Friday, October 3, 2008

MIDEAST: Sunni and Shia Hackers Battle it Out Online

image Hackers, believed to be of Iranian origin have destroyed a number of Sunni Internet websites, including the alislamnet.com website, which belongs to Dr. Aaidh al-Qarni, a Saudi preacher, and another website that specializes in the prophet's Sunna [line of conduct] and its sciences, in addition to other websites. This campaign is believed to be in retaliation for a similar campaign that was led by Sunni hackers against Shiite websites.

The hackers drew the Iranian flag on an unidentified face and wrote at the top of the website's main page in both Arabic and Persian the following Koranic verse: "If then anyone transgresses the prohibition against you, transgress ye likewise against him [Koranic verse, Al-Baqarah, 2:194]," which indicates that this campaign falls within the framework of "retaliation."

The Iranian hackers posted on each of the destroyed electronic websites an Israeli flag divided in half next to a picture of the Arabian Gulf on which they wrote: "The Persian Gulf." They also drew on the right cheek of the face, which is painted in the colors of the Iranian flag, a logo that is similar to that of the International Atomic Energy Agency [IAEA]...In an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat over the telephone, Aaidh al-Qarni condemned the destruction of his website by Iranian hackers. He said that "alislamnet.com has been completely destroyed and has lost all its contents."...(Asharq Alawsat).

Full Article: http://www.aawsat.com/english/news.asp?section=1&id=14264

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