Author: Gary R Bunt
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Year: 2009
Language: English
Pages: 374
ISBN/UPC (if available): 9781850659518
Description
The internet has profoundly shaped how Muslims perceive Islam, and how Islamic societies and networks are evolving within the twenty-first century. While these electronic interfaces appear new and innovative in terms of how the media is applied, much of their content has a basis in classical Islamic concepts, with an historical resonance that can be traced back to the time of the Prophet Muhammad.
I-Muslims explores how these transformations and influences play out in diverse cyber Islamic environments, and how they are responding to shifts in technology and society.
The author discusses how, in some contexts, the application of the internet has had an overarching transformational effect on how Muslims practice Islam, how forms of Islam are represented to the wider world, and how Muslim societies perceive themselves and their peers.
Cyber Islamic environments have exposed Muslims to radical and new influences beyond the traditional spheres of knowledge and authority, including through social networking sites and the blogosphere.
The author also explores how the internet has dramatically influenced jihad-oriented campaigns by networks such as al-Qaeda, and how it has revolutionized the propagation of new forms of Islamic activism and radicalization.
He concludes by determining the way forward for the articulation of diverse understandings of Islam online, and how Muslim networks will be further shaped through their relationships with the internet.
Contents
Acknowledgments
Note on Transliteration
Introduction, I Muslims and Cyber-Islamic Environments
Locating Islam in Cyberspace
Accessing Cyber-Islamic Environments
Decoding the Sacred: Islamic Source Code
The Islamic Blogosphere
The Cutting Edge: Militaristic Jihad in Cyberspace
Digital Jihadi Battlefields: Iraq and Palestine
Conclusion. The Transformation of Cyber-Islamic Environments
Glossary of Key Islamic Terms
Notes
Index