Hackers accusing Al Arabiya of being pro-Sunni shut down the channel's news website shortly after midnight on Thursday in a cyber attack that claimed to be in retaliation for recent attacks on Shiite websites.
Al Arabiya's website was forced to change its domain to www.alarabiya.tv after its main page was hacked and a message was displayed that warned "if attacks on Shiite websites continue, none of your websites will be safe."
The warning page also showed a picture of a burning Israeli flag and went on to list 100 Sunni sites that were also hacked, including the late Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Baz's (former president of the Saudi Scholar's association) website.
"Hackers infiltrated the system in the United States and the problem is not with our server and an investigation is currently underway to identify those responsible," the website's editorial manager, Anas Fouda, said.
Fouda said the hackers claimed to be Shiite's but there was no proof they were.
"We are un-biased in our reporting and because of that we are constantly accused of backing the opposite side," Fouda said, adding the AlArabiya.net team comprises a host of different nationalities and religions and the website will continue to adhere to its policy of being moderate, balanced and objective.
AlArabiya.net is regarded as more tolerant than other Arabic news sites with a policy that allows everyone to express their views freely in the comments section, Fouda said.
In volatile times of increased tensions, such as during the July 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel, AlArabiya.net adopts a policy of restricting all comments in order not to fan the flames of tension, added Fouda.
Last month, prominent Sunni religious commentator Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi charged that Shiites were"invading" Sunni societies. A tit-for-tat cyber war disabled 900 websites, belonging to both sects, as Shiite and Sunni hackers infiltrated religious websites and uploaded their own messages.
Al Arabiya is the biggest and most prominent that has been hacked in the recent cyber war.
Last edited by 'Abd-al Latif; 10-11-2008 at 10:36 AM.
And verily for everything that a slave loses there is a substitute, but the one who loses Allah will never find anything to replace Him.” [Related by Ibn al-Qayyim in ad-Dâ' wad-Dawâ Fasl 49]
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