I started learning online as living in the Western part of the world i have found it difficult to find a teacher of any sort. Not many people i know have even heard of the darbuka before sadly

Youtube videos did help me for a short time but inevitably the available tuition became inconsistent. It is then that you find yourself bouncing between different tutorials with different players teaching differing things. Yes it is good to learn a variety of techniques and methods but i feel that where the internet is concerned you have to be very careful of erroneous instruction. Having had professional drumming instruction and tuition in my youth, i also appreciate structure and focus in learning an instrument - something that i find the internet cannot provide because the lessons fizzle out and you have to look elsewhere.
When i came to this hurdle i did some research and found some good tutorial recommendations on
http://www.arabicdrum.co.uk. On that site he mentions the Faisal Zedan instructional dvd which i eventually bought and am currently learning from. I'm finding it very clear and structured, and i think there is also a follow-on dvd available too so i can continue learning. Here is the link -
http://www.dhavir.com. They also sent me a free cd of arabic music featuring the darbuka which i really enjoy listening to and is really inspiring!