakistan, March 14, 2003 refers to electronic surveillance

Washington Post, Rallying Around the Flag Online, March 14, 2003

Washington Post, Pakistani Pleads Guilty to Hacking U.S. Web Sites, March 14, 2003 Data fraud case

BBC News Online, The turning tide of Africa's brain drain, March 14, 2003

BBC News Online, Cyber terrorism 'overhyped', March 14, 2003

Pakistan Link, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia to establish satellite, 14 March 2003

Jihad Unspun, Osama Bin Laden: Exposing The New Crusader War, March 13, 2003 Full transcript of the 'bin Laden' Feb 03 tape.

Time, Islam After bin Laden, Advice for the U.S.: Don't make al-Qaeda's leader a martyr, 10 March 2003 Refers to the Internet and bin Laden's "call to arms" through the medium.

Jihad Unspun, Questions & Answers With Sheikh Abu Hamza, March 9, 2003 includes transcript from an interview with the leader of Supporters of Shariah.

The Observer, Mr Bush goes for the kill, March 9 2003 and The Observer, I'm losing patience with my neighbours, Mr Bush, January 26, 2003. Two online comments on the current crises, written by Terry Jones (of Monty Python)

CNN, Internet 2 works to reinvent the Web, March 12, 2003

Washington Post, Terror Suspect's Photos Cited: Trade Center Pictures Found on Computer of Saudi Student, March 12, 2003 "An FBI agent testified that he unearthed thousands of photographs, including shots of planes hitting buildings, plane crashes, the Pentagon and the Empire State Building, in the hard drive of a computer [Sami Omar] al-Hussayen used regularly at the University of Idaho engineering laboratory, where he was studying computer science." See earlier coverage re. IANA in this site's news archive.

Paknews.com, Afghanistan To Speed Reconstruction Through Telecom Development, 12 March 2003

New York Times, Military to Clamp Down on E-Mail, 12 March 2003

Yusuf Islam has re-recorded his song 'Peace Train' for free download on his web-site. For a background story, see Pittsburg Channel, Former Cat Stevens Revives 'Peace Train' For War Protest, March 10, 2003 and an alternative perspective in Haganah b'Internet's article Peace Train (not) ,which refers to a 2000 Rolling Stone magazine report which includes an Israeli allegation that Yusuf Islam donated money to Hamas.

Star Tribune, For the Arabs, Al Jazeera is the only game in town, March 11, 2003

Washington Post/MSNBC, Scholars urge jihad if Iraq war comes, March 11, 2003

Washington Post, Media Weigh Costs, Fruits of 'Embedding', March 11, 2003 The 'price' of war reporting ...

MSNBC, Al-Qaida newly suspected in 8 cities, 10 March 2003 "NBC’s Lisa Myers has learned that information seized during the arrest of al-Qaida leader Khalid Shaikh Mohammed has triggered new investigations in a number of U.S. cities into possible al-Qaida operatives." Reference to money transfers and surveillance, and material found in Mohammed's residence, including a computer hard-drive. Also see MSNBC, The hunt for Iraqi ‘sleeper cells’, March 6, 2003 and Net user group may aid terrorists,

ABC News, Pakistan: Net Around bin Laden Narrows, March 11, 2003 Reference to the use of Echelon in sourcing Khaled Sheikh Mohammed's phone calls. BBC News, Pakistan checks Bin Laden claims, March 10, 2003, including more references to IT seized, and reference to the rumours of a meeting between Sheikh Mohammed and Osama bin Laden. Also see India Express, Bin Laden is hiding in Pak, sheltered by Islamists, 6 March 2003 Reference to CD-ROMs, computers and other materials allegedly seized.

New York Times, Loves Microsoft, Hates America A Jordanian discusses computer programming, jihad and Microsoft.

New York Times, An Identification Expert, Wary on Terror Suspect, Gets Answers by E-Mail, 10 March 2003

The Register, One printer, one virus, one disabled Iraqi air defence, 10 March 2003 Popular cyber myths exposed (again).

BBC News, Afghans plant flag in cyberspace, 10 March 2003 The .af suffix is now available, to local users.

CNN, 'E-war' coverage depends on working technology, 9 March 2003

Global Research in International Affairs (GLORIA) Center, Global Jihad And The United States: Interpretation Of The New World Order Of Usama Bin Ladin, March 2003 Written by Reuven Paz, this is the first paper in an occasional series on Islamist Movements. There are references to the 'Ulama' al-sahwah (Clerics of the resurgence)' and their websites, including Abu Ayman al-Hilali, Abu Sa`ad al-`Ameli, Lewis Atiyyat Allah, and Abu `Ubayd al-Qurashi.

The Telegraph, Nine years for jihad message of death, 8 March 2003

Wired, Betting on Private Data Search, 7 March 2003 "A CIA-backed Las Vegas firm is pitching a new technology that it says could address many of the privacy problems brought on by the government's ever-growing need for information in the war on terrorism."

