I
went to the lecture, maybe not even with the intention of reviewing
it, and here I am. What I came out with—despite my observation
that most of the audience did not understand the lecture for what it
was, or appreciate the genuine sense of subtlety and profound
research talent—was an intellectual “itch.” Despite the
distance that could be sensed between the subject matter—“Islam
and the Internet”—and the distance that the paradigmatic subtext
of the work had traveled along in its inherent chain of thought, the
work proved to be well constructed; as its intellectual foundations
were solid enough to take the argument to a high dialectical
edifice.
What
I came out with was an intellectual “itch.”
|
|
The
lecture, which took place on October 10 at the Goethe Institute, the
German
Cultural
Center
in
Cairo
, as a part of the German Festival filled the lecture hall
completely.
How
could a topic like “Islam and the Internet” knock with a subtle
hand on the high doors of pressing debates such as “modernism and
traditionalism,” “personal judgment,” “individualism and
personal interpretation of text,” “virtual Ummah,”
“the referential position of scripture, text, and individuals,”
“role and qualification of a scholar,” and many more? Although
the research did not go outside the Muslim electronic existence on
the World Wide Web, the reflections of all such ideas on the realm
of the work was noticed. Is the Internet an actual reflection of the
Muslim reality? Or, is reality reflecting itself on the Muslim
Internet? Is the “online” a direct indication of the
“offline”? Or is “online” contributing to things going “offline”
(as the Internet comes with inherited values, generated from its
modern, Western designation)?
Dr.
Albrecht Hofheinz, a subtle and sober voice, who I had the pleasure
of meeting after the lecture to discuss his work, revealed
interesting findings. His lecture brushed away many general
assumptions about the issue at hand; mostly relating to the
sensationalist—to say the least—“terrorist” Web sites. What
was even more interesting was his introductory remark that only the
Internet, unlike the introduction of other technological
advancements, such as the television, was not received with
jurisprudential debate concerning its validity: Its scope, impact,
and lawfulness has not been debated amongst Moslem scholars, unlike
its technological sisters that, throughout history, were received by
a thorough debate on their bearing and their impact on the quality
of the Muslim individual in relation to his God, which ultimately
determines their position.
In
spite of the lack of scholarly attention, the cultural and moral
dimensions of the Internet have been the subject of heated debate in
many circles. Hofheinz mainly focuses on “The Internet and the
Change of Moral Values in Arab Societies.” Because the economic
benefits of the Internet, in his view, were never seen as
problematic, his main interest in the Arab use of the Internet
focuses more on the sociological. Against the falsehood of equating
the Arab and Muslim use and development of the Internet as
“e-jihad,” he tries to unearth the actual, true effect of the
Internet on Arabs, especially in relation to Islamic interests, and
how this is affecting moral values.
In
spite of the lack of scholarly attention, the cultural and moral
dimensions of the Internet have been the subject of heated debate
in many circles.
|
|
Amongst
the top 150 most popular Arab Web sites, there are 50 religious
ones. Arabs seem to have a vivid interest in religion. This number
is not matched by any other country or region in the world,
including the US, where religion plays an important role in many aspects of society.
Statistically
speaking, as Hofheinz’s research shows, in 2002, the total number
of Internet users in the Arab world was 7.5 million, which is 3
percent of the Arab population. By the end of 2005, the number is
expected to reach 25 million, still only 8 percent of the Arab
population. In particular, Egypt and Saudi Arabia will be mainly responsible for this growth. However, economic
factors will hinder further increase of this percentage; according
to Hofheinz, a maximum of 15 percent is the highest that could be
achieved, considering the socio-economic reality.
As
he asserts, the Internet, in essence, is a medium for the younger
generation. And, of course, as youth constitutes a phase of moral
and intellectual formation and development, the cyber-impact could
be intensified, especially when dealing with a topic as sensitive as
religion. The work deals with how the inherent values of the
Internet are reflected on the Muslim cyber-existence. The main users
of the Internet are middle-aged professionals, but now include many
other social groups. For them all, the Web seems to be a
particularly suitable space for the process of
“socialization”—the main reason for the change of values in
the Arab world. The findings that more women are using the Internet
than men, that more and more people with a low educational background go
online, and that most users belong to the urbanized population,
surely contribute to this change in values.
