Can someone explain to me why the VAST majority of Islamist/Jihadist websites are hosted in the good 'ole U.S. of A. When Europe, the ME, Asia, Russia etc have more than capable internet services and are the supposed to be the nucleus of Islamic fundi's.....aren't they?

Check out the Islamist Website Monitor Project at MEMRI.

http://www.memri.org/iwmp.html

HI STg....probably for the same reason that some republican US politicians are publically denouncing the evils of 'illegal immigration' and at the same time are beefing up their share portfolios in agribusiness which depends on them for a better bottom line :)

I know what Jesus would have to say about that !

Yeah, maybe. I fully apreciate that the yanks are FOREVER pulling down internet sites. The most famous was the Al Qaeda one. Problem was it was like one of those cartoon aliens that you slice in half and get two aliens, instead of one dead one.

I just haven't heard of anyone getting arrested for inciting hatred through internet sites that are being created in the States itself. Which most are in the States.

Bizarre.

It happens because the US has freedom of speech, freedom of expression and a Bill of Rights. The Constitution protects those who conspire to undermine the country at home or attack from abroad. Easy, isn't it?

I'm not entirely sure that they see it this way, perikles.

>>The Constitution protects those who conspire to undermine the country at home or attack from abroad<<

The Constitution does have a few words to say on the topic.

"Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort."

That just about covers it, wouldn't you think?

You play the familiar "oh those bleeding hearts" refrain on free speech.

>>[US hosted Jihadist sites] happen... because the US has freedom of speech, freedom of expression and a Bill of Rights.<<

Why is it suddenly unfashionable to support freedom of speech?

Perhaps it is because if you scratch a Republican, you find an autocratic paternalist, steeped in command-and-control and just-do-as-I-say.

But leaving the rights of people to express themselves (in a manner short of treason) aside, the mechanics of taking down web sites is not a trivial task. In fact, it is probably only worth going after a few of the nastier ones, and leave the bulk alone. The sheer noise-factor caused by the multitude of amateurish lookit-me locations probably limits the reach of the entire class of sites, lessening their impact.

"The sheer noise-factor caused by the multitude of amateurish lookit-me locations probably limits the reach of the entire class of sites, lessening their impact."

Or could it confirm to someone sifting out sites like that, that the sheer number confirm that individual's warped sense of reality?.

The other side of my question is that the vast majority of these sites are in the States itself!. Why in the States?. What's the demographic that's doing this?. I know of at least one webmaster of a particular site "martyring" himself. Home grown terrorism is the BIGGEST fear when combatting terrorism. Are these sites a sign of the future for the States?.

How does that work?

>>Or could it confirm to someone sifting out sites like that, that the sheer number confirm that individual's warped sense of reality?<<

I would suggest that the actual number of people who are influenced by the existence of such sites would be very small. After all, the Internet is a very passive medium. You have to go looking, it doesn't come looking for you.

>>What's the demographic that's doing this?. I know of at least one webmaster of a particular site "martyring" himself.<<

That could be a clue to the demographic, right there. Classic existential angst. The Internet attracts hormone-fuelled self-pity like nothing else, not exclusively from the ranks of "Jihadists" either.

Looking at the quality of those sites, they mostly sound like a bunch of angry kids shouting for attention.

Ignore them. They'll go away. Only by giving them the oxygen of recognition will they survive longer than a couple of months.

I think you're underestimating the internet as a medium for recruitment, ideology and propaganda. It's no secret that various organizations of insidious intent use the net to communicate between eachother. It's basically free and practically impossible to police communiques on the net.

Absolutely I agree that the numbers that act based on information gained off the net is small...very small, probably. But what's the number of individuals of sympathetic background that just need a shove via an event of significant tragedy to inspire and motivate?.

I'd suggest those aren't the ones you find in places like here, or in yahoo chat, Myspace or Youtube sprooking on about Yanks sucking s**t.

Sites CELEBRATING (not just informing) killings need to be actively shutdown. Ignoring and laughing them away probably will bite us in the bum.

Hey, here's the flipside.

The more angry an individual gets the information they'll wanna grab about the nucleus of that anger. The more activity, the more red flags will pop up. IP tracking ain't brain surgery. An increase in activity in one particular area would show up like a massively swore red painted thumb, with a neon sign saying "look at me!" hovering above.

Er, has it occurred to anybody that you don't have to be in the USA, or be an American, in order to own a .com or .org website?

I don't think the domain name registrar is the issue here, CJ

>>you don't have to be in the USA, or be an American, in order to own a .com or .org website<<

The address is not relevant here, but the ISP host site is. Any restriction on a site's activity, for example, would be at the ISP level, as it is with porn, gambling etc., even anti-government propaganda in countries sensitive to it.

If a country wants to prevent access, they will do it at the IP address level, which "belongs" to the ISP.

Need to be careful here, some of my views have been edited, but first we are better served by knowing what the idiots are up to.
We in the west often let others use our freedoms against us, but in this case as has been pointed out we learn from these sites too.
In time from within the Muslim community answers to this hate will come.
Or a war will take place.
I think we understand that, while I am very much pro America I often question things like this, should freedoms be given to those who oppose all freedom?
For me the answer this time is yes, we gain from understanding the nature of the enemy.

Fair enough Pericles - but what about those sites that are 'virtually' hosted? Obviously this topic demonstrates the limit of my tech-savvy, but my brother-in-law is far more up on these things than I am. He's a computer consultant and offers website hosting as part of his business - but as I understand it the actual computers that host the data for websites that he is 'hosting' are located in India, Malaysia etc. Most of these sites are located in the .com, .net, .org and .biz domains - partly, he says, because those domains aren't as regulated as in .au .

I don't know whether these 'Jihadist' sites are hosted by US ISPs or not, but it occurs to me that this kind of 'virtual' web hosting might provide one explanation for why so many of them are apparently 'American'.

SOME of these site may not be as one expects.

I recall during the height of the communist threat that the US was financing communist papers. Those puchasing these papers, provided US security name of members who were on the communist underground.

Hi guys
Hey StG you know about Islamic sites, do you have any idea about the website of Sheikh Haron?
Hi BOAZ , what about you? Can anyone here tell me is this a Jihadist site or moderate one?

http://www.sheikhharon.com