Internet activity in Muslim Politics growing

Internet presence in the arena of Muslim politics has grown 4 fold in the last 7 years. The internet is becoming a bastion of free and political speech in the Muslim world for those who seek power yet lack the capacity to reach the masses. "In some countries the Internet is the only infrastructure for political debate," observes  Philip Howard, an assistant professor of communication at the University of Washington. "No dictator has been toppled because of the Internet, but today, no democratic movement can topple a dictator without the Internet."  With the proliferation of information and moderate voice there is hope that the minority fringe elements will begin to have a competing voice that rivals the mass distribution system of messaging through Imams and Clerics. Openness and transparency are ways to help the moderate middle assert its majority opinion and concentrate attention on the issues of the masses.