"The television broadcasting culture of Pakistan was changed dramatically in 2002. The President, General Pervez Musharraf, introduced a policy of liberalisation that enabled controversial issues such as honour killings, adultery, stoning to death, domestic violence, marriage after divorce and homos
...
exuality to be increasingly depicted on screen. Women and TV Culture in Pakistan is the first in-depth analysis of this change in television content. Munira Cheema focuses on how 'gender issues' are dealt with on TV and examines the impact this has on female viewers. In Pakistan, television is often the only way in which women can access the public sphere (except through male guardians) and this book evaluates how TV content allows them to navigate their intersecting identities as Muslims, women and Pakistanis. At a time when religious conservatism is on the rise in the country, this book investigates why producers choose to focus on gender-based issues and the extent to which religion dictates social behaviour and broadcasting choices. Based on interviews with women viewers in Karachi as well as industry professionals including writers, directors and ratings experts, the research is a much-needed and original contribution to global television studies and gender studies." (Publisher description)
more
"This volume explores how societies are addressing challenging questions about the relationship between expression, traditional and societal values, and the transformations introduced by new information communications technologies. It seeks to identify alternative approaches to the role of speech an
...
d expression in the organization of societies as well as efforts to shape the broader global information society. How have different societies or communities drawn on the ideas of philosophers, religious leaders or politicians, both historical and contemporary, that addressed questions of speech, government, order or freedoms and applied them, with particular attention to applications in the digital age? The essays include a wide variety of cultural and geographic contexts to identify different modes of thinking. The goal is to both unpack the 'normative' internet and free expression debate and to deepen understanding about why certain internet policies and models are being pursued in very different local or national contexts as well as on a global level." (Publisher description)
more
"Generally, images in art forms occupy a controversial position in the Islamic world. The Sunni branch of Islam, considered more conservative and strict does not approve or condone representational art of the human form for fear that it would eventually turn into an object of worship. The Shi’ite
...
branch of Islam, however, has a radically opposing perspective and consequently allows figurative representation in its art forms. The situation becomes more complicated when it comes to depicting prophets, who, starting from the Prophet Muhammad, are prohibited in Sunni Islam from being figuratively represented in any form. This article discusses the representation of spirituality in religious media in Nigeria, especially the reception of the representation of Biblical and Islamic prophets in dubbed Iranian films targeted at popular culture consumption. I situate my discussion within the matrix of social control and censorship in northern Nigerian Muslim cultures." (Abstract)
more
"Outbreaks of religious intolerance are usually assumed to be visceral and spontaneous. But in 'Hate Spin', Cherian George shows that they often involve sophisticated campaigns manufactured by political opportunists to mobilize supporters and marginalize opponents. Right-wing networks orchestrate th
...
e giving of offense and the taking of offense as instruments of identity politics, exploiting democratic space to promote agendas that undermine democratic values. George calls this strategy “hate spin”—a double-sided technique that combines hate speech (incitement through vilification) with manufactured offense-taking (the performing of righteous indignation). It is deployed in societies as diverse as Buddhist Myanmar and Orthodox Christian Russia. George looks at the world's three largest democracies, where intolerant groups within India's Hindu right, America's Christian right, and Indonesia's Muslim right are all accomplished users of hate spin. He also shows how the Internet and Google have opened up new opportunities for cross-border hate spin." (Publisher description)
more
"Offers up-to-date insights into the state of library and information science (LIS) in the Middle East and North Africa. Covered topics include information literacy, intellectual property, LIS education and research, publishing and more. This timely contribution thus presents vital areas of research
...
on a region that receives relatively little coverage and is currently experiencing rapid and significant changes." (Publisher description)
more
"The development of new and social networking sites, as well as the growth of transnational Arab television, has triggered a debate about the rise in transnational political and religious identification, as individuals and groups negotiate this new triad of media, religion and culture. This book exa
...
mines the implications of new media on the rise of political Islam and on Islamic religious identity in the Arab Middle East and North Africa, as well as among Muslim Arab Diasporas. Undoubtedly, the process of globalization, especially in the field of media and ICTs, challenges the cultural and religious systems, particularly in terms of identity formation. Across the world, Arab Muslims have embraced new media not only as a source of information but also as a source of guidance and fatwas, thereby transforming Muslim practices and rituals. This volume brings together chapters from a range of specialists working in the field, presenting a variety of case studies on new media, identity formation and political Islam in Muslim communities both within and beyond the MENA region." (Publisher description)
more
"The aim of the present book is to offer an overview and report on Strategic Communication for Non-Profit-Organisations and the Challenges and Alternative Approaches. Considering the assumption that a key principle of strategic communication is the achievement of organisational goals, the majority o
...
f research developed in the field has used business environments to develop theories, models, empirical insights and case studies. Here, we take a step towards new approaches centred on the concept of non-profit in various dimensions and from various perspectives, showing the diversity and complexity around this subject and at the same time the need of further theoretical and empirical work that provides frameworks and also tools for further understanding of the phenomena." (Publisher description)
more
"Much has been made of the role of various media in the shaping of conflicts and political agendas in today's Arab world. This volume examines this topic with interdisciplinary contributions that range across media studies, anthroplogy, religious studies, and political science and explore both new a
...
nd older media forms." (Publisher description)
more
"Myanmar is home to one of the longest running intrastate conflicts in the world, involving a series of ethnic and religious clashes that have caused harm to all parties involved. The ideology of a homogeneity based on Buddhism and the Bamar ethnicity has marginalized minority groups, which make up
...