Asia Times, The Pakistani army's blue-eyed mullahs, 8 March 2003

Washington Post, Bold Tracks of Terrorism's Mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed Carried Al Qaeda's Hope for Revenge, Renewal, 9 March 2003, Pakistan Rebuts Bin Laden Report, 8 March 2003. The latter article includes a reference to Pakistani electronic surveillance of al-Qaida.

Reuters, Suicide Bombers Made, Not Born, Study Suggests, 6 March 2003

AP/The State, Islamic Summit Has Loud Shouting Match, 5 March 2003 This refers to the Iraq envoy's comments about a Kuwaiti diplomat - which were (briefly) broadcast on TV before someone pulled the plug ...

AP/Boston Globe, Captured data sifted for attack leads, 4 March 2003 "Recovered at the home [of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed] in Rawalpindi were computers, disks, cellphones, and documents. Authorities believe that the materials will provide names, locations, and potential terrorist plots of Al Qaeda cells in the United States and around the world."

KRT NewsFeatures, In Malaysia, links to terror cells, hints of al-Qaida have expats, Muslims on alert, 4 March 2003

Reuters, Sept 11 suspect said probably in Afghanistan, 4 March 2003

Radio Netherlands, Sharia by design, 4 March 2003 Refers to 'sharia' in Aceh, and links to a couple of related sites.

The Guardian, Web watched, 3 March 2003 Censorship and the net in Iran.

BBC News Online, Al-Qaeda weakened but not defeated, 2 March 2003 Not unexpectedly, there is substantial coverage of the capture of Khaled Sheikh Mohammed. No reference to any related al-Qaeda IT use, although New York Times mentions use of mobile phones/text messages. New York Times, Al Qaeda Hobbled by Latest Arrest, U.S. Officials Say, 3 March 2003 Also see the BBC's Who's who in al-Qaeda

Time.com, Clicking On Terrorism, Investigators take on the links between Islamic fundamentalists and the Internet, 10 March 2003 This discusses the IANA arrests, and is interesting in its reference to "Salman al-Awdah and Safar al-Hawali, both of whom are closely associated with Osama bin Laden and who provided religious justification for the Sept. 11 attacks, according to the SITE Institute, a Washington-based terrorist-research group that monitors the Internet." IANA are described as "one of the most strident voices of Islam on the Web." There's some detailed coverage in Idaho Statesman, Uof I student arrested in terror probe, 27 February 2003, which also links into Alasr Magazine (one of the 'offending' sites). This story is also discussed below. Note that SITE Institute have a 'terrorism' mailing list and archive of material.

The Globe and Mail, The penalty for love, 1 March 2003 There's a tiny reference to the Internet in this article, about the Jordanian author Norma Khouri and her book Honor Lost, which discusses the treatment of women in Jordan.

Islam-Online, Sonic Jihad, Take Two, 25 February 2003 Interesting fusion of coverage here on Islam-Online: Hip Hop artiste Paris discusses his 'controversial' website and new album, Sonic Jihad. According to the Guerrilla Funk pages: "Paris originally adopted imagery and ideologies from the Black Panther Party and the Nation of Islam."

World Magazine, Coverage of Islam, 9 March 2003 A US Christian magazine's critique on post-9/11 coverage of Islam.

CNN, Fierce cyber war predicted, Strides in technology magnify info war potential, March 3, 2003

BBC News Online, Iranians arrested for net dating, 3 March, 2003 "Dozens of young Iranians have been detained for "unlawful actions" after using a website to arrange dates, officials say ..." The article also refers to blogs and the use of Internet cafes.

Reuters/Yahoo Asia, Blog Publishers Stealing Web Limelight, 1 March 2003 This is an interesting article about blogging, referring to Daypop's 'word burst' concept. It also refers to Editor: Myself, which is accurately described as "a free-wheeling Weblog on "Iran, technology and pop culture."" I'm interested in putting together a listing of Islam- and Muslim-related blogs for this site, especially those related to cultural and technological issues, and would welcome reader's suggestions.

ABC News, Dictator Deception: Could Saddam Hussein Go Incognito in Advance of a U.S. Attack?, 28 February 2003 "Under these circumstances, Saddam would be expected to abandon all forms of electronic communication, fearing signals intelligence would give him away. Instead, he would use couriers to carry his orders by hand."

WorldNet Daily, Saudis still financing al-Qaida, 28 February 2003 Accusations regarding the alleged use of charities as a 'front' for "the financing of terror".

Scoop, Terrorism -- A Threat to World Peace? Friday, 28 February 2003 Speech: US State Department, refers to use of Internet by al-Qaida.

ABC News, FBI’s Saudi Agent Recalled to U.S , 28 February 2003.

Ann Arbor News/AP, Federal agents raid local Islamic group, February 27 2003 and WorldNet Daily, Saudi in Idaho charged for terror ties, February 26 2003 discuss the arrest of Sami O. Al-Hussayen. WorldNet state: "The FBI and the Joint Terrorism Task Force arrested a Saudi Arabian man studying computer security at the University of Idaho who is charged with channeling funds and helping set up a website for an Islamic group that urges violence against the United States." There is a Google cache on al-Hussayen, showing his personal page at University of Idaho. The Islamic Assembly of North America site he allegedly contributed to is here. IANA are referred to in the Virtually Islamic book.

