Developmental Communication Typology Revisited:
Modernization " Tout Azimut1"
Dr. Abderrahmane Azzi2
United Arab Emirates University
Introduction
"Development3" has been a major theme in communication literature since the 1950s. Many theories emerged in this context. These formulations are synthesized into four: Modernization Theory of the 1950s, Anti-Modernization (or Radical Theory) of the 1960s, Post-Modernization Theory of the 1970s and Neo
Modernization Theory of 1980s and the 1990s4. Early developmental theory, influenced by Lerner's The Passing of Traditional Society5, postulated that 'traditions and religious frame of reference' with particular reference to Muslim society can be 'obstacles' to development. The non-Western contributions did not evolve into a distinctive theoretical framework, even though many scholars in the developing world subscribe to the Dependency Theory of Development6. There are some exceptions to this trend one of which is the distinctive perspective developed by Malek Bennaki7, an eminent Muslim scholar of Algeria who, in his Conditions of Civilization and other reputed publications attributed the state of under-development in the Muslim world to the decline of the moral basis of the Ummah. Lately, Post-Modernization and Neo Modernization theories presented a novel outlook of development and called for adaptation of communication technologies in different social-cultural contexts. I argue in this paper that theoretically, infusion of culture and technology is a necessary condition for meaningful development as postulated by Bennabi. However, the current state of objective development in the Muslim context shows that development and thus modernization is moving in all directions (tout azimut) regardless of the existing traditions or religion. That is, traditions and religion are neither obstacles for development as early developmental theories argued for many years nor are they currently engines for generating energy required for meaningful development and civilization. That is, traditions and religion are in current reality neutral factors. This does not exclude the fact that they may become major agents of change and civilizational development as Bennabi advocated in his numerous writings8.
I do not intend to describe at length the different arguments and counter-arguments marshaled in support of, or in opposition to, these developmental theories. Instead I
1" A French expression which means " in all directions
2 Dr. Abderrahmane Azzi is currently Professor at the Mass Communication Program at the United Arab Emirates University.
3 The emphasis here is on development from a communication perspective with reference to the state of mass media and communication technologies in the Muslim world.
4 Ralph Coury, "Neo Modernization They and Its Search for Enemies: The Role of the Arabs and Islam," unpublished paper, 1977.
5 A classical work that appeared in the 1950s.
6 The theory views obstacles to development as external
7 A well-known scholar who made "civilization" and the decline of Muslim Ummah (nation) as a major theme in his writing. His early writing well published in French language. Later, his writing were translated into many language such as Arabic and Malay
8 Among his major publications : The Quranic Phenomenon, The Conditions of Civilization and The Afro-Asiatic Notion.
1
will select the main theories which put communication in the forefront of development or provide a distinctive and valuable approach to development in non Western context. I will first discuss Daniel Lerner's theory which is sill viewed as a classical work on development in non-Western context. This work, edited by Lerner and produced jointly by the Bureau of Applied Social Research at Columbia University and the Center for International Studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) clearly advocates the Western model which focuses on how to secure rapid economic growth and capital formation and excludes the cultural-ethical aspect of development. In contrast, I will refer to the notion of development that Bennabi expounded around the same time, but which for a variety of reasons did not receive much attention in both the Western and the Muslim worlds. I will also refer to recent theories of development, particularly the Post-Modernization theory which is still at the centre of debate among specialists in many fields of inquiry such as economics, computer science, communication, futuristic studies, sociology, etc. The theory apparently is not guided by the same principles nor does it provide a clear view of the existing or "futurist society". Indeed, many concepts are used to depict information in 'the coming society' such as Post-Modern, Post-Industrial, Post
Capitalist, etc. I choose the socio-communication dimension of this society and suggest how this new technological environment can relate to development in the non-Western contest. I will then describe the concept of ethical competence and take the position that ethical competence is an essential conditional for technical competence and the latter alone cannot create a meaningful development or wholesome civilization. This means that development needs to integrate communication technologies in a dynamic cultural and ethical process that ensure both the moral and economic well being of society at the local and the universal levels. In the Quran we read: "Ye are the best of people, raised for mankind, enjoining what is right, forbidding what is wrong, and believing in Allah. If only the People of the Book had faith, it were best for them: among them are some who have faith, but most of them are perverted transgressors." (3:110). I will then suggest that objective communication data show that development whether measured by per capita income variable or most importantly by communication data affect different types of Muslim society regardless of their attachment-detachment from traditions and religion as this relates to the conditions of the Muslim World, i.e. the nature of political systems (i.e., Islamic-oriented or secular-oriented). That is traditions and religion are made inactive anyway in recent history in spite of the different reformist movements that the Muslim society witnessed beginning the end of the 19th century. The Modern nation-states policies for obvious reasons did not significantly affect the tradition religion equation: to transform this equation from the state of inactivity to that of active participation in material and spiritual developments.
