KashifAsrar
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EXPERTSââ¬â¢ VIEW
ââ¬ËUS losing battle against Islamist campaign on Netââ¬â¢
Washington: The Bush administration is failing to counter Islamist online propaganda that could propel militancy into the next generation, experts say.
From the Middle East, Asia and Europe, Islamists have built an expansive Internet library of sophisticated texts on the ideology that underpins violence against the West and other enemies, analysts and intelligence officials said.
ââ¬ÅItââ¬â¢s a steady, stealthy indoctrination aimed at creating a whole new generation of jihadists. And scandalously, it is unopposedââ¬Â, said Stephen Ulph, who studies the Islamist Web for the Jamestown Foundation, a Washington think tank. E-books and online pamphlets, with titles such as 39 Ways to Serve and Participate in Jihad, encourage the growth of home-grown militant cells across the world, including in such Western countries as Canada and Britain, the experts believe.
US intelligence is reluctant to mount an effective counteroffensive by recruiting Islamic experts from overseas to rebut and even ridicule Islamist authors, according to experts and US officials.
ââ¬ÅAnything exposing the West as a supporter would destroy Islamic opposition to the jihadis,ââ¬Â one intelligence official on condition of anonymity. ââ¬ÅWe are completely out of luck with the Muslim world, across the boardââ¬Â. Several agencies including the CIA, FBI and the office of US national intelligence director John Negroponte are part of a closely guarded effort to monitor the content of Islamist Web sites.
But the programme is hampered by stringent security standards that make it hard for intelligence agencies to employ Islamist experts from the Arab world. ââ¬ÅEven if we think we understand elements of the religion, we certainly donââ¬â¢t understand elements of their cultural communicationsââ¬Â, the intelligence official said.
Others warned that US policy-makers could be making a fatal error by ignoring doctrinal online texts that lay bare the substance of a violent Islamist
mind-set. ââ¬ÅIn order to be able to fight something, you have first of all to understand what is going on. And I donââ¬â¢t think that at this stage they understand it well enough to fight itââ¬Â, said Rita Katz, director of the SITE institute, which tracks and analyses international terrorism.
In a presentation this week, Ulph said doctrinal material accounts for 60% of Islamist Web content and most texts are in Arabic. But many have begun to reappear in English.
One of the most popular is the 1,600-page treatise, Call to Global Islamic Resistance a comprehensive guide to militant life by Al Qaida ideologue Mustafa Setmariam Nasar, also known as Abu Musab al-Suri, who was captured in Pakistan a year ago. REUTERS
ââ¬ËUS losing battle against Islamist campaign on Netââ¬â¢
Washington: The Bush administration is failing to counter Islamist online propaganda that could propel militancy into the next generation, experts say.
From the Middle East, Asia and Europe, Islamists have built an expansive Internet library of sophisticated texts on the ideology that underpins violence against the West and other enemies, analysts and intelligence officials said.
ââ¬ÅItââ¬â¢s a steady, stealthy indoctrination aimed at creating a whole new generation of jihadists. And scandalously, it is unopposedââ¬Â, said Stephen Ulph, who studies the Islamist Web for the Jamestown Foundation, a Washington think tank. E-books and online pamphlets, with titles such as 39 Ways to Serve and Participate in Jihad, encourage the growth of home-grown militant cells across the world, including in such Western countries as Canada and Britain, the experts believe.
US intelligence is reluctant to mount an effective counteroffensive by recruiting Islamic experts from overseas to rebut and even ridicule Islamist authors, according to experts and US officials.
ââ¬ÅAnything exposing the West as a supporter would destroy Islamic opposition to the jihadis,ââ¬Â one intelligence official on condition of anonymity. ââ¬ÅWe are completely out of luck with the Muslim world, across the boardââ¬Â. Several agencies including the CIA, FBI and the office of US national intelligence director John Negroponte are part of a closely guarded effort to monitor the content of Islamist Web sites.
But the programme is hampered by stringent security standards that make it hard for intelligence agencies to employ Islamist experts from the Arab world. ââ¬ÅEven if we think we understand elements of the religion, we certainly donââ¬â¢t understand elements of their cultural communicationsââ¬Â, the intelligence official said.
Others warned that US policy-makers could be making a fatal error by ignoring doctrinal online texts that lay bare the substance of a violent Islamist
mind-set. ââ¬ÅIn order to be able to fight something, you have first of all to understand what is going on. And I donââ¬â¢t think that at this stage they understand it well enough to fight itââ¬Â, said Rita Katz, director of the SITE institute, which tracks and analyses international terrorism.
In a presentation this week, Ulph said doctrinal material accounts for 60% of Islamist Web content and most texts are in Arabic. But many have begun to reappear in English.
One of the most popular is the 1,600-page treatise, Call to Global Islamic Resistance a comprehensive guide to militant life by Al Qaida ideologue Mustafa Setmariam Nasar, also known as Abu Musab al-Suri, who was captured in Pakistan a year ago. REUTERS