BBC News Online, Iraq's rich mosaic of people, February 28 2003

Financial Times, Propaganda will not sway Arab street, February 26 2003

Statesman/Associated Press, Baghdad Seems Normal As War Threat Looms, February 24, 2003 Refers to use of Internet by Iraqis

Boston Globe, A better world in memory of Daniel Pearl, February 23, 2003 The video of Pearl's execution is still on the Internet.

International Herald Tribune/New York Times, Cyber-warfare in Iraq already has broken out, February 25, 2003

USA Today, Afghan official: Bin Laden, Mullah Omar still alive, February 24, 2003

BBC News Online, Cleric guilty of spreading hate, February 24, 2003

Frontpage.com, Muslim Extremists Seeking to Foster One Islamic World, February 23, 2003

Malay Mail, We’re watching you!, 21 February 2003 "Police and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) officials are keeping a close watch on the day-to-day activities of some of their 155 sponsored lecturers who are undergoing doctorate programmes in Britain." The article suggests there are concerns about Islamic 'political' dialogues on the Internet.

National Post (Canada), Extremists joining forces, CSIS warns Unlikely partners: White supremacists allying with Islamists, document claims, February 23, 2003

The Washington Post/Moscow Times, An Ayatollah Who Might Rewrite Iran's Future, February 12, 2003 About Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri

Financial Times, Europe's misplaced fears over terror, 23 February 2003

Ramallah Online, Feras Al Bakri - A Hero in the Midst of Horror, February 21, 2003 Interesting use of a web diary, produced by Anne Gwynne (from Aberystwyth), discussing her role as an International Volunteer in Palestine.

BBC News Online, Anti-terror computer network 'in disarray', 21 February 2003

The Guardian, War on the web, 20 February 2003 This looks at the "explosion of information from all sides about the war on terror online." "..."The Pentagon's current gospel is network-centric warfare," says James Der Derian, director of the InfoTechWarPeace Project at Brown University and author of Virtuous War: Mapping the Military-Industrial-Media-Entertainment Network." The Guardian went to town over this issue, with an interview with Winn Schwartau, founder of InterPact, who discusses his opinions on cyber-terrorism and net warfare. There was a slightly alarmist article entitled Electronic Pearl Harbor. More useful, perhaps, was Working the web: Anti-war coverage, and a discussion on blogging, On the warpath written by Glenn Reynolds at the University of Tennessee, which refers to the varying quality of 'blogs', and the connections between Israeli and Iraqi bloggers.

Associated Press, USF professor accused of terrorist sympathies, others arrested, 20 February 2003 Sami Al-Arian is a computer professor alleged to be connected to Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Also see MSNBC, Professor arrested on terror charges, 20 February 2003, Reuters, Palestinian Jihad denies U.S. link, 21 Feburary 2003, BBC, UK academic denies terror claim, 21 February 2003 and Salon, Is Sami Al-Arian guilty of terrorist plots?, 21 February 2003

The Register, Open Source security manual and training for ethical hacking, 21 February 2003 "The course provides the information a "security testing professional must know to be a practical, resourceful ethical hacker and penetration tester."" Sign up today...

The Register, World's first 419 revenge killing?, 20 February 2003

New York Times, Weapons That Disable Circuitry May Get First Use in Iraq, 21 February 2003

Ha'aretz, Shin Bet grabs laptop from Palestinian's U.S. lawyer, 19 February 2003

Gulf News, New TV stations set to take on Al Jazeera, 18 February 2003 + news on Al Jazeera's forthcoming English language channel.

Tri-Valley Herald, Specter of McCarthy in FBI watch list?, 18 February 2003 "It takes about three minutes to find a classified FBI terrorist watch list on the Internet using a common search engine..."

BBC News Online, Tunisian internet crackdown, 18 February 2003 "Lawyers say the arrested men browsed sites including one from the banned Tunisian Islamist Nahda party."

BBC News Online, Question: Do Iraqis have internet cafés?, 17 February 2003

Times of Oman, 10m SMS greetings exchanged during Eid holidays, 17 February 2003

Ananova, Bin Laden tape appears on Islamic websites, 16 February 2003 Also see ABC News/AP, 'Bin Laden' Tape Claims Plot Vs. Muslims, 17 February 2003 and an edited transcript from BBC Monitoring Service, 'Bin Laden' tape urges 'jihad': Excerpts, February 17, 2003

The Guardian, Google gets Blogger and better, 17 February 2003

IC Birmingham/Sunday Mercury, Midland Nazi turns to Islam, 16 February 2003 Includes references to use of internet discussion sites

Financial Times, Islamist leader denies proof of Kurdish group's al-Qaeda links, 17 February 2003 "A leading Kurdish Islamist said on Sunday that "young people" in Ansar al Islam, a Kurdish group linked by the US to al-Qaeda, were "living in an imaginary world" and had "learned to act like Osama bin Laden from the internet and television".

