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Introduction
The Internet phenomenon is a historical ‘synthesis’ of the
different media: print, audio and visual communication. This technology, which
comes at the edge of the third information-communication revolution, brings back
the pertinence of a substantial component almost peculiar to Islamic
civilisation: the text. As such, the Internet, unlike radio and television, is
to be viewed from the start as a positive development as far as Muslims are
concerned. Needles to say, perhaps, that the content of the Internet comprises
both good and evil. The morality of the medium is certainly the centre of
concern for Muslims. This legitimate concern is to be addressed at different
levels: individual, social, and political. The Islamic principle of moral
struggle is very discrete in this context. This principle invites man to make
the truth prevail when encountered with evil ways. In the Qur’ān, we read:
By the soul, and the proportion and order given to it; and
its enlightenment as to its wrong and its right: truly he succeeds that purifies
it, and he fails that corrupts it (91:7-10).
This requires enormous efforts to produce virtually a new
ethical culture and transform the existing cultural heritage into a new form of
cyberspace reality. The process is to be strengthened by a degree of moral
supervision that can infuse the notion of moral and social responsibility and
thus limit the negative dimensions of this medium. The Muslim data entry in
cyberspace needs to be enhanced and re-examined as well. The Islamic input on
the Internet is still in its infancy and much awaits to be done to convey the
authentic message of Islam in the different areas of knowledge and interest.
Certainly the materials that favour the existing dominant institutions at the
global level overwhelm the content of the Internet. Still, the inherent
qualities of the medium extend the space for other competing alternatives. As
such, the Muslims need to seize this opportunity and provide a coherent, high
quality and structured content whose nature can only be the right path for human
beings in this new world of communication. Furthermore, definite strategies are
required to deal with the contents that pretend to represent or intentionally
misrepresent and distort the truth about Islam and Muslims.
The current communication technologies offer a broad
spectrum of opportunities that outweigh any previous technology since the
invention of writing. The new media of electronics, computing and
telecommunication infrastructure are distinct from the traditional media in that
the content is interactive, instantly delivered and integrative: texts, sounds
and images. This technology, however, is to be used with the perspective that
can channel visions and worldviews in addition to other practical functions of
communication and economic transactions. The Islamic input on the Internet is
scanty and originates mostly from cultural associations and private individuals
who strive to disseminate the message of Islam and restructure the image of the
Muslims in the Western media and literature.
The credit for what can be called Muslim’s Internet goes
to independent Muslim technicians and scholars based in many Western societies
where such medium emerged and where the public sphere is not very much
restricted. The governments’ contribution in different parts of the Muslim world
is overshadowed by the tendency to favour a form of PR content which enhances
the image of a given institution or country. This new online world of computer
networks has generated a new Muslim cyber community that can now interact in
ways that transcend political divisions, national boundaries and other
traditional barriers of communication. Even though the Internet is still an
elite medium in the Muslim context, the speed by which the medium was introduced
and the enthusiasm that it has generated have certainly opened new ways of
communication that were until recently beyond imagination. The effects of this
new media may generate a new Muslim consciousness that is shaped not only by
national considerations but also by a consciousness that can be effective and
instrumental in this new world of global Gemenshaft. The main ethical and
cultural concern remains as to whether such medium would shake the moral
foundations and basic social institutions of the Muslims society.
Sources of Islamic Input
There are hundreds of institutions, associations, private
individuals and a number of government and religious agencies that seek to
enhance the Muslim presence on the Internet. Let us examine the most important
ones in the field.
