Following the killing of Anwar Al-Awlaki, Shumoukh Al-Islam, the main Al-Qaeda-affiliated forum, posted a complete archive of his lectures, and provided links to view clips, listen to audio tapes and more, on the San-Francisco-based Internet Archive library (archive.org). As of this writing, the archives have been downloaded 11,204 times. A note on the archives by Shumoukh Al-Islam provides a link to its forum for more on Awlaki.
The full list of content from the archives can be found below.
An August 2011 MEMRI report, titled "Al-Qaeda, Jihadis Infest the San Francisco, California-Based 'Internet Archive' Library," detailed how, as part of their online media strategy, jihadi groups have in recent years begun using Western websites and technologies – uploading videos to YouTube, "tweeting" news flashes from the jihadi fronts, and even creating official Facebook pages.[1] Jihadis have come to depend on free web hosting, and are uploading content, including large videos, anonymously and at no cost (see MEMRI Inquiry & Analysis No. 724, "Al-Qaeda, Jihadis Infest the San Francisco, California-Based 'Internet Archive' Library," August 17, 2011, Al-Qaeda, Jihadis Infest the San Francisco, California-Based 'Internet Archive' Library).[2]
For more information on how jihadis are using social media to spread their message, see MEMRI's five-part series "Deleting Online Jihad and the Case of Anwar Al-Awlaki: Nearly Three Million Viewings of Al-Awlaki's YouTube Videos."[3]
Endnotes:
[1] MEMRI JTTM, "Jihadi Media Company Announces New Website," July 25, 2011, http://www.memrijttm.org/content/en/blog_personal.htm?id=5256¶m=GJN.
[2] Examples of the content posted by jhihadi groups on the Internet Archive include speeches by Osama bin Laden and by current Al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri, and productions by Al-Qaeda's Al-Sahab media company. This content is often reposted to other websites. Members of the leading jihadi forums frequently instruct their readers to use the Internet Archive; for example, on July 20, 2011, a Shumoukh Al-Islam member gave readers detailed steps for uploading material to there (see http://shamikh1.info/vb/showthread.php?t=117903).
[3] MEMRI Inquiry & Analysis, "Part I – Deleting Online Jihad and the Case of Anwar Al-Awlaki: Nearly Three Million Viewings of Al-Awlaki's YouTube Videos – Included Would-Be Christmas Airplane Bomber, Fort Hood Shooter, 7/7 London Bomber, and Would-Be Fort Dix Bombers," Deleting Online Jihad and the Case of Anwar Al-Awlaki: Nearly Three Million Viewings of Al-Awlaki's YouTube Videos – Included Would-Be Christmas Airplane Bomber, Fort Hood Shooter, 7/7 London Bomber, and Would-Be Fort Dix Bombers; "Part II – The Internet's Primary and Rapidly Expanding Jihadi Base: A Look at Al-Awlaki's Followers YouTube Pages," YouTube – The Internet's Primary and Rapidly Expanding Jihadi Base: Part II; "Part III – The Internet's Primary and Rapidly Expanding Jihadi Base: Taliban YouTube Page Remains Active," YouTube – The Internet's Primary and Rapidly Expanding Jihadi Base – Part III: Despite Removal Efforts, Taliban YouTube Page Promising Terror Attacks on U.S. Cities Remains Active; "Part IV – 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; If the People Who Did 9/11 Wanted To Kill Innocent People, They Would Have Bombed a School… Church… Daycare Center,'" 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'; "Part V: YouTube – The Internet's Primary and Rapidly Expanding Jihadi Base: One Year Later on YouTube – Anwar Al-Awlaki's Presence Expands, Al-Qaeda Goes Viral, Jihadists Post Thousands of Videos of Killing of U.S. Troops; European Jihadists Also Embrace YouTube," Part V: YouTube - The Internet's Primary and Rapidly Expanding Jihadi Base: One Year Later on YouTube - Anwar Al-Awlaki's Presence Expands, Al-Qaeda Goes Viral, Jihadists Post Thousands of Videos of Killing of U.S. Troops; European Jihadists Also Embrace YouTube.