Washington Post, Islam Says Otherwise, 16 February 2003

New York Times, White House Scales Back Cyberspace Plan, 14 February 2003

The Guardian, Key role for young Muslims in struggle for peace, 14 February 2003 This includes a reference to the use of electronic media as an activist tool, specifically for co-ordinating the Anti War Demonstration in London on 15 Feb 03. Also see Muslim Association of Britain, who are key organisers.

Baku Today, Russia Concerned About Chechen Website, 14 February 2003 Russians concerned about Lithuanian ISP hosting Chechen websites...

Wired, U.S. Tries E-Mail to Charm Iraqis, 13 February 2003 It didn't work ...

Australian IT, Welcome to bloggers world, February 13, 2003 Refers to some useful new books, and also use of blogs by Iranian women.

The Register, US.gov warns script kiddies to stay out of cyberwar, 13 February 2003

Associated Press/StarTribune, British-based Islamic news agency says it has new Bin Laden tape, 13 February 2003 "the 53-minute tape was allegedly recorded this month and acquired from a seller who advertised over the Internet."[!!] More on this at IC Newcastle, Bin Laden vows to die as martyr in attack this year, February 13, 2003

The Star (Malaysia), Big breweries buy into Mideast malt business, 13 February 2003 ('halal' drinks promoted on-line)

BBC News Online, Bin Laden tape: Text, 12 February, 2003 Fox News, Bin Laden, in Audiotape, Calls on Muslims to Support Iraq, February 11, 2003 (includes audio translation). Al Jazeera Press Release on Bin Laden tape. CNN, Bergen: Bin Laden issued solidarity statement (discussion with Peter Bergen re. authenticity of tape), 11 February 2003 Also see CBS/WBZ News Radio, Are Osama And Saddam In Cahoots?, 13 February 2003

The Register, Do it with spanners - how the Iraq cyber attack will work 11 February 2003 - should be read in conjunction with: BBC News, US ponders cyber war plans, 10 February 2003

The Register, Europe plans its own NSA to 'boost cyber-security', 10 February 2003

2600 News, American Journalist Poses As Terrorist Group, Fools US Gov, 9 February 2003 Journalist Brian McWilliams apparently posed as Harkat-ul-Mujahideen online (the site has now been replaced by a statement by McWilliams), in order to gather intelligence information. Also see CBS News, Journalist Perpetrates Internet Hoax, February 7, 2003 and the Register's sensible commentary (by Thomas Greene) Security experts duped by Slammer 'jihad' rot, 7 February 2003. The original Harkat mirror site, which predates McWillaim''s activities and contains Harkat's content (prior to its domain expiring), can be found at http://www.ummah.net.pk/harkat. McWilliams was responsible for the Islamic hacking 'hoax'. For details, see: The Inquirer, "Muslim" site wasn't hacked, February 6, 2003

Plain Dealer, Earle bravely blasts away with fiercely political songs, 7 February 2003 Steve Earle uses Internet to learn about Islam and write a song about John Walker Lindh

Islam-Online, Feeling-insecure@home.com, 6 February 2003 Cryptography for beginners ... "At a golden period of Islam 10th century Abbasid caliphs used encryption to ensure secure communications for the State. Books like “Adab al-Kuttab” (The Secretaries Manual) had sections dedicated to cryptography. Now cryptography is available to all, shouldn’t we be carrying on the tradition?"

The Guardian, X marks the spot, 6 February 2003 Looking for new ways to search the web? Considered latent semantic indexing?

BBC News, Internet access hits the wall, 7th February 2003

Reuters/ZDNet, Bush reportedly orders cyber-warfare plan, 7th February 2003

The Star, Religious court gets technology boost, 7 February 2003 Mahathir Mohamad launches an "e-Syariah [shari'ah] application system, a web-enabled Syariah Court case management system".

ZDNet, Ex-student accused of spying on campus, 7th February 2003

Associated Press/ABC News, Satellite Tracking Spurs Stalking Fears, 6 February 2003

OneWorld.net, Pakistan Province Logs Children Out of Cyber Cafés, 6 February 2003

Wired, Bush Data-Mining Plan in Hot Seat, 6 February 2003

MSNBC/Newsweek, The Theory and Practice of the Internet, 6 February 2003

The Register, 'Slammer terror' story sent to the, er, slammer, 6 February 2003

Washington Post/Associated Press, Evidence a Rare Look at U.S. Intelligence, 6 February 2003

New York Times, Intelligence Break Led U.S. to Tie Envoy Killing to Iraqi Qaeda Cell, 5 February 2003

Washington Post, Powell Lays Out Case Against Iraq, 5 February 2003

Arab News, More pilgrims converge on Makkah, 5 February 2003Saudi ministry using the Internet...

