Dear MEMRI Subscriber,
For nearly 10 years, The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) has relied upon the generosity of our donors, including many of our subscribers, in order to produce primary source translations and unique analyses that enable government, law enforcement, legislating bodies, academia, the media, and the public to gain a more in-depth understanding of the complexities of the Middle East.
As a reader of MEMRI, you are familiar with our continuing efforts to monitor more media outlets in more countries, research more subjects, and translate into more languages.
The production and distribution of our materials, as well as the maintenance of our websites, is a costly undertaking.
Please donate now, at http://www.memri.org/donation/ .
HELP MEMRI CONTINUE TO PROVIDE ITS MATERIAL FREE OF CHARGE
MEMRI continues to lead in "Bridging the Language Gap Between the Middle East and the West" through its translations, analyses, studies, and TV footage. We are now asking our subscribers who have not yet contributed to MEMRI to please consider making a contribution. At the same time, we thank those who have contributed to us in the past and ask them to kindly renew their support and to consider increasing it.
Please donate now, at http://www.memri.org/donation/ .
*THE FOLLOWING PROJECTS STILL NEED FUNDING FOR 2007
JIHAD & TERRORISM PROJECT (www.memri.org/jihad.html): This project provides research about Islamist ideology and Islamist organizations that threaten the West. This research assists Western governments and academia in better understanding militant Islam, terrorism, and terrorism-sponsoring countries. MEMRI’s Jihad & Terrorism Studies Project also monitors groups that educate and preach jihad and martyrdom in mosques, school systems, and the media.
REFORM PROJECT (www.memri.org/reform.html): This project monitors advocates of reform in the Arab and Muslim world, and the obstacles that they face in advancing their cause. The goal of this project is to provide reformists with a platform from which they can reach out to their societies and to religious, political, and educational leaders while also providing Western policy makers with a solid basis for long-tem strategic plans aimed at supporting this effort. MEMRI has provided a platform for activists in areas including: social reform and civil society; reform in state education and political systems; women's rights; the impact of Arab reformists in their own countries; pro-reform conferences and petitions; and criticism of extremist mainstream Muslim clerics. In addition, MEMRI is working behind the scenes on multiple projects, involving reform websites, reform institutions, reformist associations, and blog networks in the Arab world.
THE NORTH AFRICAN REFORM THINKERS PROJECT (www.memri.org/northafrica.html): This project is based on translations of reformist thought and ideas in the region – particularly in Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, and Mauritania, which are home to the strongest reformist trend in the Arab world.
ANTISEMITISM DOCUMENTATION PROJECT (www.memri.org/antisemitism.html): Antisemitism in the Arab world and Iran has evolved rapidly in recent years, from various sources: Islamic origins, going so far as to call, in sermons and in the media, for killing Jews; European libels and stereotypes; and Nazi propaganda. The Antisemitism Documentation Project documents antisemitic themes in Arabic, Farsi, and Turkish newspaper reports, editorials, and other media sources. This project, which consists of thousands of pages of translations and hundreds of hours of footage from the MEMRI TV Project, maintains the largest archive in the world of translated Arabic, Farsi and Turkish material on antisemitism from the past decade.
ARAB & IRANIAN TV MONITORING PROJECT (www.memritv.org): This project has so far produced over 1,500 clips, totaling more than 14,000 hours of footage – the largest archives of such material in the world. MEMRI TV is viewed in 197 countries around the world, and to date over 20 million visitors have accessed its website. The MEMRI TV Project monitors over 50 channels from Iran and the Arab world, around the clock. No one else – including NGOs – does such work.
THE URDU & PASHTO TRANSLATION PROJECT: Following our research and translations from Arabic, Farsi and Turkish, MEMRI will soon begin translations from the Urdu and Pashto languages, which will enable us to bring material from Pakistan and Afghanistan.
WIPING INTERNET JIHAD OFF THE MAP: The phenomenon of online jihad can be wiped out, or impaired to the point where it no longer serves its hate-propaganda purpose. According to the National Intelligence Estimate (NIE), jihadi websites are the source of homegrown terrorism in the U.S. and throughout Europe. They help terrorist organizations recruit new activists and train them in all forms of terrorist activities, including weapons training, bomb-making techniques, and provision of information about the vulnerabilities of the U.S. military’s weapons systems. As part of their warfare against the Coalition forces in Iraq, terrorist organizations have been using cyberspace to enhance the psychological effect of their attacks, to enhance recruitment, and to extend the reach of their propaganda. American companies that host these sites do not know that they are serving terrorist interests, and MEMRI has taken steps to inform them of this. It is possible, within six to 12 months, to completely shut down these sites, or to sufficiently impair their hate-propaganda activities so that their ability to influence their audience is severely damaged. MEMRI provides the research and information that identifies the jihadist sites and tracks them back to their ISPs and domain name registrars. All of this is done without the application of legal measures, which are unnecessary because these ISP companies are only hosting these websites because they do not know about their content. In any case, legal measures would only slow down the process of eliminating these sites.
