Anonymous, 9 Sep 2010
Research on Middle East, Islam and digital media

Austrian Anti-Mosque Game Got Offline

The Styrian provincial branch of the right-wing populist FPÖ party (the Freedom Party of Austria) launched its anti-mosque online flash game called "Moschee Baba" ("Bye Bye Mosque") in advance of regional elections which are to be held on 26 September. The objective of the game is to shoot down minarets that are being built. That raised criticism from the local Muslim community, the Social Democratic Party of Austria and the Green Party. The public prosecutor in Graz, the capital of the Styria region, has opened an investigation into the game after receiving the Green Party's complaint. At this time, the game is taken offline and the statement on the website says: "Due to the political influence of our opponents this game was banned by the Austrian justice! Now, it's up to you to decide on 26 September."

Controversial Shooter Video Game Placed in Somalia

Teyon, a Polish video game developer and producer from Krakow, has recently released a new arcade on-rails shooter "Heavy Fire: Special Operations" for Nintendo's WiiWare. Taking place during a fictional conflict in Somalia with the aim to shoot "rebels who spread terror and fear," the game has already caused controversies among video game players and reviewers, criticizing it for reinforcing stereotypes of Arabs and Muslims.

New Book: The Digital Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy: Information Technology and Political Islam

This book looks at the role that communications technologies play in advancing democratic transitions in Muslim countries. As such, its central question is whether technology holds the potential to substantially enhance democracy. Certainly, no democratic transition has occurred solely because of the internet. But, as Philip Howard argues, no democratic transition can occur today without the internet. According to Howard, the major (and perhaps only meaningful) forum for civic debate in most Muslim countries today is online. Activists both within diasporic communities and within authoritarian states, including Iran, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, are the drivers of this debate, which centers around issues such as the interpretation of Islamic texts, gender roles, and security issues. Drawing upon material from interviews with telecommunications policy makers and activists in Azerbaijan, Egypt, Tajikistan and Tanzania and a comparative study of 74 countries with large Muslim populations, Howard demonstrates that these forums have been the means to organize activist movements that have lead to successful democratic insurgencies.

International Handbook of Internet Research

This handbook, the first of its kind, is a detailed introduction to the numerous academic perspectives we can apply to the study of the internet as a political, social and communicative phenomenon. Covering both practical and theoretical angles, established researchers from around the world discuss everything: the foundations of internet research appear alongside chapters on understanding and analyzing current examples of online activities and artifacts. The material covers all continents and explores in depth subjects such as networked gaming, economics and the law.

When Religion Meets New Media

This lively book focuses on how different Jewish, Muslim, and Christian communities engage with new media. Rather than simply reject or accept new media, religious communities negotiate complex relationships with these technologies in light of their history and beliefs. Heidi Campbell suggests a method for studying these processes she calls the "religious-social shaping of technology" and students are asked to consider four key areas: religious tradition and history; contemporary community values and priorities; negotiation and innovating technology in light of the community; communal discourses applied to justify use.

Halos and Avatars: Playing Video Games With God

Craig Detweiler's collection of up-to-the-minute essays on video games' theological themes is an engaging and provocative book for gamers, parents, pastors, media scholars, and theologians--virtually anyone who has dared to consider the ramifications of modern society's obsession with video games and online media.

CFP for Religion in Cyberspace extended

Call for papers for the Cyberspace 2010 conference organized in November 2010 by the Masaryk University in Brno has been extended. The abstract submission will be opened till the end of August. As a part of this conference the section Religion in Cyberspace will be held.

(Amplified) Voices for the Voiceless: The Case of Egypt's Baha'is and their Identity Cards

In his new article published by Arab Media and Society journal, David Faris looks at the role bloggers played in the campaign to enable Egypt's tiny Baha'i minority to obtain identity cards without identifying themselves as Muslims or Christians. He traces the links between a handful of Baha'i bloggers, a wider circle of sympathetic activist bloggers and some key people in the mainstream media. He concludes that the sustained online attention which the plight of Baha’is appears to have won in the end made it difficult for the Egyptian government to countenance the continued violation of Baha’i rights.

Islam, China and the Internet: Negotiating Residual Cyberspace between Hegemonic Patriotism and Connectivity to the Ummah

Ho Wai-Yip from the City University of Hong Kong has published an interesting article about Islam, China, and the Internet. While the predominant focus of the rise of cyber Islamic environments has been on the West and the Middle East, this article is an exploratory study of the emergence of the Chinese Islamic websites. With the rapid proliferation and usage of new informational and communicative technologies and the Chinese government's relentless policy in regulating the internet, this article put the peculiar situations of Chinese cyber Islamic environments in the political background of China's rise.

The New Arab Cyberscape: Redefining Boundaries and Reconstructing Public Spheres

The literature review chapter "The New Arab Cyberscape: Redefining Boundaries and Reconstructing Public Spheres" co-authored by Sahar Khamis and Vit Sisler has been recently published in Communication Yearbook 34 edited by Charles T. Salmon and published by Routledge. The chapter analyzes the new Arab media landscape, with a special focus on the growing influence of the Internet in preserving authentic cultural norms and religious values while opening the door for more modern and liberal influences; and asserting conformity and compliance with existing political order and traditional authorities while fueling resistance and public discontent.
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