IslamOnline, To Beautify Image in Arab World, U.S. Launches Arabic TV Network, 4 February 2003

The Register, Cyberterror! Project Gutenberg URL swiped for Saddam, February 4 2003

Islam-Online, Internet "Extremely" More Important Than TV: Study, 1 February 2003

Egypt Today, Best of Both Worlds, February 2003

YaleOnline, Globalization and the Middle East: Part One, January 2003

NY Post, Microsoft's ‘Terror' $$ Goof, 30 January 2003

CNET/Reuters, Mosque mobiles silenced, January 30, 2003

The Washington Post/Seattle Times, Web site searches for patron saint for Internet, January 29, 2003

BBC News Online, Muslim cleric linked to Bali bombing, January 29, 2003

Islam-Online, Pakistan to Block Blasphemous, Pornographic Websites

Islam-Online, India Plans Cyber Defense Center, January 27, 2003

Borneo Bulletin, Internet, ICT blamed for youth decadence, January 27, 2003

Plain Dealer, Web makes ethnic spouse easier to find, 27 January 2003

AME Info, Egypt's Al-Azhar Initiated By HH General Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum's Project, January 27th, 2003[New www.alazharonline.org site digitally converting Al-Azhar's library - site currently not functioning, although URL registered in Dubai]

Ummah News, Bin Laden makes new plea for unity in jihad, 22 January 2003 [refers to Jihad Unspun website as channel for forthcoming 'bin Laden statement']

New York Times, 2 U.S. Computer Workers Are Shot, One Fatally, in Kuwait, 22 January 2003 [victims were software engineers]

Asia Times, Global jihad and the European arena, 23 January 2003 Author Reuben Paz, Senior Research Fellow at the International Policy Institute for Counter-Terrorism (ICT), Israel, from a May 2002 presentation.

The Age, Cable manners spark judge's wrath, 22 January 2003[Fazl Hadi Shinwari, Afghanistan's chief justice, 'outlaws' cable TV]. Also see BBC News Online, Afghans ban cable TV, 22 January 2003

BBC News Online, Computer virus author jailed, 22 January 2003[Welsh hacker jailed - contains general information about viruses.]

MSNBC, The Future of Internet Cafes , 22 January 2003[general article]

Star Online/AP, En route to the Haj, in Pakistani airport, 21 January 2003

Evening Standard/This is London, Mosque linked to key terror network, 21 January 2003[computers seized by police at Finsbury Park Mosque]. Also see contrasting general coverage of this story: Islam Online, Police Use Helicopters, Heavy Force to Raid London Mosque, 20 January 2003, Ummah News, British police raid London mosque, 20 January 2003 The Sun, Sling your hook, 21 January 2003, Muslim Council of Britain, We Muslims are also the victims of terror, 21 January 2003

Israel Defense Forces, The Upcoming Goals of Al-Qaida: Kidnapping Civilians and Attacking Embassies, January 20th, 2003 [cites Maalim Al-Jihad]. Also see Jornal da tarde, Al Qaida faz mais ameaças via internet, 21 January 2003

CBS News, Osama's Satellite Phone Switcheroo, 20 January 2003 Also see Islam Online, Moroccan Reveals Bin Laden's Escape: Washington Post, 21 January 2003

Associated Press/MSNBC,Profiling the hackers, 20 January 2003[profiles of network users can be generated through new software]

CNN, Bin Laden 'in jihad call' - paper, January 20, 2003[based on al-Sharq al-Awsat report, issued by Center for Islamic Studies and Research]

Islam Online, Islamic Gold Dinar Will Minimize Dependency on U.S. Dollar, 13 January 2003[e-dinar + transactions online]

Al Bawaba, Sources: Iraq blocks Internet access following American propaganda campaign, 13 January 2003

Weekly Standard, The Spy Who Came in From the Mosque: Reda Hassaine fled Islamist Algeria. In London, he infiltrated bin Laden's network, 13 January 2003

Newsweek, The End of the Double Game, 13 January 2003[article on Saudi Arabia]

Arab News, Internet service to become free in Kingdom soon, 12 January 2003[free access for Saudi Arabia?]

Associated Press/ABC News, E-Mail Attributed to Bin Laden Deputy, 7 January 2003

Arab News, Using corporate resources to send personal e-mails, 7 January 2003 [Article about junk mail in Saudi Arabia, and computer marketing]

National Review, “Axis of Evil”, Indicted Hamas leader linked to al Qaeda activist in Midwest, 7 January 2003.

New York Times, On the Scent of Terrorists, 6 January 2003

SF Indymedia/Ha'aretz, Associated Press, Agence France Presse, About the "Tanzim Qa'edat al Jihad, 6 January 2003 [scroll down for article]

WirelessWeek.com, Dubai Islamic Bank first to launch Arabic SMS banking service in UAE, 6 January 2003

Wired, Is This the Face of a Terrorist?, January 4 2003

National Post, Somali mosque apologizes for e-mail, Regrets offence to 'Christian neighbours', 6 January 2003

Newsweek, Al Qaeda's New Life, 23 December 2002

The Pluralism Project at the University of Michigan-Dearborn: World Religions in Metropolitan Detroit, December 2002 [link goes to Islam photos]. An article from the Detroit News about the project can be found here.

