New and Noted: Contesting Religion: The Media Dynamics of Cultural Conflicts in Scandinavia

Knut Lundby (editor), Contesting Religion: The Media Dynamics of Cultural Conflicts in Scandinavia, De Gruyter

Another one for the Reading List.  The good news is that it is Open Access!  The book includes contributions from Knut Lundby, Mia Lövheim,  Lynn Schofield Clark and Mona Abdel-Fadil 

New and noted: Hello World: How to be Human in the Age of the Machine,

Hannah Fry, Hello World: How to be Human in the Age of the Machine, Penguin Books

Another one for the Reading list (helped by her TV documentary 'The Joy of Winning').  

New and noted: LikeWar: How Social Media Became The Locus Of 21st Century War

Interesting review of Peter W. Singer and Emerson T. Brooking's book 'LikeWar: How Social Media Became The Locus Of 21st Century War' via @TaskandPurpose - another entry for the Reading List.  Task and Purpose, LikeWar: How Social Media Became The Locus Of 21st Century War

New & Noted: Political Islam and Global Media

This looks interesting, although I haven't seen a copy yet:

Political Islam and Global Media: The boundaries of religious identity, Edited by Noha Mellor, Khalil Rinnawi (Routledge)

Table of contents is as follows:

Introduction – Noha Mellor Part I: The Rise of Political Islam 1 Legitimate Singularities – Ratiba Hadj-Moussa  & Samar Ben Romdhane 2 Social Media as the New identity Battleground – Noureddine Miladi 3 Online Aesthetics of Martyrdome – Magdalena Karolak 4 ISIS and Saudi Arabia – Andrew Hammond 4 Friday Khutba Without Borders – Ehab Galal Part II: Religious Activism 5 The Online Response to the Quran Burning Incidents – Ahmed Rawi 6 Working Around the State – Deborah L. Wheeler 7 Religious Minorities in Cyberspace – Dalia Yousef & Rasha Abdulla 8 British Arab Youth – Khalil Al-Agha 9 The Revival of Muslim Identity versus Arab Identity – Khalil Rinnawi Part III: Mediated Islamic Practices 10 The new Saudi Nationalism of the New Saudi Media – Gilbert Ramsay  & Sumayah Fatani 11 What is Happening: The Dynamics of the Saudi Twitterverse – Mohammad Ibrahrine 12 The Neo-Liberal Islamic Preachers – Nermeen Alazrak & Alamira Samah Saleh 13 Fatwas Online – Roxanne D. Marcotte 14 How Islamic is Islam Online Counselling? – Mona Abdel Fadil 15 Islam in the News – Mohammed-Ali Abunajela & Noha Mellor 

Some familiar names and themes there - so I look forward to reading this in due course.

Reading List: What do Islamist extremists believe? Salafi-Jihadism by Shiraz Maher and Crusade and Jihad by Malcolm Lambert

Guardian, What do Islamist extremists believe? Salafi-Jihadism by Shiraz Maher and Crusade and Jihad by Malcolm Lambert – review

New and Noted: 'Islam: A New Historical Introduction' - Carole Hillenbrand

Carole Hillenbrand, 'Islam: A New Historical Introduction', (Thames & Hudson, 2015)

I have just received a copy of this book, and it looks very useful for students, being clear and authoritative in content. The book has some wonderful photos too.  In relation to this blog, it is interesting to see the references to the internet which have been incorporated into the text (which is not always the case, even in more recent introductory volumes). I look forward to reading it in full in due course. 

The Journal of Arab & Muslim Media Research

digitalislam.eu, The Journal of Arab & Muslim Media Research "The Journal of Arab & Muslim Media Research released its new issue (Vol. 7, Issue 1, 2014), edited by Noureddine Miladi from the Qatar University. The issue focuses on representation of Muslims in the British media and the future of traditional media in the Middle East region."

New Book: Social Media and the Politics of Reportage: The 'Arab Spring'

digitalislam.eu, New Book: Social Media and the Politics of Reportage: The 'Arab Spring' "Palgrave Macmillan published a new book titled "Social Media and the Politics of Reportage: The 'Arab Spring'" edited by Saba Bebawi and Diana Bossio." Info here

Reading List: Electronic Iran

Niki Akhavan, Electronic Iran: The Cultural Politics of an Online Evolution,  - Rutgers University Press:


"Electronic Iran introduces the concept of the Iranian Internet, a framework that captures interlinked, transnational networks of virtual and offline spaces."

New and noted: 'Introduction to Cyber-Warfare: A Multidisciplinary Approach'

digitalislam.eu, New Book: Introduction to Cyber-Warfare: A Multidisciplinary Approach "Introduction to Cyber-Warfare: A Multidisciplinary Approach, written by experts on the front lines, gives you an insider's look into the world of cyber-warfare through the use of recent case studies. The book examines the issues related to cyber warfare not only from a computer science perspective but from military, sociological, and scientific perspectives as well. You'll learn how cyber-warfare has been performed in the past as well as why various actors rely on this new means of warfare and what steps can be taken to prevent it."

