This edition of Around the Web is dedicated to my favorite movie. “Now with more molecules!”
We start off with a bit of Tim, or more accurately, the excellent work of ICSR, Countering Online Radicalisation: A Strategy for Action.
Looking for nasheeds in Urdu? (Go ahead, admit it, I know you are) Well, look no further, http://bintulislam.wordpress.com/taranay/
Michael over at The Opposite End of China needs your help: Who is on his carpet?
Staying in the region, here are two posts on Islam in China: One on the Persian influence, and one on the cultural divide between Malay and Chinese Muslims
Reviewing the reviewer: Kilcullen’s review of a review of his book. (via SWJ)
What is it about HTS that makes functional academics go off their rockers? Just asking.
Good news for Yanni’s evil twin, Ali al-Marri, and bad news for us: Al-Marri detention case ended from (via SCOTUSBlog)
And then there’s this from MEMRI: An In-Depth Summary of Sayyid Imam's New Polemic against Al-Qaeda, 'Exposing the Exoneration'
That from BBC Monitoring (via Lexis-Nexis): Al-Arabiya programme on dispute between Al-Zarqawi's followers, Al-Maqdisi. BBC Monitoring International Reports (March 4, 2009)
Ulema matter.
So do jihadi forums.
A little polemic here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/12662613/Shaykh-Albani-explains-why-we-should-ascribe-to-the-SalafusSalih
A little dawah guidance there: http://ii-muflihah.blogspot.com/2009/02/10-tips-for-muslim-activists-to-deal.html
Much needed skepticism (via Axe)
But much more needed here. [Poor bloke. He wasn’t a terrorist, just really good friends with Abu Zubaydah]
Found via Aaron: Jihadi video and auto-radicalisation: evidence from an exploratory YouTube study
The DORAS subject bibliography has links to more studies in this area, including interesting results from a search of “Islamic law.”
A review of The Islamist at Abu Muqawama, that includes this passage:
The image of easy going weed-smoking free love (Islamic style) Sufis has always appealed to some in the West. After 9/11, it has gained new supporters who see it as a “form of Islam that we can live with”. Quite a few Muslims seem to have become drawn to Sufistic approaches to Islam precisely because it seems more West-friendly. But politics is not the right reason to adopt or support an ascetic and esoteric religious path. It’s also misguided. Sufis can fight when they want to.
More nuance here with an article on Egypt’s evolving Islamism
Meanwhile, Ganesh Sitaraman advocates a reconsideration of the laws of war. (via SWJ) [Not a bad idea]
Two from the current issue of Studies in Conflict and Terrorism
Author: Heather S. Gregg a
Volume 32, Issue 3 March 2009 , pages 188 – 208
The 9/11 Attacks—A Study of Al Qaeda's Use of Intelligence and Counterintelligence
Author: Gaetano Joe Ilardi a
Volume 32, Issue 3 March 2009 , pages 171 - 187
In the OSINT corner
My post on the Revelation
A new book to get the OSINT juices flowing: The Fat Tail: The Power of Political Knowledge for Strategic Investing by Ian Bremmer and Preston Keat
Something called Elastic Lists, a new data-mining tool
And a new intel platform for the EU? (via IntelliBriefs)
And now for something completely different
