The Internet in the Arab World: Digital Divides and Cultural Connections

Copyright © 2004 Royal Institute for Inter-Faith Studies. All rights reserved.

Lecture presented by
Dr. Deborah L. Wheeler
On 16 June 2004

The Internet in the Arab World:
Digital Divides and Cultural Connections

1. Introducing the Internet

While the Internet has been evolving for the past five decades, its presence as a part of everyday life in the Arab world is relatively new. The first connections to the Internet in the region date back to the early 1990's. For example, Tunisia was the first Arab country to link to the Internet (1991). Kuwait established Internet services in 1992 as a part of its reconstruction after the Iraqi invasion. In 1993, Egypt, Turkey, and the UAE established links to the Internet. Jordan linked to the Internet in 1994; while Syria and Saudi Arabia were the slowest states in the region to allow public access to the Internet with regular access not becoming available until the late 1990's. In Syria for example, even as late as 1997, there were only two places with Internet access-the American Cultural Center and the Syrian Engineers' Association, both located in Damascus. When Bashir Al-Assad, former president of the Syrian Engineers' Association and son of the late Hafiz al-Assad became president of Syria, Internet access became more readily available. Before then, many Syrians obtained Internet access via long distance phone calls to Internet Service Providers (ISP) in Lebanon and Jordan. These same practices of long distance remote access to the Internet (this time via Bahrain) were also common in Saudi Arabia, before the state made access to the Internet available through locally licensed ISPs. Once Internet access was made officially available in the Kingdom, Saudi Arabia witnessed the largest and fastest growth in Internet user population than any other Arab country. Thus when we study the development and meaning of the Internet in the Arab world, we are looking at a short, but rapidly changing history which varies across national borders.

To put local Arab Internet access in global perspective, we must remember that it was not until 1992 that the World Bank launched its web site (www.worldbank.org). The US White House (www.whitehouse.gov) was not represented in cyberspace until 1993, and the US government created the technology, four decades ago. These high profile moves on-line symbolized the importance of having access to the Internet, as did the advent of the Netscape browser in 1995 and the rise of the gigantic ISP America On-line also in 1995. Before the graphics based browser era and the user friendly email and other on line services of AOL, the Internet was more or less the domain of a handful of scientists and academics clustered mostly in North America and Europe. From 1969-1979 the Internet consisted of no more than 188 host computers. Twenty five years later, the Internet supports a global community of more than 600 million users and more than 171 million host computers. The Internet revolution represents the fastest diffusion of global technology in history, taking only 4 years to reach a critical mass of 50 million users, once it was commercialized. When reflecting on the meaning of this transformation, Internet guru John Perry Barlow (creator of the Whole Earth Catalogue and the Electronic Freedom Foundation) observed that "the Internet is the most transforming technological event since the capture of fire." ( John Perry Barlow, "Is There a There in Cyberspace?" Utne Reader, March, 1995, p. 50.)

In spite of the recentness of the Internet as a public phenomenon, scholars, international development professionals, policy makers, educators, and a host of other activists and concerned parties have predicted great significance for the network of networks. Promises of rapid democratization, economic development opportunities for disadvantaged communities, increasing devolutions of power and agency to individuals and previously marginalized groups, are not uncommon predictions of Internet led change. Jennifer Matthews, President of the Carnegie Foundation for International Peace cautions, however, that although "the Internet is profoundly affecting governments, corporations and societies around the world….these effects while assumed to be significant, have yet to be fully explored." (Jessica Mathews, "Forward" in Shanthi Kalathil and Taylor C. Boas Open Networks, Closed Regimes: The Impact of the Internet on Authoritarian Rule," Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press, 2003) p. ix. The need to empirically test the Internet's global significance is stimulated in part by the high expectations placed on the technology, in part by the rapidity with which Internet variables shape shift, and in part because of increasing evidence that context of development and use play a significant role in shaping the Internet's meaning and capability.

