Abder Rahmane Azzi
The author is head of the Department of Communication, International Islamic University, Malaysia. (Editor)
Introduction
The Internet phenomenon is a historical ‘synthesis’ of the different media: print, audio and visual communication. This technology, which comes at the edge of the third information-communication revolution, brings back the pertinence of a substantial component almost peculiar to Islamic civilisation: the text. As such, the Internet, unlike radio and television, is to be viewed from the start as a positive development as far as Muslims are concerned. Needles to say, perhaps, that the content of the Internet comprises both good and evil. The morality of the medium is certainly the centre of concern for Muslims. This legitimate concern is to be addressed at different levels: individual, social, and political. The Islamic principle of moral struggle is very discrete in this context. This principle invites man to make the truth prevail when encountered with evil ways. In the Qur’a#n, we read:
By the soul, and the proportion and order given to it; and its enlightenment as to its wrong and its right: truly he succeeds that purifies it, and he fails that corrupts it (91:7-10).
This requires enormous efforts to produce virtually a new ethical culture and transform the existing cultural heritage into a new form of cyberspace reality. The process is to be strengthened by a degree of moral supervision that can infuse the notion of moral and social responsibility and thus limit the negative dimensions of this medium. The Muslim data entry in cyberspace needs to be enhanced and re-examined as well. The Islamic input on the Internet is still in its infancy and much awaits to be done to convey the authentic message of Islam in the different areas of knowledge and interest. Certainly the materials that favour the existing dominant institutions at the global level overwhelm the content of the Internet. Still, the inherent qualities of the medium extend the space for other competing alternatives. As such, the Muslims need to seize this opportunity and provide a coherent, high quality and structured content whose nature can only be the right path for human beings in this new world of communication. Furthermore, definite strategies are required to deal with the contents that pretend to represent or intentionally misrepresent and distort the truth about Islam and Muslims.
The current communication technologies offer a broad spectrum of opportunities that outweigh any previous technology since the invention of writing. The new media of electronics, computing and telecommunication infrastructure are distinct from the traditional media in that the content is interactive, instantly delivered and integrative: texts, sounds and images. This technology, however, is to be used with the perspective that can channel visions and worldviews in addition to other practical functions of communication and economic transactions. The Islamic input on the Internet is scanty and originates mostly from cultural associations and private individuals who strive to disseminate the message of Islam and restructure the image of the Muslims in the Western media and literature.
The credit for what can be called Muslim’s Internet goes to independent Muslim technicians and scholars based in many Western societies where such medium emerged and where the public sphere is not very much restricted. The governments’ contribution in different parts of the Muslim world is overshadowed by the tendency to favour a form of PR content which enhances the image of a given institution or country. This new online world of computer networks has generated a new Muslim cyber community that can now interact in ways that transcend political divisions, national boundaries and other traditional barriers of communication. Even though the Internet is still an elite medium in the Muslim context, the speed by which the medium was introduced and the enthusiasm that it has generated have certainly opened new ways of communication that were until recently beyond imagination. The effects of this new media may generate a new Muslim consciousness that is shaped not only by national considerations but also by a consciousness that can be effective and instrumental in this new world of global Gemenshaft. The main ethical and cultural concern remains as to whether such medium would shake the moral foundations and basic social institutions of the Muslims society.
إرسال تعليق