Ikhwanweb :: The Muslim Brotherhood Official English Website

Some Muslim Brotherhood young women have started the experience of blogging. This experience has started, some time before them, among MB young men and it gained special popularity in the midst of the military court against Muslim Brotherhood leaders, topped by Eng. Khairat Al-Shater the second deputy chairman of the Muslim Brotherhood. This popularity increased also after arresting iconic blogger Abdul Moneim Mahmoud, shedding light on this human experience inside the Muslim Brotherhood which has been considered a conservative community among many.

Ikhwanwe offers  this report to know the motives behind taking such an experience and future of blogging among Muslim Brotherhood young women.

Aya Alaa, hamsaya

Aya Alaa, blogger of hamsaya.blogspot.com, says:

I started blogging about a year ago. My blogging was first dominated by a literary style. Then I developed my style to suit the general topics I am writing about.

Aya adds that:" I think that MB blogging is a very good idea that should be followed by more steps so as to have a media effect. It is good that fellow MB female members entered the field of blogging and I think they have accomplished so much in this field. Blogging added many meaningful things to me. My relation with the Web was only chatting and forums and I didn’t think of writing or discussing such issues. Knowing such issues made me definitely care for reading to know every thing happening around me .

The most important thing I learnt from blogging is respecting the other and respecting other points of view.

Arwa, iamkeda

Arwa, blogger of: iamkeda.blogspot.com

Arwa says that at the beginning of her blogging experience, she was not planning to write about any political topics. She just wanted its weblog to be a fully personal and to write about her ideas to give vent to her feelings and to express herself. She also narrates some attitudes that she faced in order to others opinion about what she is doing. She added that she will definitely gain so much experience from others’ opinions and comments. She found herself unintentionally and spontaneously, she found herself discussing and commenting on political issues.

Arwa started blogging in 2005, while she was in the High School Diploma. Her first weblog was entitled "innocent deemed a criminal until he is proved innocent ". this title changed several times until she reached the name Iamkeda.

Arwa adds:" I gained many things, the most important of which is people’s views must be respected like my views which must be respected. It isn’t a must that all our views are the same. I learned that a difference in opinion has nothing to do with personal love and amicability.

I have learnt do much from blogging  I gained various experiences from others’ weblogs and comments.

Asmaa Yasser, elfagreya

Asmaa Yasser, blogger of elfagreya.blogspot.com

Asmaa says: My experience with blogging is very successful. I can’t judge my own writing in the weblog; it is rather readers role to judge this. I am currently doing my exams. When I finish exams, I will allocate so much time to care more for general issues and the weblog.

Regarding what she benefitted from her blogging experience, Asmaa says " My writing style has developed so much. Also developed my way of viewing incidents and events. I have definitely learned to listen to others’ criticism and I learned how to respectfully and objectively criticize others."

Alaa, dr-atyaf

Alaa, blogger of dr-atyaf.blogspot.com

"Alaa is in the third year in the Faculty of Medicine. She says she started blogging only a month ago. but she was surprised by people’s interaction. People’s interaction made me feel confident of myself and of my writings and gave me a hope and a momentum to continue blogging" said Alaa, adding that she wants to blog in English language to tell all the world what happens in Egypt and to translate news and current events . when asked about her opinion about the phenomenon of blogging among Muslim Brotherhood female members, she said there are many weblogs which discuss important issues and they have a huge effect, while there are other female-hued weblogs which cover only personal ideas and feelings.

Opinions of Some Bloggers Over Experience Of MB Female Bloggers

Manal: MB bloggers, weblogs will mushroom

Manal, the co-administrator of "www.manalaa.net" weblog, said the phenomenon of girls’ participation in blogging in general and girls’ interest in the political issues especially Muslim Brotherhood sisters is an important and effective phenomenon. She considers it a successful experience.

She adds:" I am not a regular reader of the weblogs of Muslim Brotherhood young women, but I hope to follow up them because they discuss important issues. I hope to know more information about these persons, and to know their opinion about many issues. I always follow-up the weblog "ensaa.blogspot.com", and many other weblogs that campaign against the military tribunal.

Regarding the future of blogging in Egypt, Manal says the number of bloggers will increase more. Figures show that the rate of blogging has doubled from 2005. the bloggers were 30000 or 40000 to 100000 bloggers nowadays. Manal expects that the number of Muslim Brotherhood bloggers and weblogs will mushroom very quickly if they maintained such a good level, because many of their weblogs cover good issues and discussions.

MB Sisters’ Bloggers Lack Variation

As for blogger Alaa Saif , he has a different opinion regarding blogging of Muslim Brotherhood young women. He sees that the blogging experience of Muslim Brotherhood sisters is definitely a successful experience. It is still developing. However, he laments that most Muslim Brotherhood sisters’ weblogs are divided into two kinds only: Most of them are currently talking the military tribunal, mostly because a relative or family member is detained pending the military trial. This is actually their right. As for the second kind, they are totally distanced; they speak only about personal views and attitudes. They have the right to do so as well. The key point is that  weblogs of the Muslim Brotherhood girls in general is that there is no variation. They don’t takle various issues about the Muslim Brotherhood, including thought and news in addition to the military courts. The Muslim Brotherhood young men have mastered this and are very good in this field.

Alaa Saif has stressed on this point more than once. He sees that the Muslim Brotherhood young men are using their weblogs to respond to groundless claims against the Islamic movement, like takfiri thought. They also detail the Muslim Brotherhood’s ideology and the difference between the Muslim Brotherhood and other groups.  He also praises the self-criticism among Muslim Brotherhood young bloggers. They speak about their beliefs and their various opinions and discuss them with all. They are open to all, and can send their message to the other individuals who do not belong to any movement, but are reasonable distinguished and aware of what is happening around them, these individuals account for most of the Egyptian people, according to Alaa.

Alaa voices his worry that these weblogs may return to isolation when the military tribunals are wrapped up. "We fear that these weblogs become confined to the Muslim Brotherhood and that others do not benefit from them and not to discuss general issues", he said, adding that "If weblogs of the Muslim Brotherhood young men maintained in this level, they will gain so many opportunities for contact and understanding, so that the other understands the Muslim Brotherhood and the Muslim Brotherhood understands the other.

He says that the blogging experience among Muslim Brotherhood sisters still need serious discussion, and are still hurdled by some kind of personal shyness. They need more organized planning, which is a dominant feature among Muslim Brotherhood male bloggers.

Asked whether weblogs can considered an effective media means, Alaa says that " It is actually an important tool which is still limited in number. However, we can say that the number of the readers of weblogs are nearly the same size of readers of opposition newspapers in Egypt. We must know the effect of weblogs on others to know their importance. Alaa expects, finally, that weblogs will become like Emails and chatting very soon, and they will be used by all.

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