Cyber Counsellors

Abstract

Online fatwas, arbitration tribunals and the construction of Muslim identity in the UK The Internet and satellite TV have introduced substantial innovations in both the production and the consumption of Islamic knowledge. The development of new infrastructures, skills and communication patterns has resulted in the emergence of 'new media ecology', where established traditional Muslim authorities compete for audiences with charismatic satellite preachers and Internet-based muftis. This article explores four distinct websites providing normative content for Muslim minorities in the UK. It focuses on the connections between these Islamic websites and global and local Islamic institutions, the interactions between online and offline Muslim communities and the ways in which the normative content online shapes offline religious manifestations and practices. By doing so, it aims to locate the sources of authority associated with these websites and to explore how Muslim identities are built, negotiated and performed in new discursive spaces. Essentially, this article argues that the underlying logic behind Islamic cyber counselling emphasizes the role of self, the privatization of faith and the increasing insistence on religion as a system of values and ethics. It also demonstrates that the popularity of Internet preachers and muftis converges with the broader transformation of contemporary religiosity, which similarly emphasizes the role of the individual. Such transformation promotes a ready-made and easily accessible set of norms and values that might bring order to daily life and define a practical and visible identity. Nevertheless, the article also demonstrates that the Internet has in the long term reinforced culturally dominant social networks and that while fuelling individualization and privatization of faith, the Internet simultaneously asserts conformity and compliance with established religious authorities.

Making Islam Work

“…Previous works on Shi'ism online have demonstrated the importance of studying ritual as it manifests in internet spaces, as knowledge and information online can influence how people practise religion both online and offline, as well as sensory and affective experiences. Sabine Kalinock (2006) in a Shi'a context and Vit Sisler (2011) in a Sunni one both argue that religious presence on the internet reflects increased individualisation and mobility amongst believers. Yafa Shanneik's (2015) study of Iraqi Shi'a women in diaspora speaks about cyberspaces allowing people greater access to multiple religious traditions, with these increased possible choices resulting in people exercising more agency and challenging traditional forms of authority.…”

Strategy for Acquisition of Islamic Religious Knowledge for Islamic University Students in the Industrial Era 4.0 in the City of Palu, Indonesia

“…This phenomenon shows that the internet has strengthened the growth of online social networking culture in the long term and encouraged the individualization and privatization of new knowledge. Thus, the internet, apart from being a source of new knowledge, has also encouraged adjustments in the way of acquiring Islamic knowledge in new forms, such as online scholars and online educational institutions (Becker, 2009;Eickelman & Anderson, 2003;Larsson, 2006;Sisler, 2011;Wheeler, 2006).…”

“…However, certain theological teachings have proven more challenging to find online. This is due to the structure of Islam itself; for example, Sunni Islam, unlike Shiite Islam, does not have an organized hierarchy regarding religious teaching authority (Sisler, 2011;Soukup, 2012). After the emergence of the Internet, mainly Generation 2.0 internet, various sites and social networks emerged to share knowledge between users.…”

Muslims in cyberspace: exploring factors influencing online religious engagements in Malaysia

“…Nowadays, we can see more sharing of resources and interactivity among participants of online forums, which basically reflect greater engagement and participation. Many Islamic web content were developed detailing various Islamic knowledge and jurisprudence such as the online fatwa (Ali, 2010;Sisler, 2007Sisler, , 2011) and these in turn led to numerous dialog and interactions among participants.…”