Abstract

In this essay, at the outset the meaning of ‘public,’ as it will be deployed in the article, will be delineated. Then by surveying new media, this study intends to show how the information revolution can bring social and political change in Muslim societies, especially in the Middle East. However, in this way a particular level of differentiation will be provided by distinguishing not just such media as satellite broadcasting from the Internet, but the second from the first generation of the Internet. With regard to the relation between online activities and offline social and political behavior, particularly the role of some new Web 2.0 applications, such as Facebook and Twitter, in changing Muslim publics will be discussed and some specific examples from the Muslim world, especially Iran, will be presented. Finally, the implication of this study would be that the Internet may have something to do with the transition from authoritarianism to democracy.