Efforts to carry out electronic Jihad on the part of the Jihadi online forum members
The “Islam on-line” website reported on August 25th 2008 that attacking American and Israeli websites is considered “electronic Jihad”. In the report it was stated that the “Al-Azhar” Religious Ruling Committee has published a “fatwa” (religious ruling) allowing the hacking of American and Israeli websites damaging to Islam and the Muslims, in what is called “electronic Jihad”. The fatwa said that “Jihad was set in Muslim tradition so that the word of truth [Islam – the translator] will rule, and in order to help the exploited and protect the religion, the honor, the homeland, the liberty and the human dignity […]”.Therefore electronic Jihad appearing on websites is allowed, according to the Muslim religion, as it is one of the means of resistance against the enemy.
The global Jihad organizations recognized the huge potential embodied in the internet as a tool for propaganda, publicity and the passing on of operational information by publishing guidebooks, magazines, movies and translations into foreign languages of declarations made by senior Al-Qaeda members and more. The intensive use of the internet made by these organizations has received comprehensive review in a report written by the United States Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs on May 8th 2008. These organizations show impressive expertise in new technological knowledge, in programs and websites that can help them in their war of propaganda. As part of the war raging on the internet, it seems that electronic Jihad is a central component in the activity of global Jihad organizations against American, European and Israeli websites