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Saudi bloggers have launched a campaign, calling for the release of the detained blogger Fouad al-Farhan. |
According to some estimates, there are around 3,000-5,000 Saudi blogs. Blogging in Saudi Arabia emerged as a phenomenon around four years ago, with a handful of liberal bloggers writing in English; however, it has grown rapidly thanks to the increased popularity of blogging worldwide and the new tools that made it easier for people to start their own blogs in their mother-tongue.
We have more Arabic blogs now, and, interestingly, we have a lot of female bloggers, yet most of their blogs are the journal/diary type. Nevertheless, this does not mean that they do not tackle serious issues that are of concern to them.
Also, the internet has always provided a way for writers to get around censorship in the local media, and blogs are making it easier and more convenient to do so.
Some established columnists, such as Abdulaziz Al Swuaid , Maram Meccawy and others, now have their own blogs where they republish their newspaper columns. And if their columns were banned from the newspaper, or editors introduced modifications to them, these columns would soon appear uncensored on their blogs.
The Red Lines
| Most Saudi bloggers tend to be on the moderate side of the ideological spectrum. |
One of the most interesting features of the Saudi blogosphere is the diversity it reflects, especially when it comes to the topics bloggers discuss. Those topics reveal the Saudi society’s worries and concerns, such as the rising inflation rate, the stock market crash, women's issues, human rights, and the social ills that constitute challenges to the aspiring youth in a country where more than 60 percent of the population are below 25 years old.
Interestingly, how these issues are tackled differs from one blogger to another. Some bloggers are bold and confrontational while others are mild and discreet. However, when it comes to the issue of freedom of expression, the majority of bloggers adopt a unified stance, feverishly defending their right to free speech despite their disagreement on other issues.
Despite the freedom the internet offers bloggers, it is still obvious that there are some sensitive issues – political, religious and social – which bloggers tend to be careful when dealing with.
Actually, some bloggers make it clear that they want to avoid controversy altogether by shunning writing about politics as well as other thorny matters. This fear has more to do with the absence of laws protecting free speech and the vagueness of red lines rather than a genuine desire not to cross them.
Though blogging is attracting much of the younger generation’s attention, forums are still channels for self-expression, especially among those in their third decade of age and older. However, alienated by censorship and restrictions, some forum members are moving to blogging – a trend that is expected to continue during the coming few years.
There is a significant difference between forums and blogs.
There is a clear polarization among forums, which is reflected in the a huge divide between liberal and conservative ones. The contrast between the two sides is very evident, and they cannot stop attacking each other, going as far as trying to hack their opponents' website and reporting them to the authorities.
Yet, the cat and mouse game between liberal and conservative forum members has become less intense lately.
This kind of polarization is not found in blogs, where most bloggers – liberal and conservative – tend to be on the moderate side of the ideological spectrum. Also, the tone of the discourse between the different intellectual trends is more civilized and much healthier than what we usually see in forums, where what we have basically is a shouting contest between unknowns.
Female Bloggers
| For a Saudi woman, expressing certain opinions openly can be costly, particularly when it comes to the family's reputation. |
One of the most interesting phenomena in the Saudi blogosphere is that more and more bloggers are becoming comfortable with the idea of revealing their real identities online. It is true that the majority of bloggers still prefer to hide behind nicknames, but this situation has been changing recently.
It is important to note, however, that using a nickname has more to do with society rather than security reasons because bloggers tend to exercise some sort of self-censorship that keeps them away from security problems.
Social pressure carry much weight, especially for female bloggers. In such a conservative society, for a woman, expressing certain opinions openly can be costly, particularly when it comes to the reputation of the woman and her family.
Despite the negative effect of revealing some bloggers’ real names, readers are the ones who reap the benefit of the recent phenomenon.
Exposing the real identities of bloggers lends more credibility to blogging, and it makes bloggers more responsible, especially if they are writing about important national issues.
Fouad al-Farhan
| Some Saudi bloggers were terrified that they would meet the same fate as al-Farhan. |
The detention of Fouad al-Farhan recently has raised some questions about the influence of blogging, urging some people to argue that the effect of blogs is nothing compared to the papers which distribute hundreds of thousands of copies everyday.
It can be argued, however, that just because these newspapers distribute a huge number of copies does not mean that people actually read them. And even for those who do, very few of them believe what those papers carry. The phrase kalam jarayed (papers’ stories), which is used to describe unauthentic news, reflects the lack of trust in local media due to censorship and the low level of professionalism.
The detention of al-Farhan in December 2008 can be considered a turning point for Saudi blogging. The news of the detention were shocking to most bloggers, and it divided bloggers into two groups.
First, there are those who were terrified that they would meet the same fate as al-Farhan. Second, strangely enough, some bloggers considered his arrest a sign of the increasing influence of blogging in Saudi Arabia, becoming more vocal and daring.
But, why would people trust bloggers? Simply, bloggers are not part of the current dysfunctional system. They do not play by the rules of the local media; they do not have editors to censor their writings or to tell them what they can or cannot discuss. And because they are ordinary people, just like the readers of those papers, who get frustrated by what they read, they have decided to offer an alternative.
Bloggers such as Khalid Al Nasser and Ahmed Ba Aboud have proved that blogs can offer quality content that cannot be found anywhere else. Consequently, more bloggers are following suit by working on producing interesting posts, and featuring untold stories and breaking news as they happen on the ground.
The Saudi blogosphere will probably continue to grow, and bloggers will exert more influence on the media, particularly with regard to human rights issues, which might lead to the release of Fouad al-Farhan and other political activists in the Kingdom.
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