The Arab Idol

It was the Arab version of American Idol!. The Arab look-alike, called Superstar, was aired on the satellite channel of the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation LBC. Over 21 weeks, viewers got to vote by fax, Internet or cellphone for their favourite singers. Thousands of singers from across the Arab world were narrowed down to 12 finalists from seven different countries, then two. Millions of Arab viewers voted in the finals.

On August 18, the AP reported from Beirut: 8216;8216;Competition went smoothly until last week, when front-runner Melhem Zein, of Lebanon, was eliminated in the semi-finals. Angry fans in the studio pelted each other with chairs and anything they could find, and the two remaining contestants fainted. 8230; Both Jordan and Syria have launched campaigns urging people to vote for their candidates8217;8217; 8212; who were the two finalists.

Naturally, the fundamentalist Islamic Action Front condemned it all: 8216;8216;We urge official and popular parties to put an end to this sad comedy,8217;8217; it said, because this show 8216;8216;facilitates the culture of globalisation led by America to change the cultural identity of the people.8217;8217;

I found out about all this when a Jordanian friend e-mailed me after the finals, saying: 8216;8216;Yesterday the Jordanian singer won through a vote over the Internet. About 4.5 million people voted. People went wild in the streets till the early hours of the morning. 8230; The Arab basement can change!8217;8217;

Rami Khouri, editor of The Beirut Daily Star, echoed that theme: 8216;8216;This was a fascinating example of how the power of technology 8212; in this case satellite television, Internet and cell phones 8212; can tap sentiments and prompt people to action8217;8217;. But what was even more striking, Khouri said, was the Jordanian singer8217;s victory margin. She won by only 52 to 48 percent in a region where presidents always win by 8216;8216;99 percent8217;8217;.

8216;8216;I do not recall in my happy adult life a national vote that resulted in a 52 to 48 percent victory,8217;8217; Khouri added. 8216;8216;Most of the 8216;referenda8217; or 8216;elections8217; that take place in our region usually result in fantastic pre-fixed victories8230;so a 52 to 48 percent outcome 8212; even for just a song contest 8212; is a breath of fresh air8230; Thank you, LBC, for allowing ordinary Arabs to show that they are not always willing participants in the political freak shows that are the 8216;official elections8217; for president and other forms of Great Leader.8217;8217;

In the Arab world, where few can speak freely, let alone vote, satellite TV is becoming a virtual Democracy Wall. 8216;8216;They8217;re the only opening, so people try to push as much through them as they can,8217;8217; said Marwan Bishara, a politics lecturer at the American University of Paris.

Technology, though, still can8217;t trump two huge impediments to Arab democracy. One is the lack of institutions to ensure a peaceful rotation of power. 8216;8216;In too many countries there is still a tradition of rule or die 8212; either my group or tribe is in power or it8217;s exposed to great danger, so you must never give up power,8217;8217; noted Michael Mandelbaum, author of The Ideas That Conquered the World.

The other is that so many Arab economies are dominated by state oil revenues and state companies, with very weak private enterprise. Therefore, holding onto or being close to power are the only pathways to wealth. Control power, control wealth. 8216;8216;It will be very hard to install lasting democracy in this region,8217;8217; Mandelbaum added, 8216;8216;without institutions and economic reforms that guarantee that there is life after power and wealth without power8217;8217;.

So yes, culture and historical legacies matter, but so, too, do new ideas and technologies. All of which means America8217;s attempt to bring democracy to Iraq isn8217;t crazy 8212; just something that will be very hard. The New York Times