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The Middle East's Internet revolution

Internet and social networks bridge Middle East societies and the rest of the world, advance values of coexistence and tolerance, and could become an answer to Islamic fundamentalism.
People surf the Internet at an Internet cafe in Baghdad November 11, 2012. Iraqi telecommunications operators have warned that government plans to charge for the extra spectrum which they need to launch long-awaited 3G services could slow Internet adoption and economic growth. Picture taken November 11, 2012. To match story IRAQ-TELECOMS/  REUTERS/Mohammed Ameen (IRAQ - Tags: BUSINESS TELECOMS SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY SOCIETY)

A silent revolution is taking place in the Middle East. In 2000, there were about 460,000 Internet users in Egypt; by the end of 2014 there were over 46 million, more than half of the Egyptian population. The same trend is true for most countries in the Middle East and North Africa where Internet penetration reaches an average of 20% per year. On average, these countries have reached a level where roughly 50% of its populations have Internet access (a higher average than globally, which is 42.3%). In Israel, a global pioneer in Internet development and usage, the penetration rate has reached 75%. This rate is even higher in most Gulf states, but also impressive in Jordan (86%) and Palestine (60% in the West Bank).

A great number of young Middle Easterners are spending a lot of time on social media sites; there are more than 60 million Facebook users in the Arab world, Egypt and North Africa included. This technological transformation has created a new discourse in the region, opening it up to the rest of the world. Young people, mostly those who are secular, have transferred much of their social life to online networks. They are creating new social media communities of common interests and values, such as online gaming and human rights groups. Today, a young Egyptian, Palestinian or Moroccan can make friends in the United States, Germany or Japan on Facebook, in minutes. And with many youngsters in the region interacting, a more multicultural climate is gradually being created.

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