The need for caution and empirical study is nowhere more evident than in the Middle East, where at first glance, the diffusion of the Internet appears to be moving more slowly than anywhere in the world, and where the predictions for rapid economic, political and social change have seemingly not materialized. The following pages provide an overview of the diffusion of the Internet in the Arab World; suggest that the general picture of public access and use of the Internet in the Arab World fails to reflect the fact that most of the general public in the region obtains access via an Internet café or community center, rather than through an individual ISP account, thus grossly skewing the picture of diffusion. This article then examines primary field data gathered in Jordan and Egypt on Internet café users to support the general conclusions of this essay-that what we are faced with in the Arab World is not so much a digital divide, but rather, a cultural connection between use patterns and locally incompatible global measurement techniques.

2. The General Picture of Internet Diffusion in the Arab World

Internet Users by Region 2004:

World Total	605.60 Million
Africa (5 million of which in South Africa)	6.31 Million
Asia/Pacific	187.24 Million
Europe	190.91 Million
Middle East (2.5 million of which are in Israel)	5.12 Million
Canada & USA	182.67 Million
Latin America	33.35 Million

Taken by standard measurements, connectivity figures for the Arab World are not encouraging. If we total all Internet users in the Muslim majority societies of the Middle East and North Africa, we have a total of 4,902,200 Internet users. Internet users in the MENA region constitute only .75% of the 600,000,000 Internet users world wide. The Arab World constitutes 4% of the world's population, yet it contains less than 1% of the world's Internet users. Moreover, world production in of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) equals 1.2 trillion dollars, while the Arab World's share of the global IT economy is a small percentage of this. According to its population size, the Arab World's share of this global technology production should be 48 billion dollars; while in real terms, production of ICT in the region is only a fraction of this-Egypt: $418 million; Saudi: $642 million; Lebanon: $400 million (2000 estimates). One factor which weakens production in ICT is the underutilization of female knowledge capital in the region. For example, women equal 63% of university students in the Arab World, and yet women constitute only 32% or less of the labor force. In the UAE, women constitute less than 12% of workers in technology related fields including ICT (Dr. Zeinab Karake Shalhoub, "Women and ICT: Challenges Facing UAE Women" unpublished manuscript).

ICT indicators for the knowledge economy are important, because economic growth in the 21st century is often dependent upon this new arena for development. Moreover, evidence from East Asian societies suggests that domestic consumption and production of ICT related products and services are vital in realizing significant growth rates. Without domestic use and consumption of ICT, growth rates are considerably lower (Information Technology in Asia: New Development Paradigms. Ed. Chia Siow Yue and Jamus Jerome Lim. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2002). It is not possible to build economic opportunities in ICT through export alone, and for this reason, Arab governments are increasingly committed to enhancing the place of the Internet and ICT in the practice of everyday life-from education, to business, home life to government services. Thus we should care about Internet access figures because as the UNDP Arab Human Development Report for 2001 observes, "People all over the world have high hopes that new technologies [like the Internet] will lead to healthier lives, greater social freedoms, increased knowledge and more productive livelihoods."

3. The Internet in the Arab World, A Closer Look Using Culturally Sensitive Data

One of the most significant factors affecting our understanding of ICT's and the Internet in the Arab World is a poverty of data with which to accurately assess economic development, user statistics, in addition to social, economic and political impacts. For example, in terms of the economy, USAID, understanding the role that knowledge and IT plays in economic development, commissioned a study of the IT market in Lebanon. This is the first market assessment of the IT sector ever performed in Lebanon. The findings of the study suggest that the IT market is growing in Lebanon at a rate of 12.5%; 3-4 times higher than the global average! Employment in the IT sector is growing at an astounding 30%. At present 75% of IT business is export based, so once domestic consumption rises, growth rates are likely to increase even more steadily and significantly.

INT@J, the Jordanian Information Technology association confirms the need for more accurate and transparent data with which to assess the knowledge economy in Jordan. In response, INT@J is preparing an "IT Industry e.survey." When explaining the need for such a survey, INT@J notes, "all IT companies in Jordan suffer from a shortage of market intelligence and data-no up to date market figures can be given in response to investors' basic questions-how fast is the sector growing; are exports growing and at what rates?; how are my company's revenues growing in relation to others? It is likely that once we have more accuracy in reporting economic activity in ICT, the region will be better represented on e.readiness indicators, connectivity assessments, and knowledge economy variables. Such knowledge will also enable Governments, development organizations and business communities to create better investment climates, and to identify economic best practices.

