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I've been reading reviews about what sounds to be a book with a fascinating concept. I haven't tracked down the book yet, but I will. It's called iMuslims: Rewiring the House of Islam by Gary Bunt.
The basic premise is that the internet age has had a far more profound effect on Islam than on any other religion. There are several reasons for this. Chief among them is that the internet is a sort of natural home for Muslims because they are spread across the globe and have no central authority -- no Pope or governing synods or the like. The entire corpus of Islam is available online for all to read and comment about. And the commenting community is enormous and vociferous.
This has intriguing possibilities theologically. It also has real political impact, which is why theocratic Islamic regimes have tried to snuff it out. Islamic extremists and terrorists, of course, are well known to use the web. There is also the emergence of what one reviewer (Dominic Casciani in the January 22 TLS -- sorry, they won't allow links) calls "virtual belief," a situation in which someone can convert online without ever attending a Mosque. The online community thereby may become the only faith community for some believers.
" . . . the Islamic "brotherhood" is evolving online into parallel brotherhoods. The net is a marketplace, an "Islamic Internet Souq," in which there are many traders. And none has the monopoly on God's message to mankind."
It's a fascinating notion -- that the diffuse theological underpinnings of Islam are uniquely suited to the diffuseness of the Internet. Here's the author's blog.
The basic premise is that the internet age has had a far more profound effect on Islam than on any other religion. There are several reasons for this. Chief among them is that the internet is a sort of natural home for Muslims because they are spread across the globe and have no central authority -- no Pope or governing synods or the like. The entire corpus of Islam is available online for all to read and comment about. And the commenting community is enormous and vociferous.
This has intriguing possibilities theologically. It also has real political impact, which is why theocratic Islamic regimes have tried to snuff it out. Islamic extremists and terrorists, of course, are well known to use the web. There is also the emergence of what one reviewer (Dominic Casciani in the January 22 TLS -- sorry, they won't allow links) calls "virtual belief," a situation in which someone can convert online without ever attending a Mosque. The online community thereby may become the only faith community for some believers.
" . . . the Islamic "brotherhood" is evolving online into parallel brotherhoods. The net is a marketplace, an "Islamic Internet Souq," in which there are many traders. And none has the monopoly on God's message to mankind."
It's a fascinating notion -- that the diffuse theological underpinnings of Islam are uniquely suited to the diffuseness of the Internet. Here's the author's blog.