1. Independent Cultural Nets
The pioneers of these associations include:
i) Muslim Scientists, Mathematicians and Astronomers:
The
site of this association provides extensive material about Islam and Muslim
contribution in different fields of knowledge. The site introduces early Muslim
scholars from Al-Khawarizmī to Ibn Khaldūn. It includes glimpses of Islamic
civilisation, Andalusia, the Holy Qur’ān, the Prophet’s Sīrah and a variety of
links to related materials.
ii) Dunya, Cyber Muslim Information Collective: A huge
site for Muslims and others interested in Islam. It contains a large amount of
information as ‘Digital Activism’ and ‘The Whole Dunya Bookstore and News
Stand’. The latter includes links to online newspapers and magazines. The ‘Hyper
Qur’ān Prophet’, a hypertext version of the Holy Qur’ān, is also located here
along with ‘Islamware Mart’, where Muslims can look for share wares and
commercial softwares specific to Islam.
iii) Muslim Students Associations in America: This
well-established institution provides the most comprehensive online link to the
Muslim world. The institution adheres to the principles of neutrality and does
not judge the content or the source of the material in question. The institution
acts as a facilitator and organizer of online communication about the Muslim
world. The MSA Home Page includes a number of directories such as the World of
Islam Resource Guides, World of Islam Directory, Scholars Base, Translatus,
Shuhuf, etc. these directories, however, are not well developed and tend to be
very selective. This apparent shortcoming needs to be weighed against the fact
that the institution is not a content provider but a gateway to different
content providers in the Muslim world. The institution’s launch pad is the most
extensive web site in the Muslim world. This particular site, apparently
preferred by many Muslim educators, permits easy navigation through the site and
the ability to call up information on demand.
iv) International Institute of Islamic Thought: This
intellectual and cultural foundation is committed to a critical examination of
issues underlying the state of the Muslim world. The Institute advocates a
particular endeavour that stresses the Islamisation of knowledge which includes
attempts to integrate contemporary sciences and revealed knowledge. The
Institute makes available on its website valuable Islamic resources such as the
Holy Qur’ān, periodicals and publications, etc.
The list of such associations is quite exhaustive indeed.
There is a lot of redundancy that may create a sense of deja vu to the extent
that every institution seems to act independently from other related entities
and duplicates more or less the same content in different styles. Needless to
say, this diversity is to be encouraged, provided that there is some form of
centralised co-ordination which, to one’s regret, is currently missing. This has
led a number of Muslim scholars to criticise this chaos in what is called
Islamic Internet.
2. Governments
Until recently, much of the Muslim world was an ‘empty
quarter’ in terms of the Internet access and other communication technologies.
Now, many Muslim countries such as Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states and Malaysia
are fully wired. This process has also affected even the least developed regions
in the Muslim world. Yemen, for example, has its websites. Micro-sized satellite
dishes are found everywhere in North Africa and the Gulf. Cairo has its
cyber-café, and the World Wide Web has its Café Arabia. This communication
explosion is left with little control. The Muslim countries do not have the same
appreciation of these recent communication technologies. There are countries
like Algeria which have no restriction on Direct Broadcasting System whereby
individuals or groups can have direct access to foreign TV channels through
satellite dishes, but seem to restrict access to the Internet. There are also
other countries, such as Malaysia, which supervise access to foreign channels
through local cable TV, but encourage access to the Internet and other
information technologies. Still, the Middle Eastern countries seem to be
selective in introducing many forms of communication technologies including the
Internet. Needless to say that the Internet ‘invasion’ seems to override genuine
efforts to control or transform the medium into a positive factor in the world
of interactive communication. The Islamic input of governments’ sites varies
from country to country. However, most of these sites are about governments’
agencies, business, advertisements, tourists’ materials and PR products, and not
about Islam as such.
The highly present countries on the Web are: Egypt, Iran,
Lebanon, Morocco, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Malaysia.
Egypt’s WWW sites includes companies, personal Home Pages, colour tours,
institutes such as the Museum of Egyptian Collection, Egypt TV stations and Home
Pages of consulates like the Consulate of Egypt in Chicago. Saudi Arabian sites
offer news, radio, TV and collections of Arabic entertainment. News and analyses
include articles written by leading journalists and editors in the region such
as Khālid Al-Ma‘īna, Abdullāh Al-Rafā‘ī, and Mustafā Amīn whose columns appear
in such journals as al-Sharq al-Aawsat and al-Muslimūn. These sites also offer
programme listings of many radio and TV stations through Orbit Satellite and
Television Network.
