Recent discussions in the online Islamist forums regarding the benefits of attacking France have sparked a religious debate among Islamist forum members.  At the core of the debate is the Islamic concept of “assurance of protection” (aman), which is referred to in the discussion below as “the covenant of security.” In this case, the covenant [...]

read more from this topic.....

On January 4, 2008, the Islamist forum Al-Ekhlas (www.ek-ls.org), hosted by NOC4Hosts Inc. in Florida, USA), posted a message by a participant calling himself Al-Murabit Al-Muwahhid (”The Monotheistic Jihad Fighter”), discussing the possible benefit of a terrorist attack in Paris. The writer speculated that such an attack would bring about the collapse of the French [...]

read more from this topic.....

On December 16, 2007, Al-Qaeda’s media company Al-Sahab and the Al-Qaeda affiliated Media Center Al-Fajr announced a joint media initiative called “Open Meeting with Al-Zawahiri,” in which Osama bin Laden’s deputy would answer questions from the public.
The initiative aroused interest as well as criticism in the Arab media.
Al-Sharq Al-Awsat columnist Hussein Shobokshi wrote that it [...]

read more from this topic.....

On December 16, 2007, the Islamist website http://www.ek-ls.org/, which is hosted by NOC4HOSTS Inc., in Tampa, FL, USA, posted a video of an interview with Al-Qaeda deputy Ayman Al-Zawahiri. The 100-minute interview, which aired during the month of Dhu Al-Qa’da, 1428 (November 11-December 10, 2007) and which was produced by Al-Qaeda’s media company Al-Sahab, was [...]

read more from this topic.....

Al-Arabiya TV Interview with Former Al-Qaeda Trainer in Iraq: “Al-Qaeda Got its Ideology From the Koran and Sunna… The Only Problem [for the Mujahideen] in Iraq is the [U.S.] Air Force… Yes, I Am a Terrorist, What’s the Problem?”
The following are excerpts from an interview from Lebanon with Shehada Jawhar, former Al-Qaeda official in charge [...]

read more from this topic.....

Two testimonies by young men who went to Iraq to wage jihad were published recently. In the first testimony, a young Saudi named Ahmad bin ‘Abdallah Al-Shayi’ said that he regretted his actions, and accused Al-Qaeda of exploiting young men by tempting them to join the organization and then sending them to carry out martyrdom [...]

read more from this topic.....

Arabs in Europe have launched a public campaign to stop Al-Jazeera TV broadcasts in Europe. In a petition, they accuse the channel of fostering extremism among European Arab youth and of supporting terrorism.
While the petition’s initiators have not provided their names, it seems likely that they are Iraqi expatriates; although various Arab news websites, such [...]

read more from this topic.....

On December 4, 2007, the Islamist website www.alhesbah.net, hosted by NOC4Hosts Inc. in Florida, USA, posted an audio message by ISI commander Abu ‘Omar Al-Baghdadi, produced by the ISI ["Islamic State of Iraq," an Al-Qaeda created and affiliated body] media company Al-Furqan. In the message, titled “As for the Scum - It Disappears like Froth [...]

read more from this topic.....

As part of their efforts to reach and influence non-Arabic-speaking audiences, Islamists have set up English-language pages on existing Arabic-language forums, and have also launched jihadist blogs in English.(1) An examination of the content of these forum pages and blogs suggests that they are aimed at various audiences in the West, inter alia to influence [...]

read more from this topic.....

Columnist Fares bin Hazam, who specializes in issues relating to Al-Qaeda in Saudi Arabia, published in the Saudi daily Al-Riyadh a personal account by a former Al-Qaeda member of Saudi origin. The article, titled “Iran Recruits Members to Al-Qaeda at Tens of Thousands Dollars a Month,” describes the assistance the former fighter and his friends [...]

read more from this topic.....