"As the most widespread and popular form of communication in the country, radio occupies an essential space in the deliberation and the construction of public opinion in South Africa. From just a few state-controlled stations during the apartheid era, there are now more than 100 radio stations, reac
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hing vast swathes of the population and providing an important space for citizens to air their views and take part in significant socio-economic and political issues of the country. The various contributors to this book demonstrate that whilst print and television media often serve elite interests and audiences, the low cost and flexibility of radio has helped it to create a ‘common’ space for national dialogue and deliberation. The book also investigates the ways in which digital technologies have enhanced the consumption of radio and produced a sense of imagined community for citizens, including those in marginalised communities and rural areas." (Publisher description)
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"New Media and Religious Transformations in Africa casts a critical look at Africa's rapidly evolving religious media scene. Following political liberalization, media deregulation, and the proliferation of new media technologies, many African religious leaders and activists have appropriated such me
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dia to strengthen and expand their communities and gain public recognition. Media have also been used to marginalize and restrict the activities of other groups, which has sometimes led to tension, conflict, and even violence. Showing how media are rarely neutral vehicles of expression, the contributors to this multidisciplinary volume analyze the mutual imbrications of media and religion during times of rapid technological and social change in various places throughout Africa." (Publisher description)
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"In this essay an attempt is made to reflect upon, and to provide, a general overview of the position of the media and religion and the relationship between these two sectors in Southern Africa. Instead of covering the vast Southern African region, it will confine itself to reviewing the position an
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d interconnection of these elements in specific countries. Before contextualising religion and the media in a given region, there is a need to construct a theoretical framework that will assist the understanding and nature of this relationship." (Abstract)
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"South Africa's Muslim community like all its other religious minority communities has been proactive in preserving its religious identity through the formation of a number of institutions. Over the past three centuries the community has occupied itself in not only erecting mosques and building coll
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eges for Islamic instruction as a way of publicly reflecting the community's religious and cultural identity, but it has also been involved in the preparation of religious texts that assisted in providing more detailed information about its identity. The production of religious literature has however been largely the preserve of a few talented and inspired individuals in the community, over more than two centuries. This paper concerns itself with the production of the 'Muslim book' in South Africa during the 20th century, focussing on the contribution of a number of specific individuals. It thus provides a background sketch of the development of the production of the 'Muslim book,' and demonstrates how these theologians have made a substantial input to South African literature in general." (Hans M. Zell, Publishing, Books & Reading in Sub-Saharan Africa, 3d ed. 2008, nr. 1010)
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