Take a look at Dubai in the United Arab Emirates: the beyond-five-star hotels, literally towering architecture, the glamorous skyline of its financial district. It is the U.A.E’s attempt to convey a cutting-edge, even futuristic image in contrast to popular Western perceptions of the Middle East as a backwards, obsolete, war-torn region. However, its decision to ban e-mail, IM, and Web browsing for BlackBerry smartphones for “national security” reasons directly contradicts what they are trying to project.
The U.A.E’s ban stems from the fact that information transmitted to and from Blackberry phones are controlled and monitored by Blackberry’s company Research in Motion and not by the government that the data is transmitted in. Messages sent and received in normal internet networks can be traced and monitored by the U.A.E. government because they have access to the data; this is not the case for BlackBerry internet. To ensure that no unapproved information reaches its citizens, the government chose to cut off that flow of information.
This can negatively impact the U.A.E’s image as a model for the integration of modernization and traditional Islamic Middle Eastern values, which many in the U.S. view as incompatible. This can be a problem for the U.A.E., which now thrives on its tourism industry and financial services after its oil ran out. It must position itself as a city that is attractive to all kinds of visitors- including Westerners who may not share their conservative Islamic values- and try their best to be as accommodating as possible. However, banning Blackberry web features is something that will definitely rankle both tourists who like to share their phone pictures online and businessmen and women who need to stay connected to their home office through their Blackberry emails. The last thing a country dependent on tourism and foreign investment needs is to alienate its tourists and foreign investors, yet this is exactly what the U.A.E. is doing.
By itself, the Blackberry services ban should not do much to the U.A.E’s economy. But if this is the beginning of a trend, there are very practical reasons why such censorship activities will harm the U.A.E. And that’s not even considering the political and humanitarian issues raised by such moves.
