While he calls for a return to the Islam founded in the seventh-century, his communication methods are up-to-the-minute. Abu Mussab Al Zarqawi, the head of Al Qaeda in Iraq, turns to the Internet to spread his message of jihad, or holy war. In audio messages transmitted online, a voice claiming to be Zarqawi takes responsibility for attacks in Iraq, makes threats, comments on the news and speaks to the American people. In Monday’s message, which CIA analysts believe was authentic, Zarqawi addressed Al Qaeda’s global leader, Osama Bin Laden. Zarqawi acknowledged reports that he had been lightly wounded but said that he was still fighting with the insurgents to drive the US-led coalition out of Iraq.<\/p>\n
The rebel leader, who tops the US most-wanted list in Iraq with a $25-million reward on his head, is hounded by the American forces. Still, Zarqawi eludes capture and maintains a capacity for organization and communication, according to experts. \u00abThe jihadists in general and Zarqawi in particular use technology very efficiently,\u00bb said Alain Chouet, a former French intelligence agent. \u00abThey use the Internet on a daily basis; it’s integral\u00bb to their operation, he said.<\/p>\n
Rita Katz, who heads the SITE Institute in Washington that specializes in surveillance and translates Islamist Websites, said that \u00abon a daily basis we have four to 10 messages from Al Qaeda in Iraq. It is not a one-man job. There is no doubt in my mind that he has a team of talented people doing that.\u00bb It is easy to send an e-mail message to Zarqawi and get a response. \u00abWe have translated many examples of that. His interaction on the Internet is amazing,\u00bb Katz said. (,,,)<\/p>\n
Some experts, nevertheless, warn against the risks of falsification and manipulation by Internet enthusiasts.<\/p>\n
According to Alain Bauer, a French criminologist and co-author of The Al Qaeda Enigma, says that most of the Websites are fake. \u00abSince the beginning of the Iraq war, there has been a profusion of Websites making more or less strange demands,\u00bb he said. Bauer also noted that Al Qaeda has become \u00aba sort of franchise name\u00bb that different groups use because \u00abit is easier for Westerners to understand\u00bb. \u00abIt is the efficient use of propaganda.\u00bb<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Middle East Times – June 3 2005 – AFP Zarqawi.com: radical Islamists use Internet to spread jihad While he calls for a return to the Islam founded in the seventh-century, his communication methods are up-to-the-minute. Abu Mussab Al Zarqawi, the head of Al Qaeda in Iraq, turns to the Internet to spread his message of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[94],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21387","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-prensa"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t