The Middle East's Information Revolution

Abstract

It may be some time before the Internet becomes firmly entrenched in much of the Middle East. The obstacles to adoption, especially with the current technology, appear significant. But the information revolution has already arrived in the Middle East, and it poses significant challenges for the status quo.

Journal of Sustainable Development, Vol. 1, No. 1, March 2008, all in one file

“…There have been reports (BBC News, 2002) of many such restrictions imposed by Muslim leaders especially in pre-war Afghanistan, in the education of women and general use of Western technology, because it was seen to be influencing the culture and could be used as a manipulative tool. Alterman (2000) also cited similar socio-political and cultural reasons in countries such as Bahrain and Tunisia, where they openly monitor Internet traffic. The United Arab Emirates and Yemen use proxy servers to prevent users from accessing "undesirable" sites.…”

Globalization and the Challenge for Developing Countries

“…But the experience of Mauritius and Botswana suggest that the private sector is fully capable of providing utilities and infrastructure (Goldsmith 1999). With the technology evolving at great speed, aiming for broad-band facilities, wireless access, satellite transmission, and machine translation (MT) software to overcome language difficulties (there are few Arabic search engines, Alterman 2000) in more likely to result in user-friendly services for businesses and upscale consumers.51…”

“…In Oman only 1.6 percent have Web access. Monthly access fees averaging $30 is one inhibiting factors (Alterman 2000).…”

Public Diplomacy in Grand Strategy

“… 11 For example, President Bashar Assad of Syria recently told the congress of his Baath Party that the information revolution “made the society open,” creating “some confusion and suspicion in the minds of Arab youth” and threatening the Arab nation with “the destruction of Arab identity” (Assad: Media, tech crushing Arabs 2005). Alterman (2000) and Ghareeb (2000) provide evidence on the impact of changing communication technologies on the Middle East. …”