Arab Revolution

Globalization has not only affected the economies of countries, but it has also affected countries in other ways. The Arab countries and other countries that are governed by Muslim related leadership can attest to this. The cases of Libya, Egypt and Tunisia are examples of the revolution taking place in the African continent. The demand for a change in regime has hit the Middle East too. Yemenis continue to persist in their quest for a revolution in power (Lehmann, 2011). Although this may be attributed to the perception that change is inevitable, the influence of the global community has a role to play in this revolution. The Egyptians started protesting against the reigning power after Tunisia took action regarding their reigning power.

After Egypt succeeded, Libya also felt that there was hope if they tried to free themselves from the oppressing dictatorial leadership. On the other part of the Middle East region, Yemenis felt that it was time for them to free themselves from neo-colonialism. This same trend took place during the colonial period. When one country acquired its independence, the other countries found the needed courage to fight for their independence. Through the Internet, the freedom was bestowed on the journalists and the media houses and their global expansion have contributed to such revolutions. However, religious awakenings, the absence of politicians, their politics, and the economic disparities have limited these efforts.  

Until recently, most of the leaders in the Arab countries were not ready to integrate with the rest of the world. Intervening with the leaders in these countries in order to stop the terrorism groups in most of these Arab nations, chiefly those in the Middle East state, is still difficult. However, the rise of young leadership, which is attributed to the prevailing revolution actions, is more powerful than expected. This young Arabs’ leadership is referred to as the Jasmine revolution. It was started by Mohammed Bouazizi, a young man who took action when the police officers took away his only source of income. It was a wheelbarrow full of vegetables and fruits (Lehmann, 2011).

The teachings of Ruholla Khoimeini, Ayatollah Mohammad, amongst other important people in the Shia revolution, are a contributory factor to the disintegration. The constant tangles and conflicts in beliefs and perceptions between the Shias and the Sunnis pull back this revolution period. The Shias are rapidly expanding as it does not support Marxism nor does it support Capitalism. Representing seventy five to ninety percent of the Muslims in the world and mostly in the Arab region, the limitations found in the laws of the Hadiths still limit them. However, the Shias are strongly expanding the rising revolutions.

As they struggle with their religious differences, the Arab’s economic power is also limited contrary to the majority’s perception. Apart from their strong ties in the oil business, the Arab countries have not explored other trades to the maximum. For example, Egypt exports no more than fourteen percent of Thailand’s export. Egypt has eighty million people while Thailand has sixty eight million people. Representing the Arab League, there are only eleven members in World Trade Organization (Lehmann, 2011). Although there is Etihad-Etisalat, a prominent telecommunication company in the Middle East, it is only doing business within the Islamic countries. It has not spread to the rest of the global community.

The Arabs should note that the progressing countries are prevailing through the riddance of dictatorship. Through the prevailing forces, the youthful people will be more enthusiastic to reside in their country and develop it as compared to the current situation where more than forty percent of the young people aspire to settle abroad permanently (Lehmann, 2011). However, the close affiliations of dictators and powerful businesses continue to be a prevailing challenge. The rise emergence of entrepreneurs, an economy that is oriented in terms of a liberal market and restrained political Islamism should define a global friendly Arab world. When the definition of Arab awakening is put forth, ideological void and repression of those in opposition come to mind.

The Internet is affecting the whole global community in one way or another. Even with some countries’ efforts to limit its influence and impact on the people, amongst other issues, the influence of social media is still prevailing in the Arab countries as it dominates the rest of the world. Unlike the twentieth century, the twenty first century incorporates the use of the Internet more than ever before. Most things can be done online, thus bringing forth the borderless frontier concept across nations. Newspapers, blogspots, international media houses, books, journals and any other sources of information can be accessed online. It is through this easy access to information that the young people in the Arab countries are able to gather the knowledge and the courage needed to confront their leaders (Ghannam, 2011).

Through the online news, the Egyptians, amongst other countries, received awareness of what was happening in their adjacent countries. The people who constantly frequent the Internet (the majority are the young people) were able to gather information about the revolutionary actions taking place in the other countries. The Arab countries have taken part in educating their female children, even though females in the Arab countries face more challenges than females in other developed countries. Due to the knowledge received from school, the females, especially those in their young years, know their rights as they read about them through the information provided in the Internet. The books about women’s rights are quite limited in the Arab countries. Due to such knowledge, women took part in the Egyptian, Libyan and Tunisian protests.

