Page 94 - Cyberculture and New Media

Mahmoud Eid 85
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relations or the “unsaid” – meanings generated by what is not said in
comparison to what is, or what could be, said. In the case of Egyptian web
producers, the effort is to ensure that sites do not contain content that would
contradict Egypt’s “traditional” outlook, as interpreted by the producers. Web
producers are particularly cautious about sexually explicit materials that
might conflict with local notions of ‘ayb (shame). Rather than maximizing
the total number of hits, sites offering “Egyptian” search engines seek to
ensure that the content of the hits is in line with what they understand to be
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local traditional values.

7. Conclusion: The “Cyber-Arab-Culture”
The Arab world and the Islamic world are inseparable on the issue
of being defensive of their traditions and values, and are justifiably proud of
the great cultural legacy preserved through the use of the Arabic language,
Middle Eastern customs, and media. Some Arab countries are also fearful of
the political/religious repercussions of an online influx of alien values. An
anti-Western, Islamic fundamentalist reaction to the sudden easy availability
of pop-culture products has been taking place for some time, and the
predominant fear of the government is the destabilization of some Arab
nations. Arab media have responded to the cyber era by applying rules of
censorship that are imposed by different nations. In the West, freedom of
expression is considered a basic right of every citizen, that should be
protected at all costs. Within the Arab world, this type of censorship is easily
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tolerated, and even expected as a form of civic responsibility.

Arab media may be unique in that they convey
sociocultural values on two levels, namely to the large pan-
Arab audience and to the smaller nation-state one. A great
deal that is of cultural value to an individual Arab is
commonly shared with other Arabs throughout the area.
Arab media convey such cultural messages. On the other
hand, other cultural aspects are strictly local and are shared
only with others who live within the borders of a country or
region. Arab media also convey effectively these local
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Arab values.

The newly produced Cyber-Arab-Culture can also facilitate the
spread of such cultural values in cyberspace. However, there are on-line
practices – which will here be called anti-Cyber-Arab-Culture practices –
which diminish the rise of such cyberculture. For example, there has been a
failure by Arab policy decision-makers to enhance the Arabic Internet, as a
result of their unsuccessful educational programs to help users understand the
real benefits of the Internet and direct them toward constructive ways of