The
Web seems to be a particularly suitable space for the process of
“socialization”—the main reason for the change of values in
the Arab world. |
|
Still,
the Arab Internet is a not a mass medium for private use. However,
for a special part of society who are intensively using the Net,
namely students and graduates of higher education, journalists,
civil servants, politicians, parties, activists, big companies, its
effect is becoming more instrumental. The use of the Internet
started for the purpose of communicating with relatives abroad. Now,
it is these same people who rely on it for a long term experience
for two purposes: gathering information and communication. A third
use, which seems exceptionally popular amongst Arabs, is the
discussion forums. The three main (“golden”) taboos here are
religion, politics, and male-female relations. Islamists and
nationalists seem to conquer the floor of the debates, creating an
“Islamist nationalist debate,” which is not a new discursive product, but one that
reinforces itself from the offline mass media. Also, information
gathering from non-local and critical sources (like Al-Jazeera and
the BBC) is a popular motivation for going online.
As
for the general picture of the majority of Islamic sites, they are
moderate and reformist. They predominantly consist of non-political
Salafie neo-fundamentalist voices and opinions that call for moral
reformation. This Islam seems to flourish on the Net because of the
funding coming from the “oil-money Islam,” generated by the
wealthy Gulf. Hofheinz emphasizes that the much less popular
“militant” message is mainly related to the occupied
territories, such as Palestine and Iraq. Even for Arab activists, Cyberspace is still no more than a source
for research, not for mobilization of common interests. We are
reminded that the majority of Arab Web surfers are in fact not
politically minded at all.
 |
|
A picture of the
minarets of Al-Azhar at night, the oldest functioning university
in the world and the lighthouse of Islamic scholarship.
|
It
is no wonder that the Internet is very popular amongst the youth.
The possibility of transformation through the use of the Internet
will depend on how the content and means of communication will
acquire greater meaning in the socialization of the youth and the
formation of their opinions. Especially in the formation of opinion,
Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and UAE take the lead (the last two especially for financial
reasons). This is proven by the fact that most of the Arab Web
sites, religious or otherwise, originate in or are funded by
resources from the Gulf. Reality shows that although, theoretically
speaking, the Internet is a medium in which people with little
knowledge can publish their opinions, in practice, economic force is
stronger in determining who has a voice and an audience.
Reality
shows that although, theoretically speaking, the Internet is a
medium in which people with little knowledge can publish their
opinions, in practice, economic force is stronger in determining
who has a voice and an audience.
|
|
One
can conclude that the essence of Muslim cyber-presence seems to
conform to axioms and the conditions that created electronic space;
modernity’s commitment to mass communication. As a state
abstracted by values such as individualism, religious freedom, and
freedom of expression, among many others, its products necessarily
inherit such values. The products of modernity, for better or worse,
are not
value free. The values of modernity slip, intentionally or
unintentionally, into the intellectual and technological products
under the modern condition. These products represent the conditions
they were created in. To be aware of that, to see the effects of
that, to deal with that—in one way or another—is the heart of
the matter. Let us now have a closer look at the biggest Islamic Web
sites in the context of this thought.
The
products of modernity, for better or worse, are not
value free.
|
|
It
is not a coincidence that the biggest Islamic Web sites are
subscribers to modernist Islam. The neat looking and high-tech Web
site of popular numero
uno preacher Amr Khaled (amrkhaled.net) comes to the
forefront. It is second to IslamOnline (IOL). After Amr Khaled has
been the star of many shows on numerous satellite channels, the
cable network seems not to be enough. Amr Khaled’s Web site, too, tops all. The
Web site, a byproduct of mass education, fragmented knowledge,
reverence for the printed word, and an avant
garde setting, enjoys incredible and ascending
popularity. With its positivist and dynamic message and socially
conscious discourse as its essence, it easily won the top position.
Our
Web site, IOL, conquered the top of Muslim online positions. The
original message of IOL is to offer a portal for modernist and
activist Islamic discourse. In theory, this discourse, reformist in
nature, tries to find a middle ground between modernity, with all its
axioms, and Islam, with both its principles and various
understandings of those principles. IOL now offers many streams of
thought within modernist Islam, more diverse than that of Amr
Khaled’s and other Web sites. In a meeting with Dr. Hofheinz,
Hisham Ja`far, the editor-in-chief of the Arabic section of IOL,
explained to the researcher that IslamOnline has managed not to be
merely a Web site associated with the thoughts of Sheikh Yusuf
Al-Qaradawi, the chairman of the board. It has become a “reference
for discourse,” a modernist, liberal, and reformist one. With
activism being at the heart of the Web site, IslamOnline tries to
reach out to the “sociological” backdoor of the Internet,
bringing together many voices and efforts.
