The Tsarnaev brothers, the Internet & al-Qaeda

Inspire is published by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula based in Yemen.  Terrorism expert Rohan Gunaratna says “AQAP is a direct extension of Central al-Qaeda…This group today poses the most significant threat to the US.”  He adds the Internet today is the principal medium of communication by terrorists, “To reach out to their supporters – to radicalize, to recruit people, to indoctrinate them and to get them to launch terrorist attacks.”  Maria Ressa, author of “From Bin Laden to Facebook” and “Seeds of Terror” says the Tsarnaev brothers “match the profile that most worries American law enforcement: long-time American residents familiar with American culture, geography and customs with ethnic roots and values that allow them to develop deep connections to Islamic movements overseas.”

What do terrorists look like today? They are smiling, handsome young men with hatred in their hearts, fanned and fuelled by the Internet. Here’s 26 year old Boston bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev’s playlist of hate. Tamerlan’s YouTube channel includes a video of the dramatization of the Black Banners of Khurusan. The black flag symbolizes the march of an all-powerful Islamic military force from Central Asia to defeat the infidels. Another video in his social media account is a lecture by Feiz Muhammad, a fundamentalist Australian cleric. Tamerlan’s YouTube playlist also includes a song called “I Dedicate My Life to Jihad.” Tamerlan and his brother, 19-year-old Dzhokhar– the other bombing suspect, were apparently influenced by the online Inspire magazine, which disseminates ideological materials and bomb-making techniques, including how to make the pressure cooker bombs used in Boston.

Read more on Rappler.