Since the beginning of the year, most of the Islamic world has been in uproar over the demand for recognition of people’s rights and an end to the autocratic regimes set up in the vast majority of these countries. While some revolutions have been successful — for instance, the example of Egypt and most recently the fall of Libya’s Gadaffi — others have not been able to enjoy the liberties brought by the Arab Spring revolutions.

Bahrain has often been regarded as a modern and reasonable country, even though recent reports claim riot police targeted Shiite Muslim protesters and caused the death of a 14-year-old boy.

The demands of the Bahrainis for a more democratic and equalitarian state were never met and protesters were soon detained. Shiites account for more than 70% of the population but are ruled by a Sunni minority, being treated as second-class citizens and often ostracized. Most of the activists in this battle have turned to social media websites to fight for their freedom.

Youtube and other video-sharing websites are also being used as a means to raise awareness concerning the anti-government movement and their human rights rallies. Facebook has proved to be one of the strongest weapons against the establishment. It is being used by protesters as an information outlet to the rest of the world, as well as a means to gather activists.

The page TrueRoyalDemocracy devotes itself to help organize pro-democracy demonstrations and expose police brutality. However, police and government officials have also resorted to social media in order to track down and identify protesters, having arrested and tortured them in the past.

According to Nancy Messieh, Middle East editor at The Next Web, demonstrators are aware of the danger and risks of posting anti-government messages online, but continue to do so in the hopes of eventually reaching their goal: “Even if you look at the extent that people will go to, away from social media, like what we are seeing in Syria at the moment, they know the consequences, they know what they’re getting themselves into and they’re still willing to do it, and I think even with social media it is exactly the same thing.

If this is a tool that they can use, they’re going to use it, despite the risks.” Social media platforms were a monumental tool for the change in Egypt, and the same could happen in Bahrain. In light of recent events, King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa has vowed to investigate recent killings in Bahrain and develop reform, in an attempt to meet the demands Bahrainis have called for.

Could this be a sign of change to come or is it merely a tactic to silence the ever-growing voice of the opposition? We might know soon enough.

Image Courtesy of  http://www.flickr.com/photos/mahmood/

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With the world always having a country or two in rebellious uproar, there is always one denominator that seems to be the main cause: Money. You could see it in the Tunisian Revolution in late December 2010, the Egyptian Revolution in late January 2011, the ongoing Libyan Civil War that started in February, and the uprising in Syria that began in March.

The governments of these country had in one way or the other blocked certain rights of the citizens which led to mass protest. In some cases, like in Egypt, the main cause for protest revolved around a rise in poverty and massive unemployment. But what a lot of people focused on throughout the Arab Spring movement was that the citizens who revolted were those whose basic freedoms were being denied them.

In the previous dictatorial regimes, the ability to exersize freedom of speech has been seriously hampered by the authorities, blocking internet or social networking access. According to Dan Robles, founder of the Ingenesist Project and a blogger on several top social media communities, even though the regime in Egypt had a lot of money, oil, and guns, the Egyptian government was taken down by what he calls “social currency”.

Social currency, or ‘Rallods’ according to Robles, is “all value that is not directly articulated with Dollars.” This form of currency is regarded the most valuable and important form of currency that can be obtained in this world; however, you will never see it used in economic situations by the government.

According to Robles, a society cannot “try to produce an airplane, a sandwich, or a surgical procedure without intellect, creativity, compassion, empathy, ethics, social values, or community awareness”. Social currency is the only type of currency a community will essentially need in the production of anything of greater importance, and it could cause problems if it wasn’t included and drawn upon in the production process.

As seen in the recent uprisings and revolutions throughout the middle eastern world, the people have and are using their social currency in order to obtain the rights and freedoms that human being desires. Along with that, social currency is also helping citizens obtain the other forms of currency important for survival, money.

The challenge for the world, which could take some time, is to convey and utilise all forms of value in an economic system. According to Robles, this change in the economy is already underway and we will soon be able to exchange Rallods with Dollars every day. This could lead to countries with healthier economies — relying not only on contribution from the government, but from the people as well.
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