There are many sites that are being fuelled by commercial
drives. The most overwhelming examples are Arabia On Line from Jordan and Arab
Net for the Gulf. The US-Arab Chamber of Commerce has its ‘1001 Sites’ on the
Web. The Internet is gradually becoming a medium of transactions and may soon
become as essential carrier of business life in many parts of the Muslim world.
The most active universities on the web are those of
Pakistan and Turkey. The International Islamic University Malaysia seems to have
the best university site in the Muslim world. The site of this university
includes a network of Islamic resources as well as literature of different
departments and faculties. Educators and intellectuals are challenged to be
acquainted with the university’s vision of integration of revealed knowledge and
social sciences. The site in question incorporates the University’s Research
Centre’s databases on different cultural and scientific endeavours in the Muslim
world.
The data classification on the Internet including those
provided by search engines seem to favour the actual socio-political divisions
in the Muslim world. The Arab world, for example, is treated independently from
the Muslim world. The same phenomenon is reproduced when such terms as Middle
East, South Asia, and North Africa are used. This categorisation limits the
ability to search data and material about the Muslim world. This can be seen in
such sites as Arab Net, Arab World Online, Model League of Arab States, Middle
East Network, Regional Arab Information, Arab resources, Arabia, etc. The same
trend characterises individual Muslim states that are portrayed as independent
entities. This includes such sites as Oman Net, Qatar Online, Iran Net,
Djazair-Online, etc.
3. Private Individuals
There are many scholars and private individuals who are
using cyberspace to provide Islamic resources and particular experiences
pertinent to different regions in the Muslim world. The most apparent example is
the Home Page of one of the most eminent Muslim scholar Shaykh Yūsuf al-Qaradāwī.
This Home Page virtually includes Qaradāwī’s Library which contains a large
number of references about a wide variety of Islamic topics including sharī‘ah,
da‘wah, Islamic economy, the Holy Qur’ān, the Sunnah, ‘Aqīdah, education,
Islamic awakening, literature, etc. These highly valuable English language
materials, originally sponsored by the General Institute of Islamic Culture of
al-Azhar University in Egypt, address the contemporary concerns of Muslims
abroad. The site also includes Fatāwā, research articles, comments, etc. and
provides the opportunity for interactivity. The new generation of Muslim
students is also busy trying to make their presence on cyberspace, a fact of
modern cyber world. The example is a Home Page constructed by a student at the
Department of Communication, International Islamic University Malaysia. The Home
Page in question introduces the home region of the students of Kashmir and
offers a large number of Islamic resources and links. This writer’s Personal
Home Page also provides resources in the filed of Islamic communication for
students and scholars.
4. Muslim Minorities
There are Muslim minorities in many parts of the world
which seek to reaffirm their attachment to Islam and provide the basic Islamic
resources for both Muslims and non-Muslims. The most active Muslim minorities in
cyberspace are those of India, South Africa, Singapore and Hong Kong. The web
site of a Muslim association in Singapore, for example, provides valuable
Islamic resources. These Muslim minorities seem to operate in an environment
that is advanced in terms of use of online and multimedia. Furthermore, the
ability to communicate in English has given these Muslim minorities the
opportunity to register their effective presence on the Internet to a greater
extent than in most of the Muslim majority countries.
5. Political Parties
There are many political parties in the Muslim world which
use cyberspace to propagate views of different political orientations. These
parties include Islamic parties and movements, both those that are generally
recognised as such and those that are not so recognised. The most active Islamic
parties and movements are those of Lebanon, Algeria, Iran, Libya, Pakistan,
Palestine and Turkey. This controversial development is sensitive and complex
indeed. The main issue that the Muslims will soon face is whether they are ready
to carry on their local disputes and conflicts at this global level and bear the
consequences of making such internal structures vulnerable to influential global
powers. The cyberspace is an open space indeed. Nonetheless, the questions of
moral and social responsibility have not been very much discussed in the context
of the Muslim society.
