Research on TV

Two useful new pieces of research:

Yasmin Moll, Arab Media & Society, Islamic Televangelism: Religion, Media and Visuality in Contemporary Egypt with references to Mustafa Hosni, Amr Khaled and Moez Masoud.

Secondly, Maurice Chammah, , Arab Media & Society, Cosmopolitan Islamism and its Critics: Ahmed Abu Haiba, 4Shbab TV, and Western Reception

I haven't fully read these pieces yet.

Ramadan in Second Life

Meedan, Muslim preachers take Ramadan message into Second Life, "Muslim preachers have taken their Ramadan message into a new realm this year - on the virtual world "Second Life"."

Well, it's not exactly new (see iMuslims on this and on Islam Online's involvement in Second Life), but it is interesting to see participation on this scale.

Islam Online have produced a great Ramadan tent this year (spending their Linden dollars wisely). You can see a slideshow of the tent here. There's a related article here: Islam Online, Ramadan in IOL Second Life Tent

There's also an informative article by Aldric Chang: media-freaks.com, Ramadan Sessions in Second Life, 18 Aug 09 "Explaining this move, Sheikh Ahmad Al-Ghamdi describes the phenomenon of the new media: “The objective of this lecture is to remind the youth exploring Second Life about the fires and winds of the blessed Ramadan,” Al-Ghamdi said, “and how they can use this month to obey and worship, strengthening the conviction that Islam is the religion of integrity and perfection.”"

I also liked It's Maddie the Hijabi, Islam in Virtual Worlds, which is illustrated with several SL screen shots.

"I started using Second Life last year and found out about this virtual sim (virtual island or place in there) made and owned by IslamOnline.net . I discovered a hidden gem that most people don't know about!"

Egypt

Al-Ahram Weekly, Break the habit, 18 - 24 September 2008, Issue No. 915

"Neither over-serious nor decidedly playful, the majority of young people today are overcoming numerous obstacles in order to fulfil promises they have made to themselves and which they intend to honour this Ramadan.

"That is not to say, however, that young Egyptians are en masse espousing tradition. Their religious discourse, for one, breaks from the religious moulds their elders know. For young people it's not about memorising the Quran and hadith while seeking spiritual learning close to home, but rather about espousing an entirely new discourse, one which is very often transmitted via satellite television. Among the shows that have grown hugely popular among young Egyptians is that of young preacher Mustafa Hosni, who via TV and Internet uses cartoons, among other things, to reach out to Muslim youth."

Refers to Mustafa Hosni's website