Full Description
The development of new and social networking sites, as well as the growth of transnational Arab television, has triggered a debate about the rise in transnational political and religious identification, as individuals and groups negotiate this new triad of media, religion and culture.
This book examines the implications of new media on the rise of political Islam and on Islamic religious identity in the Arab Middle East and North Africa, as well as among Muslim Arab Diasporas. Undoubtedly, the process of globalization, especially in the field of media and ICTs, challenges the cultural and religious systems, particularly in terms of identity formation. Across the world, Arab Muslims have embraced new media not only as a source of information but also as a source of guidance and fatwas, thereby transforming Muslim practices and rituals. This volume brings together chapters from a range of specialists working in the field, presenting a variety of case studies on new media, identity formation and political Islam in Muslim communities both within and beyond the MENA region.
Offering new insight into the influence of media exposure on national, political, and cultural boundaries of the Islamic identity, this book is a valuable resource for students and scholars of Middle Eastern politics, specifically political Islam and political communication.
Contents
Introduction Noha Mellor
Part I - The rise of political Islam
Legitimate Singularities: Ennahdha in Search of Plural Identities? Ratiba Hadj-Moussa, Samar Ben Romdhane
Social Media as the New Identity Battleground Noureddine Miladi
Online aesthetics of martyrdom: A study of the Bahraini Arab Spring Magdalena Karolak
ISIS and Saudi Arabia: Post-colonial religious authority Andrew Hammond
Friday Khutba without borders: constructing a Muslim audience Ehab Galal
Part II - Religious activism
The online response to the Quran burning incidents Ahmed Rawi
Working around the State Deborah L. Wheeler
Religious Minorities in Cyberspace Dalia Yousef and Rasha Abdulla
British Arab youth - reconstruction of virtual Islamic identities after the Arab Spring Khalil Al-Agh
The revival of Muslim identity vs. Arab identity Khalil Rinnawi