6. Islamic Centres in the Western World
There are many Islamic centres in U.K and USA in
particular, which seem to introduce the basic principles of Islam to the cyber
community in these societies and abroad. These sites provide texts as well as
audio material. The latter includes, for example, recitation of the Holy Qur’ān,
ie Huthayfi recitation, etc. The example of such sites is the Islamic Centre in
Blacksburg Virginia that has developed an Islamic Audio Studio among other
things.
7. Specialised Western Centres and Agencies
There are many centres and institutions in England, the
Unites States, etc. which specialise in Islam and Muslim affairs. A number of
these represent a continuation of Orientialism that sought to examine Islamic
heritage from the perspective of an outsider. This enterprise is envisioned for
many practical purposes. There are other institutions that specialise in certain
regions of the Muslim World: Middle East affairs, Iranian affairs, North African
affairs, South-eastern Asian affairs, etc. As such, the Muslim world is not
treated as a single coherent entity. Rather, this specialisation reflects the
state of division that characterises the Muslim Ummah today. The common example
of such institutions is the Institute of the Arab World in Paris which
specialises in different aspects of Arab culture: literature, education,
politics, etc. Generally, these institutions provide more extensive material on
Muslim than those found in many specialised institutions in the Muslim world.
Needless to say that the content provided needs to be viewed critically and in
the right perspective.
There is a strong sentiment among many Muslim scientists
that what we can call Islamic Internet is largely chaotic. Efforts to provide
Islamic resources are very often duplicated to the extent that many diverse
sites are doing almost exactly the same thing with different techniques. A call
has been made to establish a forum of World Islamic Network whereby these
efforts could be used in more productive ways. This unification process requires
co-operation of Islamic content providers, a task that seems to be unattainable
in the conditions presently prevalent in the Muslim world. The medium of the
Internet inherently encourages diversity whereby access, inter-activity and cost
are no major obstacles to such communication. The gate-keeping function
performed by traditional media of newspapers, radio and TV is hardly being
performed on the Internet. There exists no institution right now which can
filter the proclaimed content, authentic or otherwise. The specificity of the
medium should not exempt the providers of Islamic input from co-ordination that
would ensure authenticity and desired effect. This co-ordination should not only
be of a technical character, but ought to be, above all, a kind of moral
supervision.
8. Unauthentic Sources of Distortion
The dark site of this medium is the presence of many sites
that intentionally seek to distort the message of Islam and image of Muslims and
thus mislead the end users. These sites are mostly motivated by evil purposes,
often of a political nature. The striking example is the heretic site called
‘The Queer Masjid for Muslim Homosexuals’ which proposes to publish, among other
things, a book on the homosexual jihād. The content directly insults Muslims
and misguides others as to the true nature of Islam and the position of Islam
with regard to such immoral forms of behaviour as homosexuality. A number of
sects, particularly in India, are also using this cyberspace to propagate
uncertified claims in the name of Islam.
9. Muslim Media on the Internet
Many major daily newspapers in the Muslim world are on
line. These consist of government-owned papers, independent papers and party
papers.
