The rapid changes sweeping the Arab world have all too often been attributed to the internet, with pundits crediting the uprisings to various social networks. With an ever-growing critical mass of social media users across the region, such tools present a unique opportunity for fomenting social and political change.
But as the academic Evgeny Morozov points out in The Net Delusion, "many western observers like endowing those living under authoritarian conditions with magical and heroic qualities they do not have" – assuming that, with the internet at their fingertips, their first goal will be liberation.
Somewhere between that mainstream narrative of the internet as an unprecedented tool of change and the counter-narrative that "the revolution will not be tweeted" lies the truth: the internet has become a major force in the region, from its role in entrepreneurship to its part in acting as a vehicle for spreading culture. Though a recent report from the Dubai School of Government suggests that a majority of users (83% of men and 89% of women surveyed) use social media to get news, information, or advice, followed by a desire to connect with friends and like-minded individuals, the use of social networks for "fun" or "entertainment" came in a close third among respondents (76% women, 67% men).
Indeed, even amid the excitement and political turmoil of the past year, humour has dominated. Internet memes – concepts that spread rapidly from person to person online – have become de rigueur in the region, whether intended to inspire, provoke, or simply get a few laughs. From "The Guy Behind Omar Suleiman" to the eye-catching yet sombre memes emanating from Syria, consider this a guide to knowing your Arab meme.
Know your meme
The first rule of the social internet is to know your meme. No longer limited to the ubiquitous LOLcats (who do, in fact, have their own Muslim subgroup), internet memes proliferate in every corner of the web, from the sometimes-tasteless humour of Fark and 4Chan to the oft-snarky Advice Animals.
The Arab world is by no means exempt from this phenomenon. A recent contest in Lebanon, for example, offered $100 to whoever could create the best Lebanese meme (rules: no politics, no religion). The entries, many quadrilingual, were by and large hilarious, many of the jokes involving dealing with plastic surgery, traffic jams and, of course, Lebanon's obsession with its cuisine.
It came as no surprise to Lebanophiles that a major meme theme was the daily electrical outages to which most Lebanese have grown accustomed.
In Egypt, memes spread like wildfire even during the Mubarak era. When, famously, Al Ahram doctored an image of the Middle East peace process talks to depict Mubarak at the front of the procession (rather than Obama), Egyptians took to Photoshop to rewrite history themselves.
One Egyptian favourite is "The Guy Behind Omar Suleiman", a meme spawned from a television appearance in which Suleiman was backed by an anonymous and very serious-looking man. One favourite image combines two memes, pitting The Guy behind Chuck Norris, himself a meme superstar.
In Libya – where internet penetration remains well under 10% – memes are not unheard of. In March 2011, after pro-Gaddafi state TV anchor Musa Ibrahim stated his pride in handing out AK47s to the Libyan people (while holding one himself), an internet meme was born via Twitter hashtag: #EpicLibyanMan. First used to describe Ibrahim, others quickly spotted photos of Libyan rebels heavily armed and, using the hashtag, posted them to the social network.
Similar memes, often mocking pro-regime actors, have been spotted in Bahrain (see: Hoozman and TAKBEEER Guy), Saudi Arabia, and even Syria (where many see President Bashar al-Assad as ripe for comedy).
And one mustn't ignore the pan-Arab meme. Fortunately, with Twitter accounts like @ArabMemes and its Facebook counterpart, that'd be hard to do. While some of the humour contained in the accounts is country-specific, other pieces aim to mock the whole region.
On Twitter, the hashtag recently took a comedic turn across the region and beyond, as users banded together to come up with titles for #SalafistMovies. Popular titles included "Eat, Pray, Pray Again" and "I Know What You Did Last Ramadan".
Of course, it isn't all fun and games. With the ongoing conflict in Syria and continued unrest in Bahrain and elsewhere, memes can also be an excellent awareness-raising tool, or serve as relief from struggle. In Syria, where nearly a year of violence has left thousands dead, laughter can be hard to come by and yet, through memes, Syrian internet users have found a way. In the following meme, a regime loyalist looks at several graphic images, unmoved until the last frame, which shows footage of an explosion in Damascus, blamed by the regime on terrorists. His reaction – typical among regime supporters, say activists – is to yell: "Is this the freedom you want!?", alluding to the narrative that the Syrian opposition is comprised solely of terrorists.
Another recent serious meme from Syria took the form of a hashtag, #WhenAssadFalls, on which Syrian opposition and their supporters shared their dreams, hopes, and fears for the end of the regime. One example:
Though not from the Arab world, a recent meme from the broader region exemplified how connectivity and entertainment are often intertwined. Originally created by Israelis to counter the warmongering rhetoric of prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel Loves Iran went viral, inspiring hundreds of copycats … literally.
On any given day, a meme can happen. The ingredients are simple: an interconnected social circle, a platform, a sense of humour and perhaps most importantly, a strong sense of culture. As Egypt and Tunisia rebuild themselves as democracies, as Syrians continue to fight for their freedom, and as countless individuals throughout the region make progress toward social and political change, the ubiquitous presence of the internet might help. But it will certainly, always provide an outlet in both the best and worst of times.