The Web is the latest frontline in modern wars and we see every day how powerful is the Internet as an instrument of propaganda and communication. Terrorism is one  of the organizations (if we can call it like that) that most take advantages of this characteristics for proselitism, recruiting, fund raising and so on..  

Global Jihad members, sympathizers and mere onlookers use to meet on private forums to exchange information, materials and opinions. After 9/11, international authorities have been keeping in check those web pages that represented a window on the Islamic world.

Besides, the growing popularity of the Internet among the youths and the increasing interest of Islamic boys and girls living in the west in learning more about their home-culture, made these web pages become  an ideal place for recruiting, especially among teen-agers.

ClearGuidance.com was one of the most active communities whose target were the youths. It self-described as “a resource guide for Muslim American teenagers,” where Muslim kids traded decapitation videos and jihad talk.

Both the website and the forum  became a destination for thousands of teenagers between 2001 and 2004. There they asked questions of both minor consequence — Should U.S. Muslims say the pledge of allegiance in public schools? — and serious consequence — Is it permissible to attack innocent civilians in the name of Allah?
 

This is self-described “jihadi” Ibn Musa, relating how he’d slaughter an infidel: 

“EA..oKay..and hey....when u DO i.then DO it soo badly that he spits out blood and and starts crying really badly...stab him till da muslim blood from his abdomen comes out ...and ....ermmmm....lets make this more freaky....hey CUT his head off .... i mean like not FAST....i mean cut it in a SLOW MOTION....and let him shout ...cry....and do anything he wants lol......then leave him alone...on the floor....let the blood come out from his THROAT...+ ABDOMEN....and yea yea yea...lol.... and wait till he dies okay....when he dies....then give him a KICK and tell him that it was from IBN MUSA lol...hey we dont want kumo sis or anyone to faint while lukin at theyr own thread rite?...so ST OP it here man..lets do this in DA BRO AREA ..... “ 

In spite of what it is published, a disclaimer on top of the page points out that the staff of Clearguidace, could not necessarily agree with the posts of every user. 

A huge number of similar websites have been closed by authorities but an even huger amount is still working and spreading  rage and misleading information  that contribute to mould west-hater minds.

Such websites still survive thanks to the collaboration of many volunteers who not only provide the contents but also constantly monitor the web and keep Security Measures updated. Indeed, an effective security system is necessary to protect the identity of the users, that are soon warned in case of security breaches. 

This message was reported by Internet-haganah, a website by Sofir -Society for Internet Research. The text was posted by the administrator of a forum for Islamic people where materials pro global jihad had  been frequently published.   

"In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful. We inform the forum members that we have discontinued our private messages and e-mail services for security reasons.
We confirmed that many attempts have been made to identify and arrest members of the forum by using links and special software to track down the private messages and e-mails or by drawing them into their trap.
Private messages and correspondence services provided by the website were discontinued to guarantee the safety of the members and prevent any attempts that would harm them.
You can contact the moderators through the Suggestions and Complaints forum.
As for the moderators, they can contact each other through the same forum or through regular e-mail.
We ask God, glory be to Him, to protect us all and guide us to what pleases Him.
The Administration 3 Sha'ban 1427, corresponding to 27 August 2006"

This is both the best value and the worst fault of the web: information gets on flowing, in one way or another, it is impossible to stop, be it news,  grandma’s recipes, or tips on how to make and place a bomb in a western train station.

The tendency now is indeed to seek a permanent Internet base for distribution of news, statements and visual materials, in order to share information with the whole Islamic community (the so called Ummah), that is composed by Islamic people living all over the world and by Western converts to Islam, who are key-points of  Al-Qaeda’s strategy to respond to the “War on Terror”. 

Anyway, once the contents of such web pages come in the hands of western anti-terror authorities, they immediately undertake an action against them,  as it happened –for instance- after London bombings in July 2005.

 As Abu al-Asbat al-Athari , author on al-Safinat forum  declared, in that occasion the authorities were "sent into a panic so that they had recourse to a final solution: pressurizing the servers to expel these sites." If only it had stopped there, he laments, "but they went beyond this to strike at their own laws, and took a copy of the statements' database of the al-Qal'a forum (may God bring it back to us) and recorded the [names of] its members and supervisors."  

For now, the al-Safinat commentator urges the participants to stand firm. “Be aware, dear friends, that on these forums you are aiding your brothers on the front lines. Every letter you write in support of your brothers is a jihad, every news item about them you circulate gains the Lord's favor. O Lord, give us back our forums”  

This last statement, that collected many supporting messages doesn’t need any further comment. 

But as we’ve already focused on, darkening such websites won’t stop information spread, they will be moved to different IP addresses, hidden by an innocuous shape, and they will be there, as active as ever.  

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WONDERIN ON HOW TO SUPPORT Written by Guest on 2006-09-10 05:25:15

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