Gathering Storm

11 www.digitaldaya.com Here are a few potent examples across the Mus- lim world of political advocacy leaders, groups, and campaigns that employ web-based assets: NATIONAL UNITY PROGRAMS An innovative government program ini- tiated by the Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Najib Razak, the 1Malaysia Program, has a goal to preserve and enhance racial unity in the predominantly Muslim nation of Malaysia among the ethnic Malay, Chinese, and Indian groups that make up it’s population.The 1Malaysia website is intended “...to initiate an open and vital dialogue exploring our Malaysian identity, purpose, and di- rection.” The 1Malaysia Facebook profile has at- tracted over 50,000 fans. In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on two luxury hotels in Jakarta, the global online com- munity and especially Indonesians united to show their support to fight against terrorism through the #IndonesiaUnite Movement. By using Twitter, people expressed themselves by twitter- ing the word #indonesiaunite with their personal messages to pass on their support that everyone is united against terrorism. The #indonesiaunite hash tag became the TOP TRENDING TOPIC in Twitter at the time and the movement continues on Facebook through IndonesiaUnite! page with a whopping 480,000 fans! THEOCRATICADVOCACY Theocracy is a form of government in which a state is governed by officials who are regarded as divinely guided or where prevailing state laws are based on religious laws.Iran is considered a Muslim theocracy and theVatican a Christian theocracy as both are ruled by religious laws and figures, the Grand Ayatollah and the Pope, respectfully. Some critics point to Israel as a Jewish theocracy as some of its state laws are based on Jewish law albeit that their leaders are chosen through a democratic process. Egypt’s largest theocratic advocacy group, The Muslim Brotherhood,in on Facebook.Though officially banned by the Egyptian government, the Muslim Brotherhood still garners substantial popular support. According to the Brotherhood’s web site,located at http://www.ikhwanweb.com/, the mission of the Muslim Brotherhood – Egypt is: “…to in- stall “Islamic” governments in the Muslim world through the establishment of Sharia as the legal system of these new governments and are also interested in human rights. With branches in sev- eralArab and Muslim countries,the Brotherhood portrays itself as a more authentic alternative to secular authoritarian rulers and religious extrem- ists of the al-Qaida variety.The main mission of ikwanweb is to present the Muslim Brotherhood vision right from the source and rebut miscon- ceptions about the movement in Western na- tions.The two Ikhwan profiles on Facebook have approximately 1,700 fans in total. PLIGHT OF ETHNIC MINORITIES Advocacy groups use the W3 to put forth an agenda of self-determination such as the Muslim Uyghurs in Central Asia, in an area known as East Turkestan or Xinjiang,an autonomous region in the People’s Republic of China..The group’s public face, Rebiya Kadeer, remains the most effective civil rights leader among the Uyghurs seeking more free- dom from the Chinese government. After deadly ethnic riots in this region, Chinese authorities have shut off the Internet there, local residents are still barred from sending text messages and getting on- line.The organization’s web site is located at http:// www.uhrp.org/ and Rabiya Kadeer maintains a Face- book account with about 1,000 fans. The Indian and Pakistani governments both lay claim to Kashmir and, on at least two occa- sions, the world stood on the brink of nuclear war between those enemy states. As the Indian government tightens control of web usage, the Kashmiri separatists have taken their struggle to the web, an effective tool for creating broad- based support for the organization’s goal of a free state of Kashmir, controlled not by India or Pakistan, but rather a new state that may serve to defuse the struggle for control of this region between two nuclear powers. The All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) now on Facebook is positioned as a political front “...formed as an alliance of 26 political, social and religious orga- nizations in Kashmir to achieve the right of self- determination according to United Nations Se- curity Council Resolution 47. “Hurriyat” in Urdu means freedom. Facebook: A Platform for 21st Century Politics Winning Hearts and Minds on the World Wide Web