YouTube - The Internet's Primary and Rapidly Expanding Jihadi Base - Part IV: Young American YouTube Follower of Anwar Al-Awlaki on the Ground Zero Mosque and 9/11: 'America Reaps What It Sows'; 'You Pretend Like the World Trade Center and the Pentagon Was a Daycare Center or a Maternity Ward; No - The World Trade Center Was the Epicenter of American Economy That Funds So Much Death And Destruction... If the People Who Did 9/11 Wanted To Kill Innocent People, They Would Have Bombed a School... Church... Daycare Center'

"Al-Awlaki is... the bin Laden of the Internet."

Abd Al-Rahman Al-Rashed, Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, December 29, 2009

The following report is the fourth in a series[1] on the emergence of YouTube as the Internet's primary and rapidly expanding Jihadi base. It focuses in particular on American-born Al-Qaeda leader Anwar Al-Awlaki, who over the past year has come to depend on YouTube to spread his message to a growing number of young American followers.

It should be noted that as Western governments increasingly take down and interfere with traditional terrorist websites, Al-Qaeda and other jihadists have grown more dependent upon on YouTube and other social media outlets, including Facebook and Twitter. To date, these outlets seem unprepared to effectively address this problem.

How Anwar Al-Awlaki Became the Sheikh of YouTube

Following the removal of Al-Awlaki's website on November 9, 2009, YouTube became the largest clearinghouse of his online videos. A quick tabulation of viewings of Al-Awlaki's 2,500-plus clips - comprising lectures, sermons, and compilation videos supporting his jihadist philosophy - now indicates well over three million views, and counting. These clips include Al-Awlaki calling Muslims to jihad, expressions of support for martyrdom attacks, and encouragement to kill American soldiers. It is worth noting that Al-Awlaki's March 18, 2010 audio recording titled "To the American Muslims" - the first Al-Awlaki recording, audio or video, since he went into hiding months earlier - was posted directly to YouTube, rather than on any of the major jihadi websites which normally carry such content. To request a full copy of this MEMRI Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor report, send us an email with the report title, number, and date in the subject line, and include your name, title, organization, and official contact info in the body of the email.