Gathering Storm

5 www.digitaldaya.com Over the past few years, we’ve seen a remarkable growth in the use of the world wide web by national leaders.This is the result,at least in part,of the changing face of Middle Eastern leaders.As the old guard “times out,” new leaders, younger more visionary leaders, are taking their places. These leaders recognize the value of employing web assets to engage their peoples and other cultures around the globe. In effect, the tabula rasa that is theW3 is being filled in with a new breed of leader in Muslim nations across the globe. Many current Middle Eastern leaders, and the rising stars within state governments, are Western educated. His Majesty, Sultan Qaboos bin Said, the Sultan of Oman, received his higher education in the UK.So did KingAbdullah II of Jordan,President Al Assad of Syria, Prime Minister Saad Hariri of Lebanon, and Saif al-Islam al-Qadhafi,son of Libyan leader Moammar Al Qadhafi – all received their educations from U.S.or Great Britain Universities. All are fluent in English, all have Western friends and colleagues, all have been exposed to Western viewpoints to one degree or another and two of these leaders actually received their military education at the renowned Royal MilitaryAcademy at Sandhurst in the United Kingdom.These leaders have integrated the best of Western thought into Middle Eastern cultures in a slow,deliberate way. Nation Building on The World Wide Web: How National Leaders Use Web-Based Assets THE FIRST ONLINE CAMPAIGN FOR POLITICAL CONTROLWITHINTHE MIDDLE EAST - GAMAL MUBARAKVS. MOHAMED ELBARADEI OF EGYPT Egypt is the most populace nation in the MiddleEastwith78millioncitizens.Egypt’sPresident Hosni Mubarak has been in the top government post for the past thirty years, rising to power in the wake of the assassination of his predecessor, President Anwar Sadat; to date he has not named aVice President. Mubarak’s advancing age (82) has made the question of succession the top political issue and hence the recurring speculation of who will assume this pivotal post. The younger of the two sons of Egyptian’s current President Hosni Mubarak and heir apparent to his father’s power structure, Gamal Mubarak, is reputedly being groomed to take the place of his father although both father and son have not publically advocated this move. Nevertheless, authorities both inside Egypt and within the Middle East region believe that,indeed,Gamal Mubarak will attempt to assume his father’s position. The Internet penetration among the global Muslim community has been swelling at a compound annual growth rate of 30% since 2006