Islamic Virtual Network Needed to Counter West’s Cyber Colonialism

Saeid-Reza Ameli Renani, the head of the Faculty of World Studies at the University of Tehran, highlighted the need for establishing a virtual network for the Muslims world to help create a healthy atmosphere in the cyberspace and improve relations among Muslims.

According to a report by IFP, held under the scientific supervision of Ayatollah Abdollah Javadi Amoli, the confab was attended by the Muslim world’s elites and thinkers as well as domestic and foreign Islamologists.

Speaking at a recent conference, Ameli provided examples of the widespread use of the Internet and its great popularity, asking the question: “Are we moving towards a new culture in this new era?”

He noted that virtual colonialism is the West’s modern type of colonisation, adding, “Currently, the US is colonising the world by means of virtual networks. In fact, we are not undergoing a transition from one tool to another, but a change from one social and cultural system to another one. In the virtual environment, a slight alteration in an algorithm can lead to a change in a concept or a life reality.”

“Now that it has become possible to be present everywhere, if we fail to be omnipresent we are lazy and lack an effective system or plan to counter the Satan’s domination,” he quoted Ayatollah Ebrahim Amini, a member of the Assembly of Experts, as saying, stressing that at present there are two approaches to globalisation: Top-down and bottom-up.

“The former is evident in the efforts by the US and European states to dominate the world, whereas, the latter is an approach to be adopted by anybody, even someone living in a small remote Iranian village.”

Commenting on the cyberspace’s cultural issues and the concept of cyberspace culture, he said it is not plausible to study and discuss cultural, political and economic issues each in isolation.

“Currently, the main focus is on the centrality of culture. At present, people have a large number of options and choices at their disposal. If what they are presented with fails to be attractive enough, they will definitely opt for another one.”

He concluded his speech by proposing to set up a special virtual network for Muslims, saying, “The virtual environment has provided us with the opportunity to create our own eco-system. We can create our own place, space and location in the virtual environment and officially and privately set up the Muslims’ network on the Internet to have a healthy atmosphere.”

“Internet has the capacity to provide Muslims with a healthy atmosphere for exchanging experience and knowledge with each other in numerous fields and on different topics and help them have a network for launching different campaigns to, by using all the available facilities, be able to move and work towards a better future. God has promised us a better future saying the earth will be inherited by the righteous ones,” he noted.