Open Journal Montreal

They watch the watchers…

“I think there is a campaign against the bloggers here,” he said. “We are exposing what all Egyptians know but weren’t talking about.”

Mideast governments for decades have dominated the media, trying to keep a monopoly on information and deter criticism of authorities. But bloggers are chipping away, writing about everything from human rights to the region’s rulers to the most taboo topic – Islam.

Weblogs – or blogs for short – started taking off in the Mideast a few years ago as access to the Internet and technology for creating sites grew. There are now hundreds of Arabic- and Farsi-language blogs posted from the Middle East.

Many of the blogs are just personal musings. But many others strive to tackle political and social issues, and their authors are increasingly getting into trouble, with governments blocking their sites and throwing them in jail.

“I firmly believe that blogs now with normal people using them have become the fifth estate. They watch the watchers, especially in this area of the world, because there are no controls over them,” said Mahmood al-Yousif, a Bahraini blogger.

“Blogs Transform Mideast Social Dialogue” by Anna Johnson

you know i love you guys, right? keep on keepin on..

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[ originally posted on Friday, February 9th, 2007 at 9:16 pm and is filed under Communication, Everything. ]