INTRODUCING MEMRI'S REDESIGNED ONLINE PRESENCE
In the coming months, MEMRI will unveil a significant redesign of its homepage at www.memri.org. This new site will serve as a centralized stepping-off point for access to all MEMRI sites including the newly-redesigned MEMRITV and a wide range of new MEMRI blogs. Even more new and exciting technical innovations are in the works as we continue to develop and enhance MEMRI’s presence in the online realm of the blogosphere and World Wide Web by integrating the latest technologies into both our new ventures and our existing web sites. Please check all of our websites frequently for the latest developments.
ENHANCED MEMRITV.ORG: MEMRI has recently announced the redesigned website of the MEMRI TV Project, www.memritv.org. The new MEMRI TV web site is housed on high-end servers in a state-of-the-art datacenter that features increased available bandwidth, resulting in a significantly improved end-user experience in navigating the site and in viewing MEMRI's extensive video collection.
The new website's updated features/content include improved technological features such as:
- New enhanced video player
- Easier site navigation
- More subjects, countries, and channels
- Enhanced site interactivity.
THE MEMRI BLOG (www.thememriblog.org): The MEMRI blog has been in operation since November 2006, and has been visited over one million times. The MEMRI Blog was created to complement MEMRI's monitoring and research efforts – efforts which to date have focused on shapers of public opinion, but from now on will also focus on breaking news. In its short span of time on the Web, readership has grown steadily, with more and more blogs linking to our site.
THE ISLAMIST WEBSITES MONITOR PROJECT (www.memriiwmp.org): As part of our Jihad & Terrorism Studies Project, MEMRI began a new project to monitor Islamist websites last year. The purpose of the Islamist Websites Monitor Project (IWMP) is to keep Western audiences informed about the steadily growing phenomenon of jihadist sites on the Internet, which are used by terrorist organizations and their supporters to spread their extremist message and to recruit funds and activists.
Today, MEMRI's database of research from this project will be integrated into a new website, which will monitor a wide range of jihadist websites on a daily basis and publish the most important items appearing on them. In addition, there will be analysis of the materials posted on these sites, with the goal of identifying crucial developments in the world of jihad, such as disagreements among jihad groups or the emergence of new ideological trends and operational strategies. Please note that MEMRI's Islamist Websites Monitor Project is the largest open archive of translated material from Islamist websites.
THE MEMRI ECONOMIC BLOG (www.memrieconomicblog.org): The MEMRI Economic Blog was launched in early July 2007. The editor of the Economic Blog is Dr. Nimrod Raphaeli, MEMRI Senior Analyst and former World Bank economist. As Middle Eastern economic news is often relegated to secondary, if not marginal, coverage, the MEMRI Economic Blog strives to compensate for this. In its short time of operations, the blog has emerged as an authoritative source for those interested in economic news of the Middle East. Visit daily for the latest news on economic issues in the Middle East.
THE MEMRI TURKISH BLOG (www.thememriblog.org/turkey): In view of the historical developments taking place during this time in Turkey – developments that will determine the future of the Turkish republic, its relations with its neighbors in the region, and its positioning vis-à-vis, or its alignment with, the E.U. and the U.S. – MEMRI has launched its Turkish Media Blog. The blog provides firsthand primary-source material translated from the Turkish media – left, center, right, and Islamist, as well as original analyses. Visit daily to see news about Turkey before it appears anywhere else in the Western media.
THE MEMRI ARAB LITERATURE BLOG (www.memriarabliterature.blogspot.com/): This blog explores Arab literature, focusing on new titles released by Arab publishing houses. The blog looks at novels, fiction, non-fiction, academic texts, children’s books, poetry, and news items on Arab literature. The books selected deal mainly with political and sociological issues, such as terrorism, dictatorships, youth, and women’s and religious rights.
THE MEMRI ARAB MOVIES BLOG (www.memriarabmovies.blogspot.com/): This blog focuses primarily on films dealing with political and socio-cultural issues in the Arab World, such as the impact of terrorism, women’s rights, and religion in the lives of individuals. The blog also reports on new cultural trends in Arab cinema, and especially features new Arab films released in countries such as Saudi Arabia and Algeria, where Islamists want to ban all forms of artistic expression. The blog also provides an overview of Arab made-for-TV movie series, to inform readers about what people in the Middle East and North Africa are watching in their homes.
THE MEMRI ARAB MUSIC BLOG (www.memriarabliterature.blogspot.com): This blog focuses on Arab, and Iranian, music and artists. The blog reports on new hits, particularly on works dealing with sensitive social issues such as terrorism, immigration, and women’s rights. Music as a form of expression is often used as a tool for reform against Islamism, as in Algeria; hence, the blog also focuses on artists in the Arab and Muslim world who have been harassed and even killed by Islamists for their music.
COMING SOON: THE MEMRI IRAN BLOG
In the coming months, MEMRI will launch its latest blog, which will focus on developments in Iran. In the meantime, please visit http://www.memri.org/iran.html and http://memritv.org/content/en/country.htm?country=iran .
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