The mainstream media is suddenly “anti-terror,” when the cyberjihadist turns out to be a blogger.

According to the Daily Mail:

A computer nerd from Shepherd’s Bush, West London, became al Qaeda’s top internet agent, it can be revealed today.

Younes Tsouli, 23, an IT student at a London college, used his top-floor flat in W12 to help Islamist extremists wage a propaganda war against the West.

Under the name Irhabi 007 — combining the James Bond reference with the Arabic for terrorist — he worked with al Qaeda leaders in Iraq and came up with a way to convert often gruesome videos into a form that could be put onto the Web. …

The BBC is reporting:

Police and intelligence agencies across the world believe that the case of Younes Tsouli - who was jailed in London last year for inciting terror over the internet - offers dramatic evidence of how extremists are using the web to radicalise young Muslims.

Younis Tsouli described himself online as Terrorist 007

Cyber jihadist
From his bedroom in Shepherd’s Bush in West London, Tsouli, who called himself “Terrorist 007,” was linked to alleged terror groups in Bosnia, Scandinavia, Canada and the United States.

He also had links to a number of Britons who have been jailed recently for terror offences. …

Mark Trevelyan, Security Correspondent for the Daily Mirror quotes Reuters:

The government wants the Internet industry to help combat militant Islamism on the Web in the same way it cooperates in fighting sex crime against children, Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said on Thursday.

In her first major speech on countering Islamist radicalisation, Smith drew an analogy between the militant recruitment of impressionable youngsters on the Internet and the online stalking of children by paedophiles.

“Let me be clear. The Internet is not a no-go area for government,” she told a security conference.

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“If we are ready and willing to take action to stop the grooming of the vulnerable young on social networking sites, then I believe we should also take action against those who groom vulnerable people for the purposes of violent extremism.”

Smith said she planned to consult with the Internet industry in the coming weeks. “Where there is illegal material on the Net, I want it removed,” she said.

She later told reporters it should be possible to develop filters to remove militant material from the Web like those commonly used to stop children accessing adult content.

“The fact that something is difficult doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to do it,” she said.

Isn’t it interesting that the mainstream media is suddenly “anti-terror” when the cyberjihadist turns out to be a blogger? The blogs have been covering this topic for a long time.

See also:

• 1389Blog Stop Blog Censorship
• FHK-Why Conservatives Need to Geek-Up (Part 3) - Digg’s Ties to Islamic Extremism