Of
course the Internet has provided an excellent opportunity to
“reform” Muslim thought; to try to marry the untrusting couple,
Islam and modernity. Modern Islam has found a new medium for itself.
On the other hand, traditional Islam, with its comprehensive and
interconnected system of knowledge, uninterrupted chains of
transmission of teaching (silsilah),
reverence for qualified and authorized scholars and teachers,
detachment from the worldly dimension and emphasis on the spiritual
dimension, seems to be drawn to the backstage of Cyberspace. The silsilah has always been an important institution
and a major criterion for legitimization in all traditional Islamic sciences
such as jurisprudence, Hadith, tafseer
(exegesis), Qur'anic recitation and tasawwuf.
Modern
Islam has found a new medium for itself. On the other hand,
traditional Islam…seems to be drawn to the backstage of
Cyberspace.
|
|
As
a medium, the Internet, with its setting and structure, seems to
favor modernist Islam. For the Internet, with its basic notion of
unlimited access to all, provides equal footing for the qualified
and the commoner alike. There is now the boundless and
self-perpetuating electronic space where everyone is free to publish
their interpretation and judgment. The Qur’an and the Sunnah are
being discussed on popular forums, unlike the in the 7th century,
for example, when the discussion of such topics was confined to
“qualified” and specialized scholars. Oversimplification and
then absolutization seem to be the order of the day. This has led to
what Hofheinz has termed “My Islam”: a lingo spread on
discussion forums and personal web sites wherein generalizations and
statements like “the Islam I know”… “Islam as everyone knows
is” are familiar; hence, “My Islam”.
The
Internet, as it gives equal access to all e-publishers, might create
a virtual but unrealistic account of both the publisher/author and
readership. Having an interactive cyber-existence for each party or
person could make them look on a par with each other. For example,
both al-Azhar, the oldest functioning university in the world and
vanguard of Islamic scholarship, and a marginal heretical group
could appear to share equal status and credibility, by the grace of
having one Web site each. For someone who does not know much about
the Islamic and Muslim makeup, both could look equally influential.
Moreover, any Web page, as it comes in a technological wrapping,
could bear the fake seal of “qualification”—especially since
there is no actual contact with the author. In this, the Internet
seems to further deepen the gulf between authorship and authority.
The
Internet, as it gives equal access to all e-publishers, might
create a virtual but unrealistic account of both the
publisher/author and readership.
|
|
The
values that the Internet carries are suitable and befitting to a
certain Islam. The significant point here is that, as the Internet
helps create a “virtual sense” of contact with the outside world
and a sense of independence from one’s local surroundings, it
undoubtedly contributes to the weakening of the traditional as well
as the social understanding of oneself. Surely, this will be
mirrored in one’s religiosity.
Nonetheless,
Hofheinz sees that the religion of the Internet is just one offering
amongst many. That feeling of autonomy with regard to reading a text
and understanding it is what the young are trying to achieve through
keeping themselves away from the established religious authority;
the same axiom of modernist Islam. In that, an Islam based on few
references (vis-à-vis that of traditional Islam which is based on
qualified and established works of successive religious scholarly
authority) is given precedence. All popular Salafie-inclined portals
e-publish such reductionist sources.
Whether
Arabs realize how the Internet works as a virus that imports its
integral values into their religious thought is a question that I,
for one, believe will take more space in the future…
|
|
Despite
the unlimited access the Web offers, the reduction, coupled with
fragmentation, of Islam and its “re-prioritization” continues.
The result, as Hofheinz brilliantly diagnoses, is the
“canonization of information” by the popular electronic outlets.
Cyber-individuality may seem to be confined to its domain; that of
the individual’s right to access and to debate. However, the
generation which is now dealing with the Internet will grow and
claim their role in affecting public life in the Arab social and
religious space. Whether Arabs realize how the Internet works as a
virus that imports its integral values into their religious thought
is a question that I, for one, believe will take more space in the
future; whether in the offsite realm, or the onsite one is an
altogether different question. The Internet seems to prove itself as
another ground for the individualistic and modernist “My Islam”
to stand against the authentic “traditional Islam”.
Related
Links:
Tarek
A. Ghanem is the editor of the Contemporary Issues Page
