Media & Religion
Cosmopolitan Islamism and its Critics
Maurice Chammah analyzes the thinking behind the Islam-oriented music television channel 4Shbab, noting contradictions in its vision of the interaction between Islam and the West. He looks at the audience which 4Shbab assumes already exists and the audience which it hopes to create, and discusses Western media reactions to the project.
Salafi satellite TV in Egypt
Is the Egyptian government using new Salafi stations to counter the more politically active Muslim Brotherhood? Nathan Field and Ahmed Hamam on the growing popularity of ultra-conservative religious programming.
Islamic music video channel 4Shbab launches
Funded by Saudi investors, the Islamic music video network 4Shbab is the latest project of Ahmed Abu Haiba, former producer for the Amr Khaled series Kalam min al-Qalb. Video segment prepared by Ismail Elmokadem along with three video clips currently on air.
Reading Lohaidan in Riyadh: Media and the struggle for judicial power in Saudi Arabia
The head of Saudi Arabia’s Sharia courts made waves during Ramadan when he said that satellite channel owners were liable for execution for airing “indecent programming.” But this controversy goes far beyond broadcast standards, argues Andrew Hammond.
Storm in a shisha
Some feared the 2008 novel The Jewel of Medina would create the fiercest backlash among Muslims since the Danish cartoon scandal. So why hasn’t it? Shereen El Feki looks at the politics surrounding the book’s publication.
Sampling Folklore: The re-popularization of Sufi inshad in Egyptian dance music
Jennifer Peterson tracks how traditional Sufi poetry is mixed and remixed into contemporary dance music heard widely on the streets of Cairo. Features video and audio examples.
Media and Religion in the Arab-Islamic World
In this edited version of the 11th Templeton Lecture on Religion and World Affairs, Abdallah Schleifer looks at the development of journalism in the Arab-Islamic World, attempting to explain factors shaping journalism practice in the region.
The Appeal of Sami Yusuf and the Search for Islamic Authenticity
Tracking Sami Yusuf's move into the mainstream is key not only for understanding Sami Yusuf as an Islamic artist but also as a useful index for how Muslims see themselves as participants in Western modernity. Christian Pond asks, will they, as encouraged by Sami Yusuf, choose the path of Islamizing modernity? Or will they choose the more complicated path of modernizing Islam?
