Why did the Mubarak regime turn the internet off?

That was the question I asked the attendees of a gathering recently at the Oxford Internet Institute looking at the role of the internet in the revolutions sweeping the Middle East.

The question gives us, I suggested, a route into understanding the other side of the equation, ie. How authoritarian regimes maintain their power. It therefore connects us to a long standing debate that has encompassed media studies, cultural anthropology, political science and more.

Hosni Mubarak appears to be on his way out as Egyptian President.

This is a huge moment in the modern history of the Middle East – and it is an astonishing achievement by the Egyptian people. Who can say in their lifetime that they took part in the overthrow of a dictatorship?

The Egyptian people have been incredible throughout the last two weeks, just incredible – full of huge courage, energy, and joy. I hope this brings them a brighter future of real prosperity, security and freedom.

What do the next ten years hold for creativity, innovation and intellectual production in the Middle East? Among the presentations to the Arab Thought Foundation’s ninth annual conference, FIKR9, one narrative for how the region should evolve dominated all others.

This said the region can harness its ‘youth bulge’ to create a knowledge economy. This can happen from within the existing political structures, and will fuse Gulf oil wealth and investment expertise with the ever growing pool of human talent from across the region. But it was not the only narrative by any means.

Earlier this year, I was invited to sit in on a theological gathering at Cambridge University.  Over three intense days, I watched scholars from as far afield as Asia, North America, the Middle East and Russia pour over passages of scripture in small mixed faith groups.  Although the academic surroundings were familiar to me, I was to be exposed to a form of shared study that I had never witnessed before.

A BBC Open University series is providing a UK audience with a rare view of life inside Syria’s schools.

The Syrian Schools series gives UK viewers an unprecedented opportunity to learn what ‘Syrians are really like and what hopes and aspirations they have’, according to the series’ associate producer Itab Azzam.

The first hour-long episode, broadcast last night on BBC 4 and available on the BBC iPlayer, shows students debating with teachers about the importance of the hijab, examines the role of the ruling Ba’ath party in schools and considers the taboo topic of Iraqis Christians living in Damascus.

The girl at the center of a child marriage dispute in Saudi Arabia has unexpectedly withdrawn her petition for divorce.

The 12-year-old told the court in Buraidah, in Al-Qasim province, that her marriage to an 80-year-old man had her agreement, the news website Okaz reported.

“I agree to the marriage. I have no objection. This is in filial respect to my father and obedience to his wish,” she said despite earlier objections from her mother.

When Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak came to power 28 years ago, the Berlin Wall still had another eight years to stand, AIDS was only just being recognized as a disease, and the Ford Cortina had another year to run on the automaker’s production lines.

Little wonder then that some people in Egypt would like to see a fresh-faced successor to take the reins in elections slated for 2011.

But not, by any means, everyone.

Switzerland’s controversial referendum decision to ban the construction of new minarets for Swiss mosques has caused varying degrees of concern in the Arab world, and attracted a wide ranging debate about the reasons behind the decision.

Independent online daily Nawwar reports that amongst observers, whether Swiss, Arab, or Muslims of any ethnicity “understanding the nature and significance of this initiative differs from one person to the next, some see it as a storm in a teacup, while others see it as flagrant evidence of the “spirit of religious war” persisting in the subconscious of many people in the West.”

Dubai and Abu Dhabi saw their main stock markets fall sharply today as they opened for the first time since a state-owned company in Dubai asked for extra time to repay its debt.

For many in the Middle East, the specter of Dubai’s towering promise tumbling down is a deep affront to regional pride.

“Oh Proud Emirates, with your golden sands and high sky,” said a reader on Emirat Al-Youm, “your men, women, children, elderly and wise people will not bow down or be humiliated.”

The discovery of Ardi, the oldest hominid skeleton ever found, was big news for the science community around the world.

But in the Middle East, the news triggered a different order of debate.

‘A research team revealed Thursday that the discovery of “Ardi” proves humans did not evolve from chimpanzee-like ancestors,’ reported Al Jazeera on its Arabic language website under the headline ‘Ardi rebuts Darwin’s theory’.