# Qal3ah

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**Al-Qal3ah**, **Qal3ah**, or **Qal3ati** (Arabic: القلعة *al-Qalʿah* ælˈqɑlʕæ — "the [castle](/source/Castle)"; the *[3](/source/3)* is an [ASCII representation](/source/Arabic_chat_alphabet#Comparison_table) of the Arabic letter [ع](/source/%D8%B9)) was an [Internet forum](/source/Internet_forum) infamous for being the site of announcements and discussions by Islamic extremists. Postings included several videos of the [decapitation](/source/Decapitation) of hostages by [Abu Musab al-Zarqawi](/source/Abu_Musab_al-Zarqawi)'s group in [Iraq](/source/Iraq). The website had upwards of ten [mirrors](/source/Mirror_website),[1] but all are down as of 23 February 2007. The Islamist-extremist [watchdog](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/watchdog) group Society for Internet Research[2] claim that the forums were owned by the Muslim reformist [Sa'ad Al-Faqih](/source/Sa'ad_Al-Faqih) (or *al-Fagih*). On the same day as the [7 July 2005 London bombings](/source/7_July_2005_London_bombings), the Qal3ah forum carried a posting which took responsibility for those bombings.[3] But on July 9, 2005, *[The Guardian](/source/The_Guardian)* reported[3] that al-Faqih denied ownership of the site and claimed that the accusation was a "[Zionist](/source/Zionist) smear."

Al-Qal3ah was registered in [Abu Dhabi](/source/Abu_Dhabi), capital of the [United Arab Emirates](/source/United_Arab_Emirates). The site officially distanced itself from terrorist and pro-terrorism activity, maintaining that it was a discussion forum for [religious](/source/Religion) and [political](/source/Politics) views and issues. However, it has been labeled as a cover for a "[jihadi](/source/Jihad) forum" by SOFIR.[1] Such claims cite as evidence that Sa'ad Al-Faqih has been identified by the [United States Treasury](/source/United_States_Department_of_the_Treasury) as having financially assisted [al-Qaeda](/source/Al-Qaeda).[4] The mirrors' [Internet service providers](/source/Internet_service_provider) included [Everyones Internet](/source/The_Planet_Internet_Services) and [PIPEX](/source/Daisy_Group).

## References

1. [SOFIR article on the web presence Sa'ad Al-Faqih](https://web.archive.org/web/20050711015521/http://www.sofir.org/sarchives/004190.php), May 2005

1. [Society for Internet Research (SOFIR)](https://web.archive.org/web/20041021005511/http://www.sofir.org/)

1. [UK-based dissident denies link to website that carried al-Qaida claim](https://www.theguardian.com/uk_news/story/0,,1524779,00.html), The Guardian

1. [US Treasury blacklists Sa'ad al-Faqih](http://www.treas.gov/press/releases/js2164.htm) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20050706230322/http://www.treas.gov/press/releases/js2164.htm) July 6, 2005 at the Wayback Machine

## External links

- [Wayback Machine archive of qal3ah.org](https://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.qal3ah.org)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Qal3ah](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qal3ah) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qal3ah?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.