THE information age is now a reality, patterned according to the positive experience of the Internet.
With its wide-reaching capability, the Internet is not only used to retrieve information, but also to add information to the world communication network.
One can find in it a plethora of input and experiences from thousands of people of various cultures, creeds and religions. Basically, the Internet caters for two groups of users, the information providers and information consumers. Thus, the ethics of using the Internet, popularly referred to as netiquette, has to be looked at from the
two perspectives independently.
As information providers, users need to be responsible in disseminating the truth. This is evidently lacking in the global communication network. There are huge numbers of websites propagating immoral activities and lies.
As a result, all kinds of slander are circulating in cyberspace. Electronic poison letters are also rampant. This is despite some of the writers and senders themselves claiming to be deeply religious. Even the use of abusive language is justified on the basis of defending their religious convictions.
The freedom of expression is sometimes taken to such an extent as to invade other people’s privacy. Unsolicited electronic mails are forwarded or “spammed” into mailboxes without due regard for courtesy.
Truth be told, without a proper perspective on the good and bad side of the Internet, consumers are at the mercy of the unscrupulous providers. The lure of the on-line pornography is tremendous. Many spend hours daily surfing the Internet for erotic pictures and stories without realising that they are wasting their time and money.
The worst part is that sometimes it is not their own but rather their department’s or company’s. The addictive nature of the pornographic materials would make them want to log on and on to the global network.
As for children, sordid phenomena are also found on the Internet, via the chat rooms. Cases of cyber-paedophiles and cyber child-molesters prowling these discussion groups are common.
These unscrupulous predators would insert themselves into the groups by furnishing a respectable biodata, and slowly enticing the unsuspecting youngsters to indulge in sexually explicit discussions.
Parents should beware of this dangerous development. Parents should not think that once their children are left in front of the computer terminal, they are safe from corrupt external influences. The simple truth is that they are not. The virtual prowlers can get into their bedrooms. The jungle is not necessarily out there anymore.
Now it is right in our homes.
There is also no substitute for taking good care of our young ones. Guidance and supervision are still an indispensable part of proper childupbringing. Parents must endeavour to inculcate netiquette into them. Netiquette is a form of defence that must exist within each user. The best form of ethics is the one based on strong faith
in religion.
While it is important to have one computer in every home, this does not mean that parents should provide one computer for every room. The privacy in using the Internet might lead children into the dark streets of the cyber-world.
Unsupervised Internet usage is not advisable. Proper guidance and discipline must be inculcated so that the positive influence and benefits of the Internet could be reaped by the younger generation. If left on their own, without parental guidance, there is a tendency for the Internet to be abused and misused.
The Quran prescribes a safety net to deal with some of the problems associated with using the Internet. Verse Six of Surah Al Hujurat is translated thus: “O ye who believe! If a wicked person comes to you with any news, ascertain the truth, lest ye harm people unwittingly.” It must be remembered that acquired and theoretical knowledge alone is insufficient to cater for this. Wisdom, that is the ability to navigate through data and information in order to extract knowledge, is also needed.
Traditional values and experience of mankind would also become invaluable.
One of the features of the Internet is that it is “faceless”. As such, this anonymity allows certain users to abuse this technological wonder of the late 1990s. One such example is the abuse of Malaysian users in the Internet Relay Chat or IRC.
A couple of years ago, Malaysian users were banned by three major IRC networks, namely Undernet, Dalnet and EFNet. These networks were popular among Malaysian chatters at that time. The Undernet with a total global user of 30,000 people daily cited 150 abuse cases by Malaysian users on a daily basis.
The common abuses include cloning, bombing, hacking, hostile channel takeover, flooding, owning illegal “robots” or “bots” and spamming. These terms may be alien to those unfamiliar with IRC jargon, but the bottom line is that these abuses occur because of absence of proper netiquette among Malaysian Internet users.
Malaysian Internet subscribers have increased considerably in the past couple of years. It is a sad fact if Malaysian users do not observe the netiquette so as not to abuse the facility. There is no point in quantity if the quality of subscribers leaves a lot to be desired.
While we move onwards with the Internet as the catalyst for development, it is equally imperative that we change our mindset so that it is better, if not on par with a developed society. Access to the Internet does not give anyone the right to do anything. Freedom to use the Internet must be at all times coupled with wisdom to use this technology.
For Muslims, it is imperative to be aware of the rules of the Internet. Even when Muslims are in the virtual world, it is imperative to observe the adab (ethics) and akhlaq (character) just as Muslims would in the real world.
The Prophet Muhammad is the best of example with regard to this, as attested in the Quran, verse 21 of Surah al-Ahzab to the effect that: “Ye have indeed in the Messenger of God a beautiful pattern (of conduct) for any whose hope is in God and the Final Day, and who engages much in the praise of God.” The best way to show the true image of Islam is through deeds and actions, not words and rhetoric. Therefore, a good Muslim would no doubt observe good ethics and character regardless of where he or she is, be it in the real world or the virtual world of the Internet.
The information age promotes and creates a global village. The Muslim community, or ummah, too, used to be a total, borderless world where communication, travel, migration and inter-cultural relationships operate without much limitation. It has always been made up of a multi-religious and multi-ethnic commonwealth of people.
In this day and age which is catalysed by information and communication technology, we find that Muslims can indeed recreate this total, borderless world. Nonetheless, it must be said that this global community must be instilled with proper netiquette.
Unless this is done, there is no shield for us to face the barrage of infor-mation the good, the bad and the junk. Netiquette is the best approach in sifting the good from the bad and the useful from the useless.
Not only that, it is also important that netiquette be observed when we are interacting, communicating and conducting business in the cyberworld. For Muslims, this netiquette should be based on faith (iman), piety (taqwa) and knowledge (‘ilm).