New and noted: From TUNeZINE to Nhar 3la 3mmar: A Reconsideration of the Role of Bloggers in Tunisia’s Revolution

Amy Aisen Kallander, arabmediasociety.com, From TUNeZINE to Nhar 3la 3mmar: A Reconsideration of the Role of Bloggers in Tunisia’s Revolution This looks like a useful article, which is also very topical at present.

Book: Liberation Technology: Social Media and the Struggle for Democracy | Digital Islam

Book: Liberation Technology: Social Media and the Struggle for Democracy | Digital Islam:

Description:  "Liberation Technology brings together cutting-edge scholarship from scholars and practitioners at the forefront of this burgeoning field of study. An introductory section defines the debate with a foundational piece on liberation technology and is then followed by essays discussing the popular dichotomy of "liberation" versus "control" with regard to the Internet and the sociopolitical dimensions of such controls. Additional chapters delve into the cases of individual countries: China, Egypt, Iran, and Tunisia."

Have yet to see this one. 

"Liberation Technology: Social Media and the Struggle for Democracy" edited by Larry Diamond and Marc F. Plattner. (Johns Hopkins University Press)

Reading List - 'The Islamophobia Industry'

The American Muslim (TAM), Book Review: The Islamophobia Industry, How the Right Manufactures Fear of Muslims (Nathan Lean) "The book, written by the editor-in-chief of Aslan Media, comes at an opportune time. Released in September 2012, the book landed just one month after American Muslims witnessed a stark increase in hate attacks during the holy month of Ramadan. A report by the Council on American Islamic Relations documented that the Ramadan of 2012 “saw one of the worst spikes of anti-Muslim incidents in over a decade.”"

Reading List: 'Inevitable Democracy in the Arab World'

Inevitable Democracy in the Arab World : Wissam S. Yafi : Palgrave Macmillan  I am curious to see this optimistically titled book, which seems to have numerous references to technology issues.  There's a brief pdf sample on the above page.

Reading List: 'Godwired'

Rachel Wagner, Godwired: Religion, Ritual and Virtual Reality (Routledge) "Godwired offers an engaging exploration of religious practice in the digital age. It considers how virtual experiences, like stories, games and rituals, are forms of world-building or "cosmos construction" that serve as a means of making sense of our own world. Such creative and interactive activity is, arguably, patently religious."

Have yet to read this one.

Reading list: 'Rock the Casbah'

Alas, 'Rock the Casbah' is not a reference to the Clash, but a review of an intriguing new book:

Nomi Morris, theglobeandmail.com, Welcome to the counter-jihad, 20 Oct 2011 "In Rock the Casbah, veteran journalist and Middle East analyst Robin Wright seeks to ease these worried minds. A “counter-jihad” movement has arisen in recent years that preceded – and continues to inspire – the reformers who took to the Arab street, Wright says. This counter-jihad can be felt across all 57 predominantly Muslim countries and includes the powerful constituencies of clerics, women and youth under 30, who make up more 60 per cent of the globe’s 1.57 billion Muslims."

I haven't read this one yet.  The book's webpage is here: Rock the Casbah: Rage and Rebellion Across the Islamic World, by Robin Wright, Simon & Schuster

Reading List: The Arab Revolution: Ten Lessons From the Democratic Uprising

Jean-Pierre Filiu, The Arab Revolution: Ten Lessons From the Democratic Uprising (Hurst & Co) "The democratic uprising throughout the Arab world is proving how wrong we were to accept either dictatorship or Islamism as the only political alternatives. Lessons are already being learnt from this grassroots process, even while it is in the making. Above all, when it comes to freedom and justice, there is definitely no Arab exceptionalism. Social networks have been crucial in empowering a leaderless movement, where the generational factor is striking. The Facebook-savvy globalised youngsters from the urban middle class are key, but it is from the wrong side of town that disenfranchised youths spearheaded the Tunisian revolution."

Haven't seen this one yet, but it looks interesting

Politics of Information, The Internet and Islamist Politics in Jordan, Morocco and Egypt

Currently looking at Politics of Information, The Internet and Islamist Politics in Jordan, Morocco and Egypt
by Andrew Helms, Center for Contemporary Arab Studies, Georgetown University

Reading List: 'Tweets from Tahrir'

I haven't read this one yet:

Independent, Tweets from Tahrir Edited by Nadia Idle and Alex Nunns, Reviewed by Arifa Akbar

AhramOnline, New release: 60 bloggers recount their revolutionary stories in 'Tweets from Tahrir'

OR Books, Tweets From Tahrir

Online advert:

Reading List: Zahra's Paradise

Extract from 'Zahra's Paradise'

Press release from First Second Books

"Zahra’s Paradise, a graphic novel about the social and political situation in today’s Iran, is serializing online every Tuesday and Thursday at www.zahrasparadise.com and will be published in book form on September 13th, 2011—in over a dozen languages simultaneously. Over 160,000 unique visitors have followed Zahra’s Paradise since it launched."