The prominent papers such as al-Qabas (Kuwait), al-Sharq
al-Awsat, (Saudi Arabia), Berita Harian (Malaysia), al-Watan (Algeria) were
first to go on line. Shortly, the rest of papers followed. Now, we can find
Afghanistan Daily News, Albanian Daily News, Maroc Hebdo (Morocco), al-Ayyām
(Bahrain), Dawn (Pakistan), Bangladesh Newsletter, Berserkistan, (Bosnia and
Herzegovina), Egyptian Gazette, Ittila‘ āt (Iran), al-Anwar (Lebanon), Kompas
(Indonesia), al-Dastur (Jordan), etc. Many of these papers are published in the
language of the former colonial powers: French in North Africa and Lebanon, and
English in the rest of the Muslim world. Note that the French news agency,
Agence France Presse (AFP) puts the French-language papers in North Africa and
Lebanon under the umbrella of Francophone papers. This classification suggests
that language extends the sphere of influence of certain nations even though the
content of such language is fashioned by local considerations. Nonetheless, the
different languages used by Muslims such as Arabic, Persian, Urdu and Malay are
quite well represented. The most established ones includes al-I‘tidal, al-Jazīrah,
al-Madīnah (Saudi Arabia) al-Nahr, al-Safīr (Lebanon), al-Sha‘b (Algeria) and
al-Sabīl (Jordan) in Arabic; Ittilā‘āt (Iran) in Persian; and Urdū Akhbār
(Pakistan) in Urdu; and Jawa Post (Indonesia) in Malay. Evidently, the prominent
papers in the Muslim world are either government or semi-independent papers. The
party press is not quite developed for many reasons among which are the
underdeveloped political environment and lack of financial support. The
exception to this rule is the Egyptian party press whose historical traditions
provide the possibility to reflect, to a large extent, the diverse political
orientations in Egypt. This party press, however, is quite invisible on the
Internet. There are a number of Islamic movements, including the outlawed
movements, which use the Internet to disseminate certain materials in the form
of newsletters. The contents of these documents tend to be highly opinionated,
sporadic and outdated in most cases. The print media institutions include a
number of Islamic academic journals, bookstores and electronic news-stands.
A number of radio stations are also online. The example of
these are Radio Midil of Morocco, Radio Tunis of Tunisia, etc. The few TV
stations provide only print texts about programmes and summary of major reported
events. The example of the stations on the Web is Kanal D of Turkey and Iran
Sima of Iran, the latter is provided on-demand. Awmag (waves) in the MSA Web
is probably the most exhaustive site which provides access to online radio and
TV emanating from the Muslim world. A number of major news agencies in the
Muslim world are using the Internet to provide local news, financial and
economic services, etc. The example of these are the Algerian Agence Presse
Service and the Malaysian News Agency Bernama. This seemingly extensive
presence does not necessarily reflect Islamic input as much as classical
material about local politics, official positions and PR discourses.
Duplication vs Originality
The Islamic input on the Internet is not by any means
meagre. The efforts by a number of cultural associations need to be appreciated.
Nonetheless, the initial impression about Islamic Internet is the aspect of
repetition and lack of contemporary material on the different fields of
knowledge. The Internet cannot be expected to produce knowledge as such. It can
provide the space through which knowledge can be disseminated. Thus, the
Internet can only reflect what a given society or civilisation can produce and
has produced. The Muslim intellectuals and government institutions of research
and higher learning bear responsibility of the shortage of Islamic input.
Clearly, thus technology offers more space than what Muslims can deliver and use
at the moment.
The Islamic content on the Internet tends to reflect the
existing socio-political arrangement in the Muslim world with slight edge for
the independent, highly reputed cultural associations. As known, not everything
which carries the connotation of Islam is Islamic. In fact, much of the content
produced by individuals and institutions in the Muslim world is secular material
and is not much different from the Western model. Needless to say, such material
can create immediate positive reaction from the online consumers who happen to
come across such sites. The Internet seems to have this ability to make
illusions look like a reality. In any case, the Internet is a reality and has to
be recognised as such.
The Muslims can celebrate the fact that many original
Islamic resources are online now. The most important of these are the Holy
Qur’ān and the Sunnah of the Prophet (sws). The Holy Qur’ān is now accessible in
many different languages. The text is indexed and classified for easy access.
Islam, however, is to be disseminated through virtually unlimited number of ways
including intellectual production, da‘wah and other diverse processes that can
translate Islamic values into a living reality.
