VZCZCXRO3647
RR RUEHDE
DE RUEHMS #1684/01 3470839
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 130839Z DEC 06
FM AMEMBASSY MUSCAT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7527
INFO RUEHDE/AMCONSUL DUBAI 0314

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MUSCAT 001684 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR IIP, NEA/ARP NFRANCESCHI, NEA/PPD DBENZE 
DUBAI PLEASE PASS TO MPELLETIER 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECPS KISL KPAO OIIP PTER MU
SUBJECT: DIGITAL OUTREACH TO OMAN 
 
REF: A. STATE 193515 
     ¶B. MUSCAT 1627 
 
Sensitive but unclassified; please handle accordingly. 
 
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SUMMARY 
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¶1.  (U) In response to Ref A, Embassy Muscat is happy to provide a 
brief list of popular web destinations for Omani surfers, preceded 
by some background that we hope will be of use to IIP's new Digital 
Outreach Team.  END SUMMARY. 
 
--------------------------------- 
SKITTISH USERS UNLIKELY TO ENGAGE 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) As discussed in Ref B, Oman's most popular Web forum, Al 
Sablah (which means "the sitting room," or place to chat; 
omania.net), was closed in late November and remains inaccessible. 
In its absence, several previously lower-profile sites have seen 
heightened visitor levels, but no single one has yet emerged with 
either the popularity or traffic of Sablah (which at times reached 
up to 300,000 hits per day). 
 
¶3.  (SBU)  While online discussion, especially on Sablah, has in the 
last several years proved vigorous by reserved Omani standards, it 
is still far from the free-for-all Western surfers take for granted 
and is constrained even in comparison to discussion common online in 
other parts of the region.  Users are quick to caution others for 
perceived disrespect to authority or for crossing the lines that 
most Omanis recognize as the boundaries of acceptable expression. 
It is likely that the declared presence of an official foreign 
(especially a U.S.) reader/poster on any of these sites could have a 
strongly inhibiting effect.  Post encourages members of the Digital 
Outreach Team to invest significant time in familiarizing themselves 
with Omani online norms and expectations before leaping into the 
fray. 
 
--------------------- 
FINDING OMANIS ONLINE 
--------------------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Al Sablah's sudden absence has sent its readers elsewhere, 
diffusing the substantial traffic previously focused on omania.net. 
Among these alternatives are: 
 
- Al Sablah (II) (www.omania2.net). Apparently established 
independently of the closed site (but identical in appearance), this 
is the most obvious successor to the original Sablah.  Discussion of 
the shutdown of its predecessor at present dominates this site. 
Overall participation is lower than the original, with participants 
generally shying away from hot topics.  Its homepage is headlined 
"Omani Youth Can Make 1,000 Sablahs." 
 
- Al Majarra (almajara.com):  "The Galaxy" hosts forums including 
Language and Literature, Islamic Thought, Medicine and Science, and 
Cultural and Economic Exchange, among other topics.  Although Al 
Majarra does have an Economics and Politics forum, its focus is 
regional rather than local.  Discussion is in large part religious; 
the site's full name is in fact "Al Majarra Al Islamiyya" ("the 
Islamic Galaxy").  The "Who Are We" page lists propagation of the 
Islamic faith as one of the site's main goals, and it carries an 
endorsement from Oman's Mufti, the country's highest religious 
authority.  When PA staff recently visited the site, a counter on 
its homepage indicated that 387 users were at the time participating 
in discussion.  A small, nearly dormant English-language section 
carries forums on Islamic Thought and Propagation and on Technology 
and Multimedia, among others. 
 
- Al Saha Al Omaniyya (oman0.net):  "The Omani Town Square" hosts 
forums including on English language, family, education, and sports, 
but no dedicated political or religious content.  The site's pink 
theme and topics such as "My dear husband" indicate a primarily 
female audience. 
 
- Sa Ahlum (a7lum.com):  "I will dream" carries discussion on Travel 
and Tourism, Freedom, and (drawing on Al Jazeera's popular slogan) 
The Opinion and the Other Opinion.  In the latter forum, discussion 
about Sablah's closure dominated all other subject threads, 
garnering 5,907 visitors and 269 replies as of December 10.  In 
general, the site is more regionally than locally focused. 
 
- Aashiq Oman (www.omanlover.org):  "Oman Lover" has a format 
identical to Sablah's and carries a notice saying that the site's 
purpose it to express solidarity with Sablah and discuss the 
circumstances surrounding its closure.  Judging by the numbers of 
 
MUSCAT 00001684  002 OF 002 
 
 
visitors listed, participation is robust, with one thread reaching 
nearly 5,000 visitors.  Responses, however, are comparatively few, 
generally no more than 30. 
 
- English Sabla (englishsabla.com/forum).  Unrelated except in name 
to the Arabic version, this site has comparatively low traffic, a 
limited number of posters (many outside Oman), and a focus on pop 
music, consumer goods, personal dilemmas, and local gossip rather 
than on politics and policy. 
 
FONTENEAU