2005-2006 Academic Year

Speaker: Dr. Gianpietro Mazzoleni
Special Seminar
"E-terrorism: The powerful weapon of Islamic Jihad"

Abstract

September 11 and the Iraqi war have coincided with a steep increase in
the usage of the Internet by Islamic terrorists worldwide. The web has
been acknowledged as a powerful tool for dissemination of ideas and
information and for social and political mobilization especially by
movements that do not have direct access to the mainstream
media. Recent tragic events, such as the kidnapping and the executions
of hostages, have been turned by terrorists into a ruthless challenge
to the international community, thanks to the impact of videos
available online without censorship. The talk focuses on the most
significant patterns of uses of the web by Islamist terrorism and
discusses the social and political implications of the Internet as a
'free land' where all kinds of terrorism can wage a deadly war against
democracy.