Islamic Internet in the Age of Globalization
The Internet has generated a lot of enthusiasm combined seemingly with certain fear that such a medium may challenge the foundation of basic social institutions which have so far ensured some level of socialisation: educational, and socio-political. This enthusiasm-fear complex is historically associated with almost every new medium of communication. The invention of writing (6,000 BC), the printing press (15th Century), film and radio (1920s) and Television (1959s) have all engendered a psychological and cultural shock whereby people are prompted to make various adjustments in their life ways including the ways of communication. McLuhah, an advocate of technological determinism, has echoed this state of mind when he proclaimed his famous statement that ‘the medium is the message’. To him, every new medium alters perceptions and ways of thinking and thus generates certain resistance among the end users. The author maintains that such a process disturbs old habits and forces people to adopt new conventions through a tedious process of refitting and reconciliation. This view, however, is mostly technical, emphasising ways rather than contents of communication. As such, little is said about whether a new medium transfigures or deforms the nature of existing cultures and values. It is my considered opinion that the Internet is both a medium and a message. The content of such medium mainly reflects the already existing arrangements at the economic and socio-political levels both locally and globally. However, it seems in the fitness of things that the Muslims should use cyberspace in the most meaningful way to disseminate the true values of Islam. As for the dichotomy of good and evil, it seems to be inherent in every medium.
Muslim civilisation thrived when the message of Islam was conveyed through many channels, including oral and written communication. The Muslims used the written material effectively when the Holy Qur’a#n, the Sunnah (first) and the major works of the Muslim scholars were preserved and documented. In recent times, the Muslims have also to utilise the modern media of newspapers to promote the cause of national independence from the control of the colonial powers. The audio-visual communication of radio and television has, however, shrunk Muslim participation in this content. The Muslims produced little content in the form of video materials. As such, they consumed a form of mass culture produced by others. The introduction of the Internet has brought back the importance of written material of which the Muslims have produced great works in literature, art, science, jurisprudence, etc.
The Muslim input on the Internet is currently modest. Certainly, the dissemination of the Holy Qur’a#n and H~adi#th outweighs any other content. This presence must be celebrated as the greatest event this medium has produced as far as Muslims and human beings in general are concerned. Nonetheless, much remains to be done on how to reproduce Islamic knowledge and ethics in different aspects of contemporary cultural, socio-political and economic life of society in general.
The negative aspect of the new medium of the Internet is the presence of the unauthentic content that pretends to represent Islam. There are sects, alien or deviant from the mainstream of Islam, which seek to spread certain ideologies in the name of Islam. This is the case of some important sects in India