Although the Jihadists and the Muslim fundamentalists use the Internet to offer their alternative choices, the Internet comprises of other sorts of information, which are not Muslim oriented but rather liberal. The young Muslims in the Arab countries have an opportunity to weigh the information provided by the extremists, the liberal information, and information that is based upon neutral grounds. As noted, the social media played and still plays a significant role in keeping the revolution in Egypt in motion (Ghannam, 2011). Those who could access the Internet spread the encouragement around. Plans, encouragement, condolences and other issues passed across the social websites.

The governments in the Arab countries insist on limiting the accessibility of social sites. However, the effect of this measure is not as fruitful as expected (Ghannam, 2011). People in the rest of the world still have access to these sites and thus, they pass the information to the countries under restriction through other means such as emails, blog-writing, online newspapers, just to mention but a few. In the past, getting information about these Arab countries and passing information to them was not easy. There was no freedom of media, whether local or foreign and the dictatorship system was impermeable and unshakable. The revolutions in these countries in the prevailing times prove to the leaders in these countries that the power of technology, and especially the Internet, is hard to limit, evade or eliminate.  

By the year 2015, the social media will comprise of more than a hundred million users reigning in the Arab countries, as estimated. By the late 2009, forty to forty five million Arab users of the Internet reigned in sixteen Arab countries. As mentioned, the numbers will increase and even the governments’ effort to curb this increase is of little impact. The release of Kareem Amer, an Egyptian blogger who was imprisoned for four years due to his writings on the Internet websites (Ghannam, 2011), proved that governments are losing their grip on the social media control. The Internet, and the social media to be specific, will play a major role in the Arab revolution. 

The Arabs consider the United States as an intruder in their affairs and the global affairs as a whole. Some terrorist groups reigning in the Middle East region have stated that one of the reasons of their hatred for the United States is because the country is always interfering with their affairs. In order to change the Arab’s image of the United States, the United States should start looking for grounds on which to negotiate with the Arabs and interact with them apart from the usual grounds of discussing peace and leadership in these countries. Instead of only sending military power in these countries, the American government can offer another sort of assistance. For example, through the slow withdrawal of the American army in Iraq, the region will be able to carry on with its affairs and, therefore, stop blaming the United States for the region’s outcomes.

 The Arab’s image is also not highly regarded by the United States. The people were willing to identify with the people in the United States. Most Americans perceive the Arabs as potential terrorists and ascribe other crimes against humanity to them. The Arab countries can start by accepting the negotiation talks called upon by the United States, amongst other developed countries. They can also make efforts to accepting the positive changes of globalization such as the rising need of freedom among their own people. Dictatorial leadership has proved to disintegrate a country from the rest of the world as experienced by North Korea.

Terrorism and jihadist movements are expanding as the years go by. Although they are not as active as they were in the last decade, their underground activities are still being monitored. One of the most effective ways of fighting with these movements and groups is by joining the efforts of the nations in the Arab region and those in the developed countries such as the United States, amongst other developed countries. Some perceptions entail that powerful politicians or the Arab governments themselves are in support of these groups and movements and, thus, it makes it hard for their elimination to take place. Another way that seems to be working is enlightening the young people. Through the seen revolutions in the year 2011 and the early 2012, people have either demanded for a change in power or forced their way in changing the power. The use of the Internet and other means are used to show on the differences between the true teachings and the extremist teachings. Additionally, the security checks and measure in place will frustrate these groups and movements’ efforts.

Huntington (1996) explores various arenas as far as civilization is concerned. Like Said, Huntington feels that the United States can create Collateral Corporation between itself and the Arab countries. Huntington appreciates that the United States is a superpower in most affairs including democracy, political and economic issues. However, the United States may not come into a corporation with these Arab countries if it feels that some of its principles or its position as a global leader will be jeopardized. This includes jeopardizing the principles of individualism, democracy and liberty.

Huntington continues to state that through uniting with other great civilizations, the United States will fight with countries dealing with terrorist groups, drug cartels, and transitional mafias amongst other destructive forces (Huntington, 1996). This will be in an effort of peace building and creating a sense of order in the global community. However, the fight against these forces may take place through separate groups of great civilizations (Huntington, 1996). It is significant that each of these groups guard their reputation, the positions and their interests, if they feel threatened, they will not join or fall out even after joining. This has been seen