Lerrner's Typology of Development
Lerner's theory of development is based on the perception of "a rationalist and positivist spirit" of development. The core of this model is "secular enlightenment" which conceives modernity as a particular style of life detached form what is traditional or spiritual. This model, engraved in the historical experience of the West, is presented the model of the Muslim society. (It would be pertinent to point out that Lerner's study, which was carried out in 1959, involves Turkey, Lebanon, Egypt, Syria, Jordan and Iran).
2
This model of modernization displays certain components whose relevance is considered to be global. The argument goes like this" "Increasing urbanization has tended to raise literacy, rising literacy has tended to increase media exposure, increasing media exposure has 'gone with' wider economic participation (per capita income), and political participating (voting)."9
Lerner's theory subscribes to the evolutionary linear model of development: traditional – transitional – modern. The basic criteria for determining the relative position of society in such schemes are Literacy, Urbanism, Media Participation and Empathy. Literacy is an educational factor. The content of this factor is not given: it is reduced to a technical variable that can be measured by the ability to decipher certain print materials. Urbanization is a socio-historical phenomenon. This involves a voluntary movement or rational mobile individuals motivated by a quest for the betterment of life and experience beyond the confined environment of rural setting. That is, the process of urbanization entails personal choice. Media participation is communication behavior formed around the existing system of communication. Modernization requires a shift in modes of communicating ideas and attitudes. This shift is from oral to media system, or in our terminology from human to technical communication. The modern mode of communication is the mass media of tabloids, radio, television, movies, etc., rather than the traditional way of interpersonal communication, travel, etc. Empathy is a psychological variable. It refers to a psychic character whereby the individual is able to rearrange the self system at a short notice. This personality is equipped with mechanisms necessary to incorporate new demands. These mechanisms operate at the levels of projection: "Identification by assigning to the object certain preferred attributes of the self" and introjection: "Attributing to the self certain desirable attributes of the object."10 Put differently, empathy is "the inner mechanism which enables newly mobile persons to operate efficiently in a changing world."11
Lerner, trained in sociology, views all these variables, including mobile personality, as social phenomena with a history. The social dimension involves modern institutions formed through voluntary participation by mobile individuals equipped with new skills for the new society which is always in the process of becoming. This historical factor is the model of Western experience whose relevance is regarded as global. These variables – literacy, urbanism, media participation and empathy – form individuals who are opinionated and thus can participate in shaping the direction of this modern participant society. The trend of the contemporary mode of communication is to expand the opinion arena. The public shares common interest in the content of mass media – i.e. by injecting or having opinions about issues relevant to this society of participants. Lerner maintains that "top opinion leaders" are found mainly in modern society. The quality of opinion leaders differ from one society to the other. Traditional society, which lacks literacy, Urbanism, Media Participation and Empathy, produces individuals who score low (5 in Lerner's scale) in Opinion Range. Transitional society lacks one or many of these variables and produces individuals who score between 4 and 2 in Opinion Range. (See Lerner's Typology, Table : 1 and 2.)."
This typology was used as the basis for understanding modernization in the Muslim society. Lerner, on the basis of a survey conducted in selected Muslim
9 Daniel Lerner, The Passing of Traditional Society: Modernizing the Middle East (new York: The Free Press, 1958) , 46.
10 Ibid., 49.
11 Ibid. 50.
3
societies, maintains that the Muslim society follows the Western rational secular model of development. He says: "Western society still provides the most developed model of societal attributes (power, wealth, skill, rationality)". He adds that "the same model reappears in virtually all modernizing societies on all continents of the world, regardless of variations in race, color, creed, etc". He concludes "what the West is , in this sense, the Middle East seeks to become."12
Table 1
Lerner's Typology of Modernization
Traditions
Type of
Society
Modern
Transitional Traditional
Socio-Historical Factors
Religion
Opinion
Range
1
2
3
4
5
Source: Denial Lerner, 71. (I have added the circle of tradition and religion to highlighter Lerner's assumption about the factor in question).
Lerner puts Muslim societies under different scales of development, depending on how each society scores on each of the four variables of modernization. The Opinion Range criterion, which is set to measure people's ability to form