Arab societies are more active information societies than general statistics gathered in Europe and North America indicate. One way of understanding the availability, ease and affordability of ICT in the Middle East is to test the time and money involved with obtaining access to key technologies. The boxes below reveal the results of two surveys, one in Jordan and another in Egypt. Both surveys indicate that access to ICT is more affordable and more efficient in the Middle East than it is in Europe and North America where it can cost double or triple what it costs in the Middle East, and can take two to three times longer to obtain access.

IT and Everyday Life in Jordan:

1. Getting a Mobile Phone-1 hour/ $150
2. Getting Dial Up Internet Account- 20 min/$7 for one month unlimited, 15$ for each additional month unlimited.
3. Getting Satellite TV- Orbit-1 hour/$35 month.
4. Internet café- 10 min. walk, $2 per hour.
5. Credit Cards/Visa Electron accepted everywhere, even small shops.
6. Newspaper has special IT/Internet section.
7. Drawbacks: ADSL very limited, slow connection, even in cafés, Mobile calls expensive to make (but not to receive)

o Getting a mobile phone: Tourist sim card 2 months, 70LE (@11$); plus 100LE every 2 weeks @17$). 30 Min. to find a store-not well advertised, but all the locals knew where to go.
o Getting a dial up Internet account: 10 seconds. (after discovering the free dial up Internet phone numbers 0777 numbers; charged as a local phone call-but no access fee).
o Satellite TV: @ 30$ a month for 3 months; 30 minutes for full installation.
o Internet café: 5 minutes walk; 30 cents an hour.
o Credit cards only accepted in shops/hotels/restaurants that cater to westerners.
o Newspapers have frequent coverage of IT/Internet related issues in both English and Arabic. State rhetoric is more focused on poverty reduction and unemployment and increasing basic subsidies (2004 cabinet; but former minister of ICT appointed Prime Minister!)
o Drawbacks: Connectivity concentrated in the cities; poverty and overpopulation; crumbling infrastructure; ADSL available in the Capital but still @50$ a month. Costs supposedly falling; authoritarianism; inequality; illiteracy as high as 50%; cultural issues; English language capability limited; educational system needs a major overhaul.

The ease and affordability of access to information technology and the Internet in Jordan and Egypt suggest that more empirical data on emerging information societies in the region are a must if we are to more accurately assess technology driven change. When presenting these findings to students at Oxford's Internet Institute summer doctoral program July 2004, responses of extreme surprise were the norm. One student noted that she wished such efficiency and affordability were possible in Australia. Another noted that such data was impressive, suggesting that the Middle East was more of an information society that Europe, in terms of ease and affordability of access to IT, especially in terms of satellite installation in Jordan and Egypt; and free Internet access in Egypt.
Another factor which significantly distorts the Arab World's ICT image is the fact that so much of the general public obtains access to the Internet and ICTs via an Internet café or community knowledge station. Figures for Internet café access in the Arab World are impressive, as indicated below.

Internet cafés in Select Middle Eastern Countries:

It is not by accident that low connectivity figures assessed by conventional measures (number of ISP accounts multiplied by a factor of 2-4 to capture multiple users per account phenomenon) in countries like Algeria (3,000 cafes, 180,000 Internet users, .57% of the population) and Lybia (700 cafes, 20,000 Internet users, .24% of the population) correlate with a high prevalence of Internet Cafes in these settings. What this correlation suggests is that for those who lack dial up access at home, Internet cafes serve as a vital, alternative access point. So, where there is a low degree of individual accounts via ISP, there is a high prevalence of Internet Cafes because there is high public demand for café based connectivity services.

The importance of Internet cafes as sites for building Information Societies in the Arab World presents a significant problem for social scientists, development professionals, governments and other concerned parties attempting to understand the meaning and implication of ICTs in the region. The biggest problem is that Internet cafes are informal communities, where users come and go, activities are not measured and monitored, where the effects of Internet use are difficult to assess. With this challenge in mind, I conducted 250 interviews with Internet café users in Jordan and Egypt in order to begin to understand something about this disparate part of the Information Society in the Arab World.