BBC Online, War on terror 'threatens' UK Muslims, 23 December 2002

AME Info, UAE to have its first batch of women e-commerce specialists by 2003..., 23 December 2002

Wired, Terrorists on the Net? Who Cares?, 20 December 2002

Sydney Morning Herald, Malaysian police arrest seven over internet terror rumours, 20 December 2002

ITN, Stars help Mandela fight Aids, 20 December 2002

News.com.au, Radicals recruit for jihad online, 19 December 2002

Newsweek, Khomeini’s Children, 23 December 2002

Washington Post, Preaching Democracy, Teaching Islam, Turkish Group Promotes Tolerance in Germany, but Skepticism Remains, 19 December 2002

Washington Post, 5 in Texas Jailed in Hamas Probe, 19 December 2002

Wired, One Man's Info War on al-Qaida, 18 December 2002

BBC Online, Al-Qaeda: War fought in the shadows, 17 December 2002

Associated Press, Islamic Group Shows Battle Videos on Web, 17 December 2002

Associated Press, Muslim hop-hop group raps for Allah, 16 December 2002

MSNBC/Newsweek, Muhammad Atta's Neighbours, 16 December 2002

Al-Ahram, Preacher on the run, 12-18 December 2002

The Observer, From schoolgirl Emma to Asma, the Syrian icon, 15 December 2002

The Register, US! .gov! shuts Saddam! sprog! Yahoo! account!, 12 December 2002

Daily Telegraph, Al-Qa'eda 'recruiting in Holland', 11 December 2002

Canton Rep, Rogue Web sites spread threats, 11 December 2002

BBC, Al-Qaeda 'forms Palestinian branch', 6 December 2002. Also see Washington Post/MSNBC, Al Qaeda Web site targets Israel, 6 December 2002

Associated Press/CT Now, Terror probe targets software company: Boston company's clients reportedly include goverment agencies, 6 December 2002 Also see MSNBC, Al-Qaida link eyed in Mass. raid, 6 December 2002

The Inquirer, Islamic fundamentalist hackers launch 100+Web attacks, 5 December 2002

Arab News, Coke hoax fizzles out, 5 December 2002

Outthere News, Al-Qaeda threatens wider war, [regularly updated resource]

Wired, An Inside Look at China Filters, 4 December 2002 [includes official Saudi Arabian feedback to the related Harvard Law School report on filtering. Also see MSNBC, How to be censored by China online, 4 December 2002

BBC, Youth shapes Iran's economy', 3 December 2002

Spiegel Online, Bekennerschreiben der Qaida, 3 December 2002

Wired, Doubt Cast on bin Laden Tape, 3 December 2002

Wired 'Religion & Science' edition, December 2002

Silicon.com/Yahoo News, Hamas declares a 'digital jihad', 28 November 2002

New California Media, Method to His Madness - Why Bush is Obsessed With Saddam, 27 Nov 2002

Arab News, Dr. Nahed Taher — challenging the status quo, 25 November 2002

Khilafah.com (reproducing article from The Australian), The objectives of those who work to establish Islam in the world, November 22 2002

iafrica, Bali blast mastermind is computer buff, November 22 2002

Haganah b'internet November 2002 relaunch on Israeli URL of the 'online self-defence force' focusing on Islamic activists.

CT Now, Stolen Credit Drives Web Network, November 17 2002

Gulf News, Al Maktoum Institute signs deal with Dubai Internet City, November 11 2002

Yahoo News, How Al Qaeda Put Internet In Service Of Global Jihad, November 11 2002

The Register, Want to know what people email to Saddam Hussein?, October 30, 2002

BBC, Islamic hackers step up attacks, October 29, 2002

Wired, Dear Saddam, How Can I Help? , October 29, 2002

NY Times, Online in Cairo, with News, Views and 'Fatwa Corner', October 28, 2002 [copy of original article]

Sydney Morning Herald, Sydney-based Islamic Web site to be taken down, October 18, 2002

Wired, Terror Turns Real for Horror Site, October 18, 2002

USA Today, Militants wire Web with links to jihad, October 7, 2002

BBC, Tunisia's dissidents battle cyber-police, September 6, 2002

Reuters/Express India, 9/11 mastermind invited to Cairo Islamic seminar, 2 September 2002

Wired, Did FBI Bungle E-Mail Evidence? 30 Aug 2002

Wired, How Al-Qaida Site Was Hijacked 20 Aug 2002

Washington Post, Sleuths Invade Military PCs With Ease, 20 Aug 2002

BBC News Online, Waiting for the fatwa, 15 August 2002

Associated Press/Mercury News, Briton cleared over `jihad' site, 10 August 2002

BBC News, Saudis block 2,000 websites, 31 July, 2002

Jonathan Zittrain* and Benjamin Edelman,Berkman Center for Internet & Society Harvard Law School, Documentation of Internet Filtering in Saudi Arabia [report], July, 2002

DotJournalism, Weblogs give voice to Iranian women, 30 July, 2002

MSNBC/Associated Press, Chance to track al-Qaida online lost? Maryland man hijacks Web site for FBI use, but agents pass, 30 July, 2002

London Review of Books, The Great Unleashing, [review of Jihad: The Trail of Political Islam] 25 July, 2002

