A tribute message is written in lipstick on the window of the Apple Store in Santa Monica, California.
LUCY NICHOLSON/REUTERS
Hannah Allam
McClatchy Newspapers
TRIPOLI—Twitter users in the Arab world, where it was well past midnight when Jobs’ death was announced, tweeted their gratitude for Apple technology that helped to spread the message of revolt during the Arab Spring protests that continue to rattle Middle Eastern autocracies.
Syrians, especially, noted that Jobs’ biological father was a Syrian Muslim immigrant to the United States from Homs, a flashpoint city in the months-old uprising against President Bashar Assad. Jobs and his father were said to be estranged.
Middle Eastern fans of Apple products signed their #RIPSteveJobs tweets with messages that signalled the reach of his technology: “from my MacBook in Gaza,” one user added to her tweet of condolence.
The role of social media in the Arab uprisings is controversial, though it’s clear that even the most grassroots demonstrations were nudged along by online organizing, often via Apple devices.
“Apple products help the Libyan revolution tweet, spread info and capture video and images. #SteveJobs technology was vital,” one Libyan wrote on Twitter.
“The sad thing is . . . Mubarak and (Gadhafi) outlived him,” tweeted an Egyptian user, referring to the deposed rulers of Egypt and Libya.
Hossam el-Hamalawy, a popular Cairo-based blogger and an architect of the Egyptian uprising, wrote early Thursday on his 3arabawy blog that he differed from Jobs in political views, but considered him one of his earliest sources of inspiration in the 1980s.
“As I developed an early passion for computers in primary school, I had Jobs’ picture cut out from an Arabic magazine, (and) put it up on my wall, saying to myself I’ll be one day like him,” el-Hamalawy wrote.