In Jordan, the study limited its surveys to Amman and Zarqa because together, these two cities constitute more than 60% of the population of Jordan. Cafes from every neighborhood in Amman were targeted, including wealthy West Amman and poorer East Amman. Zarqa is also known as an area where there are high concentrations of poor. The results summarized below reveal that the Internet is an important networking tool and part of everyday life for even poor or unemployed Jordanians, most of whom are not comfortable using English and do most of their surfing in Arabic.

Characteristics of Internet Café Users in Jordan:

200 people surveyed
Average number of hours per week spent in Internet café: 12.
Most cafes have an equal number of male and female users.
Café users tend to be between the ages of 17 and 30
Most are single.
Most don't own a car.
Many are unemployed and use cafes to pass their time or to look for jobs.
Many are students and use the web for research.
All those surveyed are loyal to a particular café and most choose the café because of its proximity to their home; and because of privacy considerations.
All those surveyed have made a friend on line; most have met this person in real life; many meet people who are not their same gender; "Romance" is the most popular chat room.
All people surveyed use the net for Email.
Most chat
Every single person surveyed stated that the Internet had changed their life.
Almost all surveyed were trained to use the web by friends or family at an Internet café

Age of users ranges from 16-48; average age of user is 26.
Number of hrs per week on-line ranges from 4 to 40; Average is about 12 hrs a week.
Most were taught by a friend or family member to use the Internet.
Unemployed users of the cafes can spend as much as 40 hrs. on-line per week.
Women over 40 who are using cafes are generally chatting with kids studying abroad.
Every person interviewed said that the Internet had made a significant change in their life.
80% of café users own a mobile phone and send daily text messages. Some send as many as 40 SMS messages a day.
There are an equal number of men and women who use the cafés.

The Internet café user survey for Egypt was conducted in Cairo in May 2004 through a series of informal conversations with Internet Café users in 5 different locations throughout the city. The results from both the Egyptian and Jordanian Internet café surveys are quite similar in their results. For example, average hours a week spent on line are the same for both countries, 12. There are an equal number of men and women who use Internet cafes in both Egypt and Jordan. Most uses in both countries were taught by a family member or a friend at an Internet café. Most importantly, 100% of the people interviewed stated that the Internet had changed their life.

When asked to explain how the Internet had changed their life, the surveys from both countries yielded similar responses. For example, a Jordanian single Christian female, age 24 with a high school education notes, the Internet is, "the best thing that ever happened to me; it's entertaining especially while I'm unemployed and looking for a job." Similarly, in Cairo, a 27 year old male, Muslim, with a high school education notes, "The Internet has changed my life a great deal. It keeps me busy and fills the loads of free time that I have now recently being without a job. It's a way to meet new people, express oneself without drawbacks. One can express ones thoughts and opinions freely. It helps me look for jobs everywhere. It's a gate to an unlimited world of socializing, job opportunities, and fun. I discovered and learned many things from the net. It educates people."

In addition to being a network device important for youths looking for a job, the Internet is also an important tool in everyday life for finding out information and keeping up with one's areas of interest. Some of the most commonly visited web sites by those surveyed in Jordan include:

When asked what they most commonly do on-line, those surveyed in Jordan and Egypt stated that email and chatting accounted for most of their time on-line.

Conclusion:

The Internet café survey data suggests that alternative methods for understanding the emergent Information society in the Arab world need to be developed. Even people with a high school education or less, not fluent in English, and sometimes unemployed, are drawn to Internet cafes where they surf sometimes as many as 40 hours a week. Those who use cafes are quite articulate about the significance and meaning of the Internet for their day to day life. Café users regularly state that the Internet helps them to meet new people, to stay in touch with family and friends, especially those who are abroad. It's a technology which enables them to learn new things, even very practical skills like typing, English language skills (especially from global chatting), and opinions and commentary on political and social issues which might be off limits were they not in cyber space which affords an element of anonymity and freedom of expression. Many stated that the Internet was an important tool in their professional lives, whether for job hunting, checking agricultural prices, or corresponding with colleagues to set up new business opportunities. The enthusiasm with which the Internet is being embraced in the practice of daily life in the Middle East is clearly not reflected in the general picture of user data as analyzed above. A collective effort to more effectively tailor research methodologies to the patterns of Internet use in the Arab World is needed with greater focus on Internet access and activities in cafes and community centers if we are to more accurately understand the knowledge economy and emerging information societies in the region.