Anonymous, 18 May 2012
Research on Middle East, Islam and digital media
NEWS

New Report: The Sharia-Conscious Consumer: Driving Demand

The Economist Intelligence Unit released its report The Sharia-Conscious Consumer: Driving Demand written by Nigel Gibson and edited by Trevor McFarlane. The report "seeks to determine the factors that have an impact on the...

The 11th Arab Media Forum in Dubai

The 11th Arab Media Forum, themed "Arab Media: Exposure and Transition", was held from 8–9 May in Dubai. The event drew "the participation of over 3,000 regional and international journalists, as well as influential decision...

New Report: Empowering Independent Media: U.S. Efforts to Foster a Free Press and an Open Internet Around the World

The Center for International Media Assistance (CIMA) at the National Endowment for Democracy released the second edition of its report Empowering Independent Media: U.S. Efforts to Foster a Free Press and an Open Internet Around...

Report: An Explosion of News: The State of Media in Afghanistan

The Center for International Media Assistance (CIMA) at the National Endowment for Democracy released its report titled An Explosion of News: The State of Media in Afghanistan written by Peter Cary. The report "describes and...

Book: Arab Youth: Social Mobilization in Times of Risk

This book explores some of the antecedents of the upheavals and anticipates alternative venues of resistance that marginalized youth, from Lebanon, Syria and Palestine to Saudi Arabia, Morocco and Iran, can mobilize to realize...
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ARTICLES

Political Activism 2.0: Comparing the Role of Social Media in Egypt’s “Facebook Revolution” and Iran’s “Twitter Uprising”

Social media, particularly blogging, Facebook and Twitter, have played a key role in instigating, accelerating and even organizing some of the uprisings and revolutions that have been taking place all over the Middle East. This...
CyberOrient

Affinities of Dissent: Cyberspace, Performative Networks and the Iranian Green Movement

This paper argues that the role of Internet activism in the Green Movement, a social protest movement that emerged after the contested 2009 presidential elections in Iran, lies in the creative configuration of complex networks...
CyberOrient

Speaking of Invasion: Narratives over Arabs in Eksi Sozluk, a Virtual Community in Turkey

Since the day it was founded, Eksi Sozluk (sour dictionary) has been one of the most popular virtual communities in Turkey, fostering cultural and political discussions and acting as a public sphere. This paper examines contested...
CyberOrient

Islamic Shura, Democracy, and Online Fatwas

Publications on the Islamic shura concept – Arabic and English – usually include a comparison with present-day liberal democracy. This paper addresses the issue of shura and democracy from the perspective of Muslim communities...
CyberOrient

The King, the Mufti & the Facebook Girl: A Power Play. Who Decides What is Licit in Islam?

Saudi Arabia enforces a ban on woman driving on the grounds that it is prohibited by sharia law. Women’s associations have actively denounced this ban for years, arguing that it was the only Muslim country which had such a...
CyberOrient

Die Fotografie im Osmanischen Reich

Besides its value as an excellent introduction to the early history of photography in the Ottoman Empire, Nimet Șeker’s book Die Fotografie im Osmanischen Reich provides the reader with valuable insights into Muslim debates about...
CyberOrient

The Islam-Online Crisis: A Battle of Wasatiyya vs. Salafi Ideologies?

Islam Online has been one of the most prominent and stable Islamic websites since it was founded in 1997. However, in March 2010 Islam Online suffered a major crisis, which has come to be known as 'the IOL-Crisis'. This is a...
CyberOrient
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