The pros and cons of extremist websites
The Daily Star – Opinion Articles – The pros and cons of extremist websites
The pros and cons of extremist websites
By Mohammed Alkhereiji
Special to The Daily Star
Friday, June 04, 2004
The information age has completely engulfed the Middle East, and Saudi Arabian is by no means an exception. This article is aimed at radical islamic sites, but it can also account for website of the (e.g. Dutch) radical right such as:
“Dealing with online terrorism and its elements creates a Catch-22 situation. Extremist websites are used to spread a distorted and inflammatory ideology, but they are also windows into a disturbing world that need to be understood in order to be effectively dealt with. This, coupled with the fact that these websites can double as a terrorism early detection system, makes their continued presence almost mandatory.”
The pros and cons of extremist websites
By Mohammed Alkhereiji
Special to The Daily Star
Friday, June 04, 2004
The information age has completely
engulfed the Middle East, and Saudi Arabian is by no means an exception.
According to a study by the Madar
Research group, the number of internet users in the Arab world will reach 25
million by the end of 2005. The study found that in 2002 Saudi Arabia had the
largest internet community among all Arab countries with 1.6 million users. By
2005, it is expected to have the second largest number in the region, behind
Egypt with 4.48 million users.
The internet’s grasp on Saudi youth is a
modern-day phenomenon, and as in the rest of the "connected" world, the fear of
its fading away is minuscule at best. But herein lies a potential danger. The
internet in many ways can be compared with the Wild West, as the difficulties of
regulating and authenticating information on the world wide web have been in
many cases a forgotten side note.
And with much of the kingdom’s young
populace enchanted with the net, it is no wonder that Al-Qaeda and other terror
organizations are using it as an effective recruitment tool that targets the
disaffected and the impressionable, as well as a medium to spread its
propaganda. Is it just a coincidence that a majority of the terrorists killed or
captured since last year’s May 12 bombings in Riyadh have been between the ages
of 17 and 27?
In the summer of 2003, Saudi security
forces took into custody a wanted terrorist suspect in the holy city of Medina.
The man in his 20s was apprehended at an internet cafe while corresponding with
a website that is reportedly monitored and controlled by Al-Qaeda. This event
was significant because it confirmed that the terrorist group was active in
cyberspace. Al-Qaeda’s presence on the web ranges from the subliminal to the
unmistakable.
Take for example the current undisputed
favorite, alsaha (The Forum) at
www.alsaha.com. Originating from the United Arab Emirates, alsaha is one of
the first and most successful online Arabic weblogs. It is divided into a number
of forums, including ones concerned with sports, the arts and entertainment.
However, the meatier aspect of the site is the religious and political forums.
One thing defining alsaha is its great popularity in Saudi Arabia.
The rest of the world became aware of
alsaha when it was discovered that right before the September 11, 2001 attacks,
a message appeared on the website proclaiming that, in the subsequent two days,
a "big surprise" was coming from the region of Asir, a remote area in
southwestern Saudi Arabia from where most of the 15 Saudi hijackers hailed.
Since then, alsaha’s profile has gone through a metamorphosis. It is no longer
just a popular Arabic weblog, but also a potential early warning system for
terrorist attacks. In mid-June 2003, alsaha’s credibility as a news source was
again established when a clash in Mecca between militants and Saudi security
forces was reported nearly half a day before any news agency was able to confirm
and report it. "I can hear what sounds like gunfire in the Khaldiyah district,"
an alsaha member wrote at the time.
What is considered controversial about
alsaha is the fact that its political and religious forums are not moderated.
This has provided a medium for the average Saudi to blow off steam, and has also
attracted some of Saudi Arabia’s most prominent intellectuals, who participate
in the forums under aliases to express their ideas and, in some instances, who
join discussions to defend themselves.
Although on the surface alsaha might
appear to be pan-Arab, its content shows a more centralized focus. A majority of
the participants in the forums are Saudis, and 80 percent of all subjects
discussed usually involve Saudi Arabia. At one point the idea of changing the
alsaha name to Saudialsaha.com was put to a vote.
Today, the site’s popular political forum
is no longer accessible to people in Saudi Arabia. Yet that has not stopped them
from hacking their way back into alsaha. Saudis also flock to a mirror site, but
the address changes from time to time whenever the censors discover it. Once
that happens, participants send each other email or mobile telephone text
messages to inform each other of the new address.
How are the lines divided in alsaha? On
most political debates, opinions are usually 50/50, but there is something to be
worried about. In the past, a significant minority of participants have been
Al-Qaeda sympathizers and supporters. One alsaha member estimates that figure at
30 percent.
But alsaha, when compared with other
websites, remains relatively docile. Other websites of interest include the now
interrupted Al-Daawa at www.D3wa.net, an
Arabic-language website based in Kuwait that is believed to be associated with
Al-Qaeda. The website once known as jahara.org promotes terrorism and even
offers manuals on how to make bombs.
In 2003,
www.Alneda.com, a website believed to be Al-Qaeda’s primary method of
communicating with its sleeper cells, gave counter-terrorism agencies a
worldwide run for their money. Since then the website has been thrown off of the
net on several occasions, however, it keeps popping up again on other radical
websites, bulletin boards and E-groups.
Another website to be concerned about is
Al-Muhajiroun. It is an active English-language website and homepage of a Syrian
born British national, Sheikh Omar Bakri. He is a well-known Islamic radical and
apologist for Osama bin Laden who has long been suspected of having ties to the
Taleban and Al-Qaeda. His website is a testament to that: Al-Muhajiroun has
carried fatwas that promote violence against Muslims and non-Muslims.
More recently, prior to the attack last
weekend at the Oasis compound in Khobar, a website carried a statement by Saudi
Arabia’s most wanted Al-Qaeda operative, Abdul Aziz Al-Muqrin, calling on his
supporters to engage in terrorist activities. The statement was posted on the
Al-Qalaa (The Fortress) website at
www.qal3ah.org, where the wanted terrorist called on his followers to engage
in kidnappings, bombings and assassinations.
Dealing with online terrorism and its
elements creates a Catch-22 situation. Extremist websites are used to spread a
distorted and inflammatory ideology, but they are also windows into a disturbing
world that need to be understood in order to be effectively dealt with. This,
coupled with the fact that these websites can double as a terrorism early
detection system, makes their continued presence almost mandatory.
Mohammed Alkhereiji
is a journalist and commentator in Saudi Arabia. He wrote this commentary for
THE DAILY STAR
