Intelligence

Muslim Web Sites in Spotlight as Qaeda Scares Spread

Yahoo! News - Muslim Web Sites in Spotlight as Qaeda Scares Spread

By Firouz Sedarat
DUBAI (Reuters) - Islamist Web sites are drawing a wide audience as possible harbingers of al Qaeda attacks but experts say they are erratic and unreliable sources of warnings that could save lives.

Analysts say the sites, used by al Qaeda backers to spread their message, are unlikely sources of exact information on where or how Osama bin Laden (news - web sites)'s network might strike next -- though an experienced eye may spot the more probable comments.

Mainly, the Arabic-language sites, usually bulletin boards where anyone can post anonymous messages, provide a forum for users with nicknames like erhabi (terrorist) and abuosama (Osama's father) to vent anger at the West and United States.

"There's no official al Qaeda site, only sites run by Qaeda supporters but even these lack credibility as anyone can post there," London-based Islamic activist Yasser el-Serri said.

The sites praise as heroes the hijackers who carried out the September 11 attacks on U.S. cities, and often carry threats of even bloodier acts.

Last week, an Internet statement by a group claiming to be the Yemeni wing of al Qaeda vowed to strike a "devastating and crushing blow" against the United States to avenge the 2002 killing of its leader by a CIA (news - web sites) drone aircraft.

"We are capable now, of destroying an entire American city -- repeat: an entire city -- while your government remains arrogant," one recent post said.

"No one knows if a post is from a boasting young man or from an intelligence agency," Serri told Reuters. "But with experience, one can tell which may be genuine, by eliminating fakes based on their bad knowledge of Islam."

London-based analyst Paul Eedle who closely follows pro-Qaeda sites, agreed that a trained eye was needed.

"The way to assess the authenticity of statements is to see what other Islamists on the Net think of them," he said. "In this and other spheres, the Internet is a self-authenticating community."

EFFECTIVE PROPAGANDA TOOLS

"Since September 11, al Qaeda has used the Internet as a media machine, managing the public perception of it. That's almost as important to it as setting off bombs," Eedle said.

"Al Qaeda has a clear program to maintain a clash of civilizations between the West and Islam, and to terrify opponents and win over supporters."

Gary Bunt, a University of Wales lecturer who runs a site on Islam, virtuallyislamic.com, said Islamists had proven much more tech-savvy than their governments.

"A number of these site are exciting to take a look at. They've been designed very intelligently, a great deal of thought goes into how to put the message across," he told Reuters by telephone. "That has had an impact."

Mainstream media have been reluctant to report many of the threats posted on the sites. But Jeremy Reynalds, a U.S.-based analyst who frequently reports on Islamist sites, said the decision was a difficult one.

"I have debated with myself as to whether I am helping fuel a panic or whether I am doing the public a service.

"Do you withhold the information until you can verify it or do you publish it and say: this is not necessarily reliable but we have decided to let you know, in case."

January 28, 2004 at 08:45 PM in Al Qaeda | Permalink | Top of page | Blog Home