MSNBC, U.S. woos Arabs with pop music, 24 July, 2002

Guardian, Terrorism.com, 17 July, 2002

BBC News, Hackers could face life in jail, 16 July 2002

BBC News, Hackers target web censorship, 15 July 2002

BBC News, Villagers try out net on wheels, 15 July 2002

Dawn, Afghan girls learning IT to help develop country, 10 July 2002

CNN, Iranian village gets wired for the Web, 6 July 2002

Web Host Industry Review, Militant Islamic Web Site Avoided Shutdown, 2 July 2002

Europemedia, Virtual museum to promote Islamic culture, 1 July 2002

Arab News, Coffee, tea or chat friend?, 27 June 2002

CNN, Al Qaeda: New bin Laden video on the way [refers to drasat.com and alneda.com], 25 June 2002

BBC News, Pro-Islamic hackers join forces, 19 June 2002

MSNBC/Newsweek, Hiding (and Seeking) Messages on the Web, 17 June 2002

McKenzie Institute, Bin Laden's Terror Networks in Europe, May 26 2002

Wired, "Jordan Punishes Net Critic", May 17, 2002

Wired, "Turkey passes strict Net Law", May 15, 2002

BBC, Teaching goes virtual in Pakistan, 13 May 2002

Sydney Morning Herald, Cyber jihad' warning to terror experts, 8 May 2002

IT-Director, The e-Jihad against Western Business, 5 April 2002

,vnunet.com, Surfers take spiritual quest online, 2 April 2002

New York Times, Terror's Confounding Online Trail, 28 March 2002

BBC News, Bahrain blocks opposition websites, 26 March 2002

New York Times, Al Qaeda's Grocery Lists and Manuals of Killing, 17 March 2002

vnu.net/IT Director, Bin Laden steps up holy war via email, 30 March 2002

MSNBC, How al-Qaida keeps in touch, March 6 2002

Guardian, Iran nets another revolt, 21 February 2002

Associated Press/The Star (Canada), Islamic militant admits emailing Pearl messages, 21 February 2002

BBC, Tracing the kidnappers' e-mails, February 8, 2002

Wired/Associated Press, Talib's Anti-American E-Mails, February 7, 2002

New York Times, Hot-Synching With a Heavenly Presence, February 7, 2002

Salon, The Encrypted Jihad, February 4, 2002

Straits Times, New proof shows link to Al-Qaeda, 25 January 2002

Straits Times, Mosque raps Fateha for 'sign up for jihad' e-mail, 23 January 2002

MSNBC, E-mail ties Richard Reid to Pakistan, January 19, 2002

New York Times, Electronic Primer for an Afghan Language, January 7, 2002

MSNBC/Washington Post, Probe of Sept. 11 financing wraps up, January 7, 2002

Wired, Trolling the Web for Afghan Dead, 4 January 2002

MSNBC/Wall Street Journal, Computer in Kabul holds chilling memos, 31 December 2001

MSNBC/Associated Press, New technology unveils Arab views, 30 December 2001

The Register, How Carnivore Works, 19 December 2001

New Statesman, Mossad wants to hire new blood, 13th December 2001 [use site search engine to locate title]

AFP/Hindustan Times, Al-Qaeda will strike again: Islamic sites, 3th December 2001

The Register, US assumes global cyber-police authority, 27 November 2001

BBC, US shuts down Somalia internet, 23 November 2001

Al-Jazeera, Arab Media and the Information Age [book review, in Arabic], 21 November 2001

Wall Street Journal Online, Islamic Web Sites Draw Crowds To Details on Religion, Culture, November 21 2001 (interview with Gary Bunt)

New York Times, Companies Compete to Provide Saudi Internet Veil, November 19 2001

Wired, It's All Arabic-English to Him, November 12 2001

BBC News, Saudis pay to surf censored sites, 3 November, 2001

The Daily Star (Lebanon), Palestinians are taking the Intifada online, November 2 2001

The Register, Mideast 'cyberwar' veteran indicted, November 1 2001

Wired, Does Official Taliban Site Exist?, October 30 2001

SANS Institute, Hacktivism: Compromise Techniques Used by GFORCE-Pakistan, October 24 2001

BBC, Hacktivists take sides in war, 23 October, 2001

Salon.com, A thousand and one e-mails, October 12 2001

Agence France-Presse, Vigilante hackers find their own website hacked, October 12 2001

CNN, 'Muppet' producers miffed over Bert-bin Laden image

Jewish World Review, Crush American web sites of terror, October 11 2001

The Guardian, Battle Station, October 9 2001

Newsbytes, 'Terror Killers' Go On Site Defacement Spree, October 8 2001

The Register, iomart cashes in on WTC tragedy, October 11 2001

AlterNet, Bert Leaves Sesame Street for bin Laden?, October 11 2001

MSNBC, Dirty tricks of hunt for al-Qaida cash, October 8 2001

BBC, Islamic terror code 'breakthrough',October 5 2001

Le Monde Interactif, Des garde-fous contre la cybersurveillance,October 5 2001

MSNBC, U.K. shuts suspected terror Web site, October 4 2001

Le Monde Interactif, On assiste à l'émergence d'un "hacking" national, qui s'associe aux différentes formes de guerre que se livrent les Etats. October 5 2001