The Emerging Cyber Muslim Community
The Internet audience research is not yet available in the
Muslim context. Nonetheless, a sizeable Muslim audience both in the Muslim and
Western world is already a part of this global cyber community. The cyber
community in the Muslim world is an elite audience composed of engineers,
academicians, students and officials. This technology requires PC availability,
electronic data and telecommunication infrastructure. The PC penetration in most
parts of the Muslim world is quite low. The rates of illiteracy, not to mention
computer illiteracy, vary from high to moderate. This has adversely affected
access to such technology. The cost factor is another variable that makes
computers the instruments of the rich. Further, telecommunication technology is
not well developed, a fact which hinders the development of both intra and
international computer networks.
This elite cyberspace community may grow and set the basis
for a much important civil society in the Muslim world. However, neither the
Internet users are close to a ‘critical mass’ stage nor is the Internet treated
as a valuable market platform in many parts of the Muslim world. While the
Internet market is saturated in America and AT & T expects electronic commerce
via the Internet to reach $20 billion by the turn of the century in Asia alone,
the Muslim region still suffers from inaccessibility.
Old Concerns and New Challenge
The fact the many Muslims are interacting with each other
as never before is bound to have major culture, political and commercial
ramifications. So far, the Internet seems to mainly affect the elite segment in
the Muslim world. The Muslim intellectual community in the Western world has the
advantage to be the first to use and introduce Islamic inputs in this new medium
of communication. Soon, the medium gained grounds among educational
institutions, intellectuals, business entrepreneurs and government agencies in
many parts of the Muslim world. Today, the new communication technology is
already affecting the Muslim environment and it is increasingly becoming a new
reality that is not only shaping the way the Muslims communicate with each other
but the way they think and perceive the local and global worlds.
The apparent positive outcome of this instant two-way
communication is that many Muslim can have communication and share knowledge and
experience with no apparent restriction. This may lead later to the emergence of
a new Muslim cyber community that is not only shaped by national considerations,
but by the universal values of Islam. The Muslims can also have access to
knowledge and information that were until recently beyond reach. The commercial
Internet also may change the way the Muslim do business and may improve their
economic efficiency.
This communication technology produces drawbacks that
raise solemn cultural concerns in the Muslim context. The most important
component of this is the presence of pornography, violence and other meaningless
content which adversely affect the new vulnerable generation of Muslims. This
concern is not actually new since the media of television and video have
previously generated criticism and resistance by the Muslims and the non-Muslim
alike on the same score. The new element of such new technology is the inability
to exercise any form of supervision and control. On the societal level, it is
not quite clear whether this medium will weaken the family and erode the role
played so far by interpersonal communication and social network in the
transmission of knowledge, culture and heritage. There seem to be various
political implications too. This technology can improve access to government.
Contrarily, the medium can be used to spread rumours and engage in
‘dis-information campaign’ against governments and institutions.
Recently a number of software and technical devices have
been introduced to block incoming and outgoing unwanted material and guard
against security breaches on the Internet. The basic function of this “firewall”
is to intelligently isolate unwanted material. All traffic coming from the
‘outside’ of a firewall is constrained to pass through a single choke-point.
Because it does so, the firewall has the opportunity to check that the data
passage is acceptable – that is, it conforms to the criteria of the site.
Similarly, a firewall ensures that outbound traffic is also non-threatening or
that people within your organisation are not communicating with outside entities
that you have chosen to disallow. Other blocking software such as Cyber Patrol,
Cyber Sitter and Cyber Watch are developed to keep certain segment of end users,
such as children, away from inappropriate sites on the Web.
Still censorship is becoming an important issue in the
Muslim context. The old North South debate between advocates of free flow of
information and promoters of balanced and guided system of communication has
recently resurfaced. The political authorities find some kind of information
objectionable. There is concern over the possible threat to moral values and
traditions posed by the new medium of the Internet. The Internet provider in the
United Arab Emirate, for example, is taking steps to censor Web sites that are
deemed to violate moral standards. The perceptions about Islam and Muslims can
now be restructured in such a way that a balanced and genuine representation may
emerge in such a way that the Muslim master and extend their presence in this
cyber world of communication.