a third of the population, and has particularly affected the Rakhine state’s Buddhist and Muslim communities, the latter of which are subject to what international human rights organizations are calling an ethnic cleansing. Since the government relaxed restrictions to the access of foreign websites, the social media site Facebook has become a popular means to disseminate misinformation and rumours, and this has created mistrust and hatred against Muslims across the country, heightening the polarization between Buddhist and Muslim groups. This study will combine conflict analysis with the assessment of different approaches of countering hate speech to propose which methods of intervention are most suitable for this situation in Myanmar. Lederach argues that to counter hatred and avoid reoccurrence of violence, deep alterations of the parties’ relationships is needed. This idea forms the basis for chapter three which examines educational methods, interfaith projects and social media campaigns to both prevent and change negative attitudes towards the religious ‘Other’. It argues that education and awareness campaigns are more effective than the implementation of legal regulation as we need to combat the underlying issue. In addition to secondary sources, this study involved field research to collect information about how the youth are influence by hate speech and counter hate campaigns in Myanmar." (Abstract)
more
"Religion and popular culture is a fast-growing field that spans a variety of disciplines. This volume offers the first real survey of the field to date and provides a guide for the work of future scholars. It explores: "key issues of definition and of methodology, religious encounters with popular
...
culture across media, material culture and space, ranging from videogames and social networks to cooking and kitsch, architecture and national monuments, representations of religious traditions in the media and popular culture, including important non-Western spheres such as Bollywood." (Publisher description)
more
"Overall, the evaluators found that the project’s approach was quite relevant in promoting religious freedom and preventing religious radicalization. The project targeted pesantrens affiliated to the traditional Islam Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), and at the same time, it empowered the mainstream moderate
...
Islam that has been seen as ‘silent majority’. Subsequently, it provided a countermeasure against the ‘vocal minority’ extremists in the country. In this regard, a similar attempt could have been done among the modernist Islam Muhammadiyah educational institutions, which have older roots in Indonesian society. Radio programs have been attractively designed, especially for the young audience, and encouraged them to be agents of change among the Muslim community. The progressive Islamic study programs clearly provided theological basis for religious freedom and against religious violence. Meanwhile, the video documentary provided the students a reality check, a chance to deal with the real world’s cultural and religious diversity. Both activities were sufficient and complemented each other, in rising their critical awareness on the issues of tolerance and radicalization. The pesantren based radio broadcasting service has been seen as a spiritual oasis by its surrounding community, and facilitated them to digest the moderate Islamic knowledge. Otherwise, they would fulfill their spiritual hunger with another kind of religiousity which is radical and extremist in nature. However, not all of the radio stations pay equal attention to both targets: the young students and the community members. Due to some considerations, some pesantrens prefer to focus on serving the external beneficiaries (community), while ignoring the internal ones (young students). Some pesantrens
unexpectedly did the contrary. In this case, regular monitoring is necessary to ensure and remind stakeholders to meet their actual objectives." (Executive summary)
more
"The role of religious leaders in countries with very large Muslim populations such as Indonesia continues to attract world attention. However, mainstream media often focus on fundamentalist Muslim clerics. What seems to be missing from these narratives is efforts by moderate Muslim leaders to thwar
...
t fundamentalism by improving their communication style and their use of media and technology in order to reach young people as well as the wider community. This article explores the communication approaches and methods favored by Indonesian Islamic leaders—including use of both conventional and cutting-edge technology—to communicate with their followers. Interviews with 10 Muslim leaders were conducted in order to better understand their rich experiences. Findings suggest that Islamic preachers have embraced new technology and new media to communicate with their followers and attract a younger audience." (Abstract)
more
"Media Evolution on the Eve of the Arab Spring brings together some of the most celebrated and respected names in Arab media research to reflect on the communication conditions that preceded and made the Arab uprisings possible." (Publisher description)
"The following stories come from ten pesantren (Islamic boarding schools) in Indonesia that participated in Search for Common Ground (SFCG) Indonesia’s project to promote peace and tolerance in pesantren across Indonesia [...] Search for Common Ground (SFCG) Indonesia implemented this two-year pro
...
ject from September 2011 to February 2014, in partnership with The Wahid Institute and Perhimpunan Pengembangan Pesantren dan Masyarakat (P3M). With a total number of 18,000 schools across Indonesia, pesantren are the oldest basis of Islamic education in the country and highly influential in spreading tolerance and peace. Through the production of radio and short films by pesantren students or santri, SFCG Indonesia sought to encourage male and female pesantren leaders, teachers and students to be critical in dealing with problems of intolerance and radicalism, while also disseminating the values of tolerance and peace in their communities. The stories documented in this book serve as a future reference of the project’s successes. The book records the significant changes experienced by the santri and their teachers, when these changes occurred and the important lessons learned from this project. Out of the ten pesantren that participated in the project, SFCG selected five pesantren to provide stories that illustrate the changes mentioned above. This book summarizes seven stories from the perspectives of pesantren students, leaders and teachers." (Foreword)
more
"In this chaper, Hamid Mowlana elucidates four cardinal concepts of the Islamic worldview that may serve as the fundamental principles of ethical communication in Muslim societies: (1) tawhid (unity, coherence, and harmony of all in the universe), (2) amr bi al-ma'ruf wa nahy'an al munkar (commandin
...
g to the right and prohibiting from the wrong), (3) ummah (community), and (4) taqwa (piety). It is his thesis that, in contrast to the ethical foundation of the modern West with its emphasis on the secular, ethics in the Islamic world are predicated on the inseparability of the religious and the social. Throughout Islamic history, he asseverates, information has been not a commodity but a moral imperative." (Page 237)
more
"Mixing religion and public diplomacy can produce volatile results, but in a world in which the dissemination and influence of religious beliefs are enhanced by new communications technologies, religion is a factor in many foreign policy issues and must be addressed. Faith is such a powerful part of
...
so many people's lives that it should be incorporated in public diplomacy efforts if they are to have meaningful resonance among the publics they are trying to reach." (Publisher description)
more