Ibn Khaldun

Islam and Social Media: Would Ibn Khaldun Have A Facebook Profile? What is the role of Government in the World of social media? Engrained, cultural beliefs die hard and the principles of assabiyyah are still practiced at the local, national and regional levels throughout the World. Some Muslim governments ban the use of the social media site, Flickr. Skype, the popular VoIP used throughout the Western and Eastern worlds, is not available in many countries. This control of social media by governments is self-limiting, precluding citizens of the region to engage their counterparts around the globe. So, should government leaders throughout the Muslim world foster greater use of social media on the World Wide Web? Ibn Khaldun would strongly advocate it. So, would Ibn Khaldun have a profile page on Facebook? Facebook is a website that encourages engagement between peoples who hold different opinions, different beliefs, values, religions and cultural mores. Wikipedia, the on-line encyclopedia, is a noble experiment in bringing together the knowledge of all cultures, tribes, clans, religions, ethnic groups and races. The terms of service (TOS) of all social media sites are simple: be nice. If you encounter a post that presents a view different from your own, embrace the views, learn from them and decide, without bias, if these views have validity in the furtherance of human knowledge. Indeed, not only would Ibn Khaldun have a Facebook page, being a man curious about science, academics and the philosophy that drives human behavior, he would be an active poster to a number of social media sites. The role of government? To facilitate the process of engagement with other global citizens around the world. Assabiyyah is a belief that limits development and in engaging other global citizens (tribes) and listening with hearts and minds open and free of bias. What should we expect of our governments within our neighborhood of the ever-shrinking planet? 7 www.digitaldaya.com