Texting's power

This isn't just about kid tech, but undoubtedly many young Muslims are involved in this latest subject of global activism both online and off. The Washington Post calls them "mass-mailings," but they're really mass-messagings and -postings, via cellphone and blog that have "helped turn an incident in tiny Denmark into a uniting cause for protesters around the world in days or even hours." The incident referred to, of course, is the publication five months ago in a Danish newspaper of cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed. And the timing, in launching individual protests and boycotts online and in locations around the world, has in many cases been less than "hours," according to the Post. For example, a rumor (that the Koran might be burned), started by Mohammad Fouad Barazi, a prominent Muslim cleric in Denmark (unintentionally, he said), spread so fast that Danish Prime Minister held a press conference and said that authorities don't have time to "correct misinformation" before it's acted on. And the Post cites a moderate Muslim lawmaker as saying that Barazi's mere mention of the possibility concerning the Koran "encouraged attacks on the Danish Embassy in Syria on Saturday." Another amazing example of the power and reach of electronic communications, for good and bad. [See also "Young bloggers & France's riots," 11/11/05.]