The hazards of high-tech communications
By Fares Anam
Apr 3, 2007, 18:25
yobserver.com
Fatima, 30, of Sana’a, who asked that her whole name not be revealed, was married and has three kids. Until recently, she was living happily with her family. Then, she was invited to a wedding party in her area. She prepared by putting on makeup and dressing up in a fancy dress to attend the party.
At the wedding party, she spent a lovely time with the other women there. A short time later, her husband was at work, when a friend said to him, “if you want to see hot pictures, turn on your Bluetooth.” Bluetooth technology allows users to send information wirelessly from one device to another, say from phone to phone or computer to computer. Fatima’s husband was excited when he received the pictures, but when he saw them, he was surprised and angered in the same time, because he saw his wife in these pictures.
He immediately went back to his home and asked his wife how her photographs got out. She did not know that some girls took pictures of her at the wedding party, and then sent them by Bluetooth to every mobile nearby. The husband did not believe her, however, and so he divorced her and the lovely family collapsed. Fatima is just one of the victim’s of the downside of new technology. While Bluetooth can be an excellent tool for working and communicating, it can also create serious problems when used irresponsibly.
Abdul-Rahman Barman, a lawyer, said that the increasing phenomenon of Bluetooth usage in Yemen is very dangerous, because it easy to send things to other people, and anyone can send something to a total stranger without even knowing the phone numbers. “It causes many problems and leads to immoral crimes through the availability of dirty movies on mobiles,” he said. In our conservative Islamic society, this phenomenon is particularly problematic.
Many people may choose to watch sexual videos for entertainment, instead of spending time with their spouses and children. Some people worry that more and more Yemeni people will try to capture photos or videos of people in their communities, and share them over Bluetooth. “They are trading these messages via Bluetooth, which will lead to the moral decay of families within our societies,” Barman said. Researchers who have been studying the causes of the spread of this phenomenon within Yemeni society found that there were many factors that facilitated this spread, such as the introduction of high-tech modern mobile phones, which are now accessible to children.
Ishraq al-Eryani, a psychology professor at Sana’a University, said that sending racy photos via Bluetooth is an act forbidden in Islam, because it involves spying on others. “From a psychological viewpoint, the youth who do these bad things, they are in adolescence and have a religious and emotional vacuum in their lives. They do it for fun and pleasure,” she said. “The declining family and social decay are fertile ground for this phenomenon, especially in the absence of family control and the lack of awareness of children’s behavior,” al-Eryani said.
Sociology professors Abdul-Gabar Radman and Fatin Abdu of Sana’a University see this phenomenon as a cancer plaguing the Muslim culture. They see it as linked to a hostile Western conspiracy to promote subversive ideas in developing societies. University student S. A, 23, said that mobile phones have caused her much harassment and embarrassing situations. “I have been surprised sometimes that people call me randomly, and when they hear a response from a girl, they rush to talking about the love, and expressing their fake emotions, which leads me to turn off the telephone, but then they resort to sending me dirty messages,” she said.
“I replaced my mobile with another that does not have Bluetooth technology, because I received many pornographic pictures,” she adds. “I consider this behavior to be foul and subversive.” Others are rather pleased with the rewards that Bluetooth affords them. “If I want to catch any girls,” said Sultan, a student, “I begin to take their numbers and send to them some love messages via Bluetooth. If they liked these messages, then they make relationships with me.”
Muhammad Ali, a sales agent, said that Bluetooth exchanges often take place in restaurants or commercial markets. “Young people use this technique in most big restaurants and commercial markets, because there are many people in these places and it is easy to form relationships when I use Bluetooth,” he said. It is the behavior of men like these that worry the moralists. “The community must educate people and make them more aware of the damages of this phenomena. Also, they must restore confidence and strengthen religious morals through follow-up and control,” Barman said.
It is not the fault of technology that humans often misuse it. Humans, after all, make their own choices with their lives. But Bluetooth has aroused much concern for the possible victims who could be spied upon and photographed unknowingly. Many such incidents have already happened, all over the world. Bluetooth is named after King Harald Bluetooth, who unified Denmark and Norway, because its makers hoped that it would unify computer technology with telecommunications. This technology enables users to connect via electronic devices through radio waves instead of wires to send and receive photos, video clips, and messages.
Young people particularly like to use Bluetooth in commercial markets, clubs and restaurants. “I was eating in a restaurant in Sana’a, and I decided to send a message to everyone using Bluetooth. I named myself with one of girls’ names. I received more than 30 messages from people who wanted to know me,” said Ahmed Hussein, a student. “There are many problems that exist and are increasing via Bluetooth. It is a threat to the Yemeni community and has led to many accidents,” Barman said.
“I call upon all the companies in Yemen that work in the communications field to monitor mobiles that have done immoral things. I call also upon the parents to monitor their children and to refrain from giving them mobiles that have this technology.”
“I would like to ask the youth who use this technology in a negative way, do you accept these acts for your mother and sister?” al-Eryani said. “People must do religious lectures in the school and universities to make young people aware of the damages of this technology if used irresponsibly.”
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