Terrorists Read the Middle East Forum

Nidal Malik Hasan.

A startling fact just emerged in the course of some routine maintenance work on the mailing lists for www.DanielPipes.org: One "Dr. Nidal Malik Hasan" has been subscribed as nidalhasan@aol.com since March 2009 to all the Middle East Forum mailing lists, including my own. He opened some but not many of the mailings.

In addition to the name, there are several reasons to think this is the butcher of Ft. Hood: He received the mailings for over half a year before his identity became notorious; he has not opened any e-mails in a while, presumably since he has been jailed; and a search for nidalhasan@aol.com on the internet finds this address associated with the Texas jihadi (for example, by the Northeast Intelligence Network)..

Comments: (1) I have never assumed that all the Middle East Forum's or my readers share our outlook. To the contrary, the lively debates carried on in the more than 100,000 published reader comments show that readers have all outlooks. Still, I never imagined that a future terrorist would subscribe himself to our writings.

(2) Why, I can't help but wonder, would Hasan have wanted to see the Middle East Forum's work? Opposition research? Or might he have been stalking us?

(3) This subscription gives new urgency to the concerns I addressed at "Am I Helping the Terrorist Enemy?" and I hereby rededicate myself to assuring that the Middle East Forum does not inadvertently provide guidance to the country's foes.

(4) On a sad note, this news brings to the mind that I learned just two months earlier, again while doing routine chores, that my articles were still being sent to the late Daniel Pearl's Wall Street Journal e-mail address, which had been initially subscribed before his murder nearly eight years ago. (December 30, 2009)

Dec. 31, 2009 update: The editor of the comment section at www.DanielPipes.org adds to the above:

I offer another possible motive for Hasan subscribing to your mailings: About 90 percent of commentators with Muslim names who post at www.DanielPipes.org do so in the spirit of da'wa, of religious duty; in fact some even admit that they are engaged in "jihad of the pen." Most use every opportunity to sing the praises of Islam; others, often converts, look to convince non-Muslims to either convert to Islam or (at least) to side with Muslims. The latter will start out open and thoughtful, then descend into anti-Jewish/anti-Israel and/or anti-West comments within three or four exchanges with non-Muslim commentators.

"David Coleman Headley," né Daood Sayed Gilani.

Aug. 6, 2010 update: It appears that "David Coleman Headley," né Daood Sayed Gilani, implicated in the November 2008 terrorist attack on Bombay, read me on my website. The talented Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi points out that a comment from one David Headley, "lebanon war," was posted at www.DanielPipes.org from India on Oct. 4, 2006 at 02:02 by headley immigration@yahoo.com from IP address 202.88.211.207. No other comments exist from that IP, or under that name, or under that e-mail address (which is actually invalid as it contains a space), nor any similar address. Also no mailing list subscribers have that name or address, nor any similar e-mail address. Nor does that e-mail address appear anywhere else on the internet.

The comment itself contains a brief, respectful, and reasonable couple of questions which I responded to a few days later. There's nothing remarkable about it.

Related Topics:  Daniel Pipes autobiographical, Muslims in the United States, Terrorism receive the latest by email: subscribe to daniel pipes' free mailing list This text may be reposted or forwarded so long as it is presented as an integral whole with complete information provided about its author, date, place of publication, and original URL.