ABSTRACT
Tunisian activist–journalist Sraeib-Koepp asks: How can we contribute to a world that is strengthened by our differences and not defined by them, a world in which violent extremism no longer has its place? She touches upon new trends with huge potential to shape public opinion, educate, raise awareness and counter violent extremism in the world. Beyond the scope of the “information mission” of media—whether we talk about traditional media such as radio, TV and written press—or the new information technologies such as the Internet and social networks—there is a real potential to be used more efficiently by engaging in digital activism; and using other sorts of borderless technologies to propagate counter-narratives, positive messages and to promote fundamental rights, freedom and democracy.In the face of the rise of violent extremism, and especially Islamist extremism and terrorism, one can point to multiple sources for the spread of this phenomenon, including repressive secular governments in the Middle East, local injustices and divisions, the hijacking of the Internet for terrorist propaganda, and American interventions in the Muslim world from the anti-Soviet war in Afghanistan to the invasion of Iraq. Nevertheless, there seems to be very little doubt anymore about the notion that Saudi Arabia bears predominant responsibility for the current wave of extremism and jihadist violence. The world today is a more divided, dangerous and violent place because of the cumulative effect of five decades of oil-financed proselytizing of a rigid, conservative and fundamentalist strain of Islam known as Wahhabism. She quotes William McCants (2016) who argues that, “The Saudis promote a very toxic form of Islam that draws sharp lines between a small number of true believers and everyone else, Muslim and non-Muslim,” thus providing ideological fodder for violent jihadists. But how and what are the keys to this successful rise of Wahhabism in the world, an ideology that has disrupted local Islamic traditions in dozens of countries and touched every nation with a Muslim population as the result of lavish spending on religious outreach for half a century, estimated in the tens of billions of dollars. Even though the support has come from the Saudi government; the royal family; Saudi charities; and Saudi-sponsored organizations including the World Muslim League, the World Assembly of Muslim Youth and the International Islamic Relief Organization, the message has effectively been amplified by media and social media. The author presents an essay rich with examples of young grassroots activists doing their best using contemporary social media tools to counter the narratives of hatred and bring about peaceful democratic change in the Middle East and North Africa.
