The Internet in the Arab World
Souad Groohs

Damascus, Asharq Al-Awsat- With the increase in the popularity of the internet in the Arab world, many people believe that this was the victory over censorship, being able to express their opinion freely and communicate with people from the other side of the world without any obstacles. However, that victory did not last long, and was rather the beginning of a number of rounds, which ultimately led to success for censorship that has been able to control what internet users do and do not view online.

The second report issued by The Initiative For an Open Arab Internet by journalist Ihab Al-Zalaki, and legal researchers Gamal Eid and Sally Sami leaves no room for optimism as a result of the extent of obstruction of the websites in the Arab world, which soon became a trap to catch members of the opposition and troublemakers who pose a threat from the perspective of the authorities. According to the latest statistics, the number of internet users in the Arab world has risen sharply from 14 million in June 2004 to 26 million at the end of 2006. There has also been a significant increase in the number of Arab websites, however alongside this fact; there is also an increase in the number of sites that are blocked. The report notes the increase in religious websites; amongst the most popular one hundred Arab websites, ten of them have extremist leanings. This is not only as a result of Arab interests, but rather due to political inclinations of Arab governments that subject political, secular and websites for human rights organizations to obstruction.

Interesting Asharq Alawsat piece on the state of the Internet in the Arab world. While the writer’s primary focus is on Syria, she notes that Internet freedom is stepping backwards—as the result of state censorship and ‘filtering’—throughout nearly the entire region. As people’s use of the Internet expands, so do state efforts to control what people see, but even more, what people are allowed to do. Definitely worth reading the whole thing.