Project for the Research of Islamist Movements

The project for the research of Islamist movements was set up in 2002 by "Academic Terrorologist"John Crace, Just how expert are the expert witnesses?, The Guardian, 13-May-2008 Reuven Paz. The project is part of the GLORIA Center in the Interdisciplinary Center HerzliyaPrism, What is PRISM?, Prism Website, Accessed 23-July-2009. The Prism website publishes a world map highlighting in red areas where the muslim population is highest (See Image). The Defence Academy of the United Kingdom link to the prism website and have them listed as a "Terrorism research centre"Terrorism Research Centres, Prism, Defence College of the United Kingdom, Accessed 23-July-2009.
==Publications Controversy==
Reuven Paz courted controversy in 2004 when he argued that Internet information linked to Sami Omar Al-Hussayen was intended to foster terrorism while publishing the same information on the Prism website. 
He said:
:"This is not only the case of the content, it is the case of who is writing or saying this content,". 
Paz conceded that he posted on the Prism Web site some of the very information prosecutors claim Al-Hussayen was responsible for disseminating.
The difference, he said, is that his Web site is devoted to academic research while that information - when placed on Islamic Web sites - promotes:
:"suicide operations and the legitimacy of suicide operations."Bob Fick, Expert admits his site carried some of same postings linked to Alo-Hussayen, The Associated Press State & Local Wire, 24-May-2004, Accessed via Nexis UK 10-December-2009.
==Al-Qaida==
===Al-Qaida a Virtual Organisation===
Prism director Reuven Paz warned in 2003 that Al-Qaida had started to use the internet to find new recruits. He said:
:After they lost their freedom of action in Afghanistan, this is their best way to get their message out, says Reuven Paz, director of the Israel-based Project for the Research of Islamist Movements. In my view, al-Qaida has become a virtual organization". They try to spread the message so that others will carry on the jihad without any headquarters or orders from bin Laden,Scott Shane, Al-Qaida takes jihad online; Terrorist group recruits through Web, The Baltimore Sun, 29-March-2003, Accessed Via Nexis UK 10-December-2009.
===Domino Bomb Plot===
According to The Express in March 2004:
:"AL QAEDA bombers attacked Spain as part of a "domino" plan to force Western troops out of Iraq, Israeli intelligence analysts claimed last night. Reuven Paz, of Israel's Project for the Research of Islamist Movements, said a book published on the Internet last year by an Al Qaeda leader forecast that Spain would pull its 1,300 troops out after just two or three bombs"Geoff Marsh, AL QAEDA 'DOMINO' BOMB PLAN FOR WEST, The Express, 17-March-2004, Accessed via Nexis UK 10-December-2009.
==Saudi Arabians in Iraq Study==
According to a report on CNN:
:"A new study from the Project for the Research of Islamist Movements, an Israeli-based organization, found that other Saudis may be targeting Americans in Iraq as well. Reuven Paz, the organization's director who did the analysis, went through death announcements of these self-styled martyrs on Islamist Web sites. One hundred fifty-four names were listed, and 94, or about 61 percent, were Saudis, the study found. By contrast, 10 percent were Syrians, according to the analysis, even as the U.S. government presses Damascus over the issue of foreign fighters. Even fewer are Iraqis, the study found. Paz notes some caveats. For one, these are self-reported names, mostly from Saudi groups -- so there could be many others, and the percentages could change. Also, not all were suicide bombers"Henry Schuster, The battle for Saudi hearts and minds, CNN, 8-March-2005, Accessed via Nexis UK 10-December-2009.
==7/7 Bombings==
On the 7/7 Bombings Prism director Reuven Paz said:
:"The bombings in London's public transportation system on July 7, 2005, are too similar to the March 11, 2004, Madrid explosions, consisting of 10 explosive devices aboard four commuter trains during rush hour to ignore the possible connection. The nature of the attacks; the lack of the element of martyrdom; the two declarations of responsibility by "al-Qaida's Secret Group in Europe," and by the "Abu Hafs al-Masri Brigades;" and, above all, the clear link to the Islamist insurgency in Iraq, all -- point at a Moroccan/Algerian cell or grouping that is carrying out the global strategy and doctrines of al-Qaida. Whereas the orders and the operational planning did not necessarily stem from the al-Qaida leadership in Afghanistan, Pakistan or elsewhere, the strategy did"En Claire, Bosnia's Now-Clear Link to the London, Madrid, and US Attacks, Defense & Foreign Affairs' Strategic Policy, July 2005, Accessed 10-December-2009.
==Staff of PRISM==
	
*Reuven Paz - Director
*Ms. Sarry Koren -- Research Fellow
*Ms. Ariel Blumenthal -- Research Fellow
*Dr. Moshe Terdmann
==Affiliations==
Defence Academy of the United Kingdom | Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya | GLORIA Center
==Notes==
Category:Israel
Category:Higher Education in Israel