Publisher's Synopsis
A growing number of books and edited volumes have increased our knowledge about the complex relationship between media and religion and how religious groups and organizations are using the latest information and communication technologies. Within the field of Islamic studies, scholars from an extensive range of academic disciplines have focused on Islam in cyberspace, the media, anthropology and sociology, but there are hardly any historical studies that have tried to outline how Muslim ulama actually have discussed and debated the introduction and impact of these new media. This book proposal aims to fill this gap and to provide the reader with an overview and in-depth study of how a number of reformist and conservative Muslim ulama have discussed the printing press, photography, the broadcasting media (radio and television), the cinema, the telephone and the Internet. - The book introduces the reader to the most important trajectories in the debate and outlines how the introduction and discussion of the latest information and communication technologies are mirroring changes and developments within society, as well as the Middle East's relationship to the West (i.e. colonialism, imperialism and the rise of modernity). The selected case studies (see project synopsis below) provide the reader with a contextual background to the historical, social and cultural situations that have influenced these theological discussions and debates by focusing on how the ulama have debated and argued about the 'usefulness' or 'dangers' of the information and communication media. Besides historical records and reports, the main source material for outlining Muslim opinions about information and communication technologies is the issuing of fatwas (Islamic judicial advice for how to respond to a certain situation, in this case a new technology). By analysing this material in detail, the study helps the reader to understand how various Muslim ulama are debating, relating to and coming to terms with technological and social changes. By including both historical and contemporary examples, the study exposes historical trajectories as well as different (and often contested) positions in the Islamic debate about the new media. -