The Register, We've cracked into bin Laden's bank - UK hackers, October 1 2001

LA Times, The Terrorists are winning the cyber war, 21 September 2001

The Register, Hackers lash out at Islamic Usenet group, 19 September 2001

The Register, FBI condemns vigilante hacking, 19 September 2001

Spiegel Online, Deutsche Website rekrutiert Gotteskrieger, 19 September 2001

Spiegel Online, FBI-Steckbrief statt Taliban-Propaganda, 19 September 2001

The Mirror, Internet Threat: Web of Terror, 19 September 2001

NY Times, I.S.P.'s Curb Terrorist Postings and an Anti-Islamic Backlash, 18 September 2001

MSNBC, FBI: Beware ‘patriot’ hackers, 18 September 2001

ZD Net, Hackers strike at Islamic Web sites, 18 September 2001

La Liberte, L'Afghanistan serait le seul etat musulman, 18 September 2001

The Register, Bomb the ISPs - Daily Telegraph, 17 September 2001

E-Commerce, Hackers Mobilize for War against Islamic Web Sites, 17 September 2001

IslamOnline, IslamOnline Receives Terrorist Threat, 14 September 2001

IslamOnline, US Muslim Scholars Condemn Attacks, 14 September 2001

Cosmiverse, Did Echelon Overlook Terrorist Threat?, 14 September 2001

Newsweek, Did Encryption Empower These Terrorists?, 11 September 2001

MSNBC, Anti-Arab sentiment festers online, 11 September 2001

United Nations Development Programme, Making new technologies work for human development [Report], July 2001

Ananova, Cybersex addiction causing marital problems in Malaysia, 16 July 2001

AFP, Malaysian Mulim men not allowed to divorce via mobile phone, 14 July 2001

Ananova, Taliban 'ban the internet', 13 July 2001

Arab News, Zeba Haider, Net has changed our attitude towards life, 8 July 2001

Salon/AP, CIA says hackers move too fast, 21 June 2001 News

Al-Quds Al-Arabi, 29 May 2001, Islamic Internet article (refers to Virtually Islamic) in Arabic, PDF File requires Acrobat Reader

Yahoo/Reuters, Marty Logan, Malaysian State Ponders Curbs on Cyber Cafe Menu, 21 June 2001

Al Azhar's library to get wired up to the Internet Middle East Times/Islam for Today, 9 March 2001

IslamOnline, Banned Islamist Newspaper Goes Online, 26 February 2001

Guardian, Losing the Saudi cyberwar, Brian Whitaker, February 26, 2001

Al-Bab, Arab Media: Saudi Internet Rules, Council of Ministers Resolution, 12 February 2001, translated from Al-Watan newspaper 21/11/1421

ZD-Net, Crackdown: Are hackers terrorists? Will Knight, 20 February 2001

India Express, Rajasthan police to combat militants’ cyber-war, 19th Feb 2001   

Hindustan Times, What are Islamic fundamentalists doing in porn sites? The CIA tells you..., Pramit Pal Chaudhuri, February 18 2001

IslamOnline, U.S. Based Islamic Website Hacked, 16 February 2001

LA Times, Mark Fineman, Kuwaitis Are Facing a Conflict Between Morality and Freedom, 3 February 2001

eCountries, Simeon Kerr, "Online Trading Comes to Islam", 10 January 2001

MSNBC, Amy Tan, "Singapore mosques plug into Web", 7 January 2001

iDefense Intelligence Services, Special Report: Israeli-Palestinian Cyber Conflict, January 4, 2001

Business2.com, Emily Fitzloff, "Turkish Kids Arrested for Web Use", 9 January 2001

Newsbytes, Malaysia Takes Action on Anti-Islam Internet Surfers, 12 December 2000

Arab Media: the Internet

BBC News Online, Wired Up Ramadan, November 24, 2000

Thomas Greene, Cyberwar in the Middle East, 30 October 2000

Newsbytes, Palestine takes the Middle Eastern War Online, October 25, 2000

Daily Star, Lebanon. New battleground: resistance moves into cyberspace Israel’s supporters try to knock Hizbullah’s site offline, October 20, 2000

Guardian, Cyberspace frees Iran's rebel cleric, August 5, 2000

Reuters, Saudi Arabia Blocks Internet Users From Yahoo Clubs, August 13, 2000

Guardian, Saudis claim victory in war for control of web, Thursday May 11, 2000

BBC News, "Internet cafe opens in Baghdad", 27 July 2000

BBC News, "Iranian conservative slams Internet", 23 Jan 1999

BBC News, "Online Investing for Muslims", 27 Mar 2000

Wired, "Virtual Refuge for Gay Muslims", 8 May 2000

Wired, "Report: Mideast Misses the Net", 8 Jul 1999

NZZ, "Internet Cafés Instead of Hit Squads - A Fragile Peace in Southeast Turkey", 9 August 2000

Josef W. Meri, "Software and Technology Review: Multilingual Computing in Middle East Studies", Middle East Studies Association Bulletin, Vol. 34 No. 1

First Monday, Michel Bauwens, Spirituality and Technology, 1996

Today's News Headlines - including Religion, Cyberculture, and Regional Categories

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