Islamic Internet in the Age of Globalization
The Internet has generated a lot of enthusiasm combined
seemingly with certain fear that such a medium may challenge the foundation of
basic social institutions which have so far ensured some level of socialisation:
educational, and socio-political. This enthusiasm-fear complex is historically
associated with almost every new medium of communication. The invention of
writing (6,000 BC), the printing press (15th Century), film and radio (1920s)
and Television (1959s) have all engendered a psychological and cultural shock
whereby people are prompted to make various adjustments in their life ways
including the ways of communication. McLuhah, an advocate of technological
determinism, has echoed this state of mind when he proclaimed his famous
statement that ‘the medium is the message’. To him, every new medium alters
perceptions and ways of thinking and thus generates certain resistance among the
end users. The author maintains that such a process disturbs old habits and
forces people to adopt new conventions through a tedious process of refitting
and reconciliation. This view, however, is mostly technical, emphasising ways
rather than contents of communication. As such, little is said about whether a
new medium transfigures or deforms the nature of existing cultures and values.
It is my considered opinion that the Internet is both a medium and a message.
The content of such medium mainly reflects the already existing arrangements at
the economic and socio-political levels both locally and globally. However, it
seems in the fitness of things that the Muslims should use cyberspace in the
most meaningful way to disseminate the true values of Islam. As for the
dichotomy of good and evil, it seems to be inherent in every medium.
Muslim civilisation thrived when the message of Islam was
conveyed through many channels, including oral and written communication. The
Muslims used the written material effectively when the Holy Qur’ān, the Sunnah
(first) and the major works of the Muslim scholars were preserved and
documented. In recent times, the Muslims have also to utilise the modern media
of newspapers to promote the cause of national independence from the control of
the colonial powers. The audio-visual communication of radio and television has,
however, shrunk Muslim participation in this content. The Muslims produced
little content in the form of video materials. As such, they consumed a form of
mass culture produced by others. The introduction of the Internet has brought
back the importance of written material of which the Muslims have produced great
works in literature, art, science, jurisprudence, etc.
The Muslim input on the Internet is currently modest.
Certainly, the dissemination of the Holy Qur’ān and Hadīth outweighs any other
content. This presence must be celebrated as the greatest event this medium has
produced as far as Muslims and human beings in general are concerned.
Nonetheless, much remains to be done on how to reproduce Islamic knowledge and
ethics in different aspects of contemporary cultural, socio-political and
economic life of society in general.
The negative aspect of the new medium of the Internet is
the presence of the unauthentic content that pretends to represent Islam. There
are sects, alien or deviant from the mainstream of Islam, which seek to spread
certain ideologies in the name of Islam. This is the case of some important
sects in India. There are many Websites that intentionally seek to distort the
main thrust of Islam and paint the Muslims with certain classical biased
stereotypes. Thus, there is an urgent need to develop constant awareness and
start a vigorous campaign to expose and rebuke such provocative and demeaning
material. The authentic Islamic input on the Internet could ensure that the
message of Islam is universalised.
Suggested Readings
1. Featherstone, Mike and Burrows, Roger, Cyberspace,Cyberbodies, Cyberpunik: Cultures of Technological Embodiment
(London: Sage Publications, 1995).
2. Steve Jones, Cybersociety: Computer-mediated
Communication and Cultural (Thousand Oaks, Califs: Sage Publications, 1995)
3. Kahin, Brain and Nesson Charles, Borders in
Cyberspace: Information Policy and the Global Information Infrastructure
(Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press, 1977).
4. Brain Loader, The Governance of Cyberspace:
Politics, Technology and Global Restructuring (London: Routledge, 1997).
(Courtesy: The ‘Islamic Studies, Quarterly’, Islamabad)
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