Terror Web Site Issues Death Threat

(Talon News) -- Long time Albuquerque resident and Talon News contributor Jeremy Reynalds is best known for his work with Joy Junction, the shelter for homeless families he founded in 1986 and continues to direct. However, there's another side of Reynalds that is not quite as well known -- as a terrorist hunter.

For most the last three years, Reynalds has investigating a number of Islamic terrorist web sites, many of which are hosted by American Internet Service Providers.

According to Reynalds a few weeks ago a "hot" jihadi Internet terror site was Mawsuat, located at www.mawsuat.com. Just hours prior to the Iraqi elections, this site was taken off-line by its American Internet service provider after being alerted of the web site's contents by Jeremy Reynalds.

From friends at Internet Haganah, Reynalds has learned that his part in the site's demise has made some jihadis very upset.

Recent threats posted on the Houston-based radical Islamic site Ansarnet (web site) have been translated by Internet Haganah's owner Aaron Weisburd.

Weisburd commented on these posting, saying, "The person who ran the now-defunct mawsuat.com site starts by blaming Reynalds for the site's demise ... and asks if anyone else has more information about him."

Weisburd continued, "In the discussion that follows, the Islamists first ... ask ... that [Reynalds] might be 'visited,' then [they post] a picture of him and a wish that his ribs be broken, and finally they offer their prayers to Allah that He should deliver to them Reynalds' 'fatty neck' -- a clear reference to the current fad of decapitating anyone deemed to be a critic of the more lethal forms of Islam."

Note -- In the hours leading up to the filing of this story, the post and the entire web site were suspended and then restored.

Reynalds said he was fascinated to see that the bulletin board Ansarnet basically disclaims responsibility for what appears on its site.

He said an Ansarnet (web site) disclaimer reads in part, "Bulletin boards are public access platforms on which any member of the public can post comments, news, or links to other sites. This member of the public could well be a dictatorial government's agent trying to cause discord. It is ANSARNET.WS's policy, not to allow any posting which contains incitement to violence or could be interpreted as an original statement or publication of terrorist groups. These postings could stay for while before being noticed and removed by the web-master."

Ansarnet.ws was hosted by the Houston based Everyone's Internet. Ev1.net attracted more than a little attention last year by its relationship with www.hostinganime.com, a small and free Internet service provider which used computer space owned by ev1.net and hosted as many as 20 terror sites. EV1, Reynalds told Talon News, repeatedly refused to respond to inquiries from him and others about why it continued to allow Hosting Anime the use of its computer space. Interestingly, he said, Hosting Anime was sold a few months ago and the new owners appear to be much more discriminating in their policies.

Following extensive media coverage regarding the death threat (web site) against Reynalds, which remains online, www.ansarnet.ws has now changed its Internet Service Provider.

Reynalds said he sent an e-mail to the company asking why they were hosting a well-known "terror-friendly" site. It was answered, he said, by a "Max J" who identified himself as a company vice president.

According to Reynalds, "Max J" said in a reply, "The website will be removed once we get a request from FBI or Court."

In addition to providing links to files of al Qaeda publications, Reynalds told Talon News that www.mawsuat.com also had about 40 Jihadi "snuff" videos depicted killings reportedly committed by supporters of Iraq's most wanted man, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi available for download.

These were mostly short three to five minute videos of masked insurgents reading some sort of proclamation to a prisoner; followed either by the individual's head being cut off or the prisoner being shot in the head execution style.

Despite the al-Zarqawi and al Qaeda materials available on the site, a disclaimer read, "We would like to inform all the media outlets, all the governments and agencies that Mawsuat.com is not affiliated with any group or organization. The sole purpose of this project is to inform."

The address provided for contact on the site was mawsuat@hotmail.com. Reynalds said he sent an e-mail to that address asking what the individual hoped to achieve by his site.

"To tell the other side's story without bias at the contrary of the most major networks in your land," the individual replied. "[For] example, if you check some of the videos of some operations in Iraq, you'll find that the number of casualties of the American forces is far greater than what your Pentagon and your Fox News report."

Reynalds said that the individual continued by writing, "First of all, the cyber space doesn't belong to anybody the last time I checked. What I put in my website is my business. To be honest with you, I find it kinda amazing that you will be offended by my website and its content, yet the thousands of porn sites that show women of all ages displaying themselves all over the internet seem to be fine by you "people" -- assuming you are an American.

Mawsuat.com was hosted by an American Internet service provider -- Go Daddy (www.godaddy.com). When alerted by Reynalds of the site's content, the company initially removed it for a short time. However, it was back on line by the next morning -- pending, company officials said, a more thorough investigation.

A couple of days later the site was again down. Visitors are now greeted with the words, "This site is currently unavailable. If you are the owner of this site, please contact us at 1-480-505-8855 at your earliest convenience."

A Go Daddy representative told Reynalds that after the company finished an internal investigation of the site contents, it appeared the site was violating the terms of service and so it was taken down.

Reynalds said while he takes any threat seriously, "I refuse to be intimidated by terrorist thugs using the Internet as a platform to broadcast their message of death and destruction. Working in conjunction with fine groups like Internet Haganah I intend to continue shining a light into the darkness of cyber terrorism."

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Killing the Americans and their allies--civilians and military--is an individual duty for every Muslim.

