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ISLAMIC RADICALS CALL ON AMERICANS TO JOIN IN JIHAD
By Julie Brown
POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y., Nov. 19 – As the global war on terrorism approaches its fifth year come spring, and worldwide support for the war continues to decline, jihadist terrorists have taken advantage of the bleak situation by using the internet as a medium for recruiting young Americans and Europeans.
One particular Al Qaeda supporter, Samir Kahn, produces a blog from his parents’ home in North Carolina that serves as a website for the multimedia propaganda of varying violent Islamic groups, the New York Times has reported. On his blog, Kahn offers hundreds of links to other insurgent websites as well as news broadcasts from the Middle East that depict U.S. soldiers in a negative light.
Yet Kahn is not the only American citizen to produce a blog supporting Al Qaeda and other jihadist groups. According to the New York Times, there are almost 100 websites in English promoting the militant and brutal views of radical jihadists. These websites contain such multimedia as videos praising suicide bombing attacks, promotional messages about Iraqi insurgencies, and recruitment booklets that have been translated into English.
“The internet provides a channel of communication that’s fast and far reaching,” said Mark Van Dyke, a professor of Communications at Marist College. “It allows people to communicate directly with very specific audiences without having information mediated by journalists.”
Although Al Qaeda has been using the internet for years to reach mass audiences with its jihadist message, only recently have the messages been slanted towards the West. Radical Islamists have tried to attract viewers by turning car bombings into hip hop videos, while at the same time glorifying suicide bomb attacks on American soldiers. According to the New York Times, insurgents are producing videos every day, while Al Qaeda’s media network, Al Sahab, usually produces new videos every three days.
“Videos are very easy to tamper with which makes it easier to spread propaganda,” said Alyssa Brissette, a Radio/TV/Film major at Marist College.
Last spring, Al Qaeda made a large attempt to reach potential supporters in the United States, according to the New York Times. Through the use of video, a bin Laden lieutenant praised African Americans and other minorities in the country, urging them to understand that through jihad, all forms of oppression can be lifted. The video was both praised and critiqued by Muslims around the world, allowing for a decent amount of exposure, the New York Times reported.
Similar problems have arisen in other countries of the world. One of the most influential militant Islam websites is called Tajdeed, and its founder, Dr. Muhammad Massari, lives in London. Massari told the New York Times that insurgent videos made under Abu Musab al-Zarqawi (a former leader of Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia) helped to inspire the recruitment videos that can now be found on the internet. He also told the New York Times that he never uploads the videos; members of Al Qaeda take care of it from different parts of the world by using secret codes and passwords.
Although governments around the world are aware of these websites, there has been an ongoing controversy about whether or not the sites should be allowed to exist. According to the New York Times, one United States citizen, Joseph G. Shahda, has been knocking the harmful websites off of the internet from his home near Boston. At this point in time, Shahda has disposed of 40 of the militant websites by identifying and emailing the internet service providers these websites are hosted by. Shahda told the New York Times that the websites contained dangerous information explaining how to make bombs, become snipers, and engage in guerilla warfare.
“The First Amendment recognizes the government’s right to protect itself,” said Gerry McNulty, a professor of journalism at Marist College. “The government has the right to draw the line between free speech and violence.”
Yet members of the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point say that the material found on the militant websites can help uncover something important in the fight against terrorism. According to the New York Times, officials at the Center say that they used Samir Kahn’s website to discover that militant scholars and sheiks of the past and present are now considered more influential and dangerous than Osama bin Laden.
“One of the best approaches is to monitor and prepare to counter the information on the websites,” said Van Dyke. “The government should make other viewpoints known so that viewers are not so easily persuaded to join the fight against the West.”