* * * *

Text of Fatwah Urging Jihad Against Americans

Published in Al-Quds al-'Arabi on Febuary 23, 1998

Statement signed by Sheikh Usamah Bin-Muhammad Bin-Ladin; Ayman al-Zawahiri, leader of the Jihad Group in Egypt; Abu- Yasir Rifa'i Ahmad Taha, a leader of the Islamic Group; Sheikh Mir Hamzah, secretary of the Jamiat-ul-Ulema-e-Pakistan; and Fazlul Rahman, leader of the Jihad Movement in Bangladesh

Praise be to God, who revealed the Book, controls the clouds, defeats factionalism, and says in His Book "But when the forbidden months are past, then fight and slay the pagans wherever ye find them, seize them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem (of war)"; and peace be upon our Prophet, Muhammad Bin-'Abdallah, who said "I have been sent with the sword between my hands to ensure that no one but God is worshipped, God who put my livelihood under the shadow of my spear and who inflicts humiliation and scorn on those who disobey my orders." The Arabian Peninsula has never--since God made it flat, created its desert, and encircled it with seas--been stormed by any forces like the crusader armies now spreading in it like locusts, consuming its riches and destroying its plantations. All this is happening at a time when nations are attacking Muslims like people fighting over a plate of food. In the light of the grave situation and the lack of support, we and you are obliged to discuss current events, and we should all agree on how to settle the matter.

No one argues today about three facts that are known to everyone; we will list them, in order to remind everyone:

First, for over seven years the United States has been occupying the lands of Islam in the holiest of places, the Arabian Peninsula, plundering its riches, dictating to its rulers, humiliating its people, terrorizing its neighbors, and turning its bases in the Peninsula into a spearhead through which to fight the neighboring Muslim peoples.

If some people have formerly debated the fact of the occupation, all the people of the Peninsula have now acknowledged it.

The best proof of this is the Americans' continuing aggression against the Iraqi people using the Peninsula as a staging post, even though all its rulers are against their territories being used to that end, still they are helpless. Second, despite the great devastation inflicted on the Iraqi people by the crusader-Zionist alliance, and despite the huge number of those killed, in excess of 1 million... despite all this, the Americans are once against trying to repeat the horrific massacres, as though they are not content with the protracted blockade imposed after the ferocious war or the fragmentation and devastation.

So now they come to annihilate what is left of this people and to humiliate their Muslim neighbors.

Third, if the Americans' aims behind these wars are religious and economic, the aim is also to serve the Jews' petty state and divert attention from its occupation of Jerusalem and murder of Muslims there.

The best proof of this is their eagerness to destroy Iraq, the strongest neighboring Arab state, and their endeavor to fragment all the states of the region such as Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Sudan into paper statelets and through their disunion and weakness to guarantee Israel's survival and the continuation of the brutal crusade occupation of the Peninsula.

All these crimes and sins committed by the Americans are a clear declaration of war on God, his messenger, and Muslims. And ulema have throughout Islamic history unanimously agreed that the jihad is an individual duty if the enemy destroys the Muslim countries. This was revealed by Imam Bin-Qadamah in "Al- Mughni," Imam al-Kisa'i in "Al- Bada'i," al-Qurtubi in his interpretation, and the shaykh of al-Islam in his books, where he said "As for the militant struggle, it is aimed at defending sanctity and religion, and it is a duty as agreed. Nothing is more sacred than belief except repulsing an enemy who is attacking religion and life."

On that basis, and in compliance with God's order, we issue the following fatwa to all Muslims

The ruling to kill the Americans and their allies--civilians and military--is an individual duty for every Muslim who can do it in any country in which it is possible to do it, in order to liberate the al-Aqsa Mosque and the holy mosque from their grip, and in order for their armies to move out of all the lands of Islam, defeated and unable to threaten any Muslim. This is in accordance with the words of Almighty God, "and fight the pagans all together as they fight you all together," and "fight them until there is no more tumult or oppression, and there prevail justice and faith in God."

This is in addition to the words of Almighty God "And why should ye not fight in the cause of God and of those who, being weak, are ill-treated and oppressed--women and children, whose cry is 'Our Lord, rescue us from this town, whose people are oppressors; and raise for us from thee one who will help!'"

We -- with God's help -- call on every Muslim who believes in God and wishes to be rewarded to comply with God's order to kill the Americans and plunder their money wherever and whenever they find it. We also call on Muslim ulema, leaders, youths, and soldiers to launch the raid on Satan's U.S. troops and the devil's supporters allying with them, and to displace those who are behind them so that they may learn a lesson.

Almighty God said "O ye who believe, give your response to God and His Apostle, when He calleth you to that which will give you life. And know that God cometh between a man and his heart, and that it is He to whom ye shall all be gathered."

Almighty God also says "O ye who believe, what is the matter with you, that when ye are asked to go forth in the cause of God, ye cling so heavily to the earth! Do ye prefer the life of this world to the hereafter? But little is the comfort of this life, as compared with the hereafter. Unless ye go forth, He will punish you with a grievous penalty, and put others in your place; but Him ye would not harm in the least. For God hath power over all things."

Almighty God also says "So lose no heart, nor fall into despair. For ye must gain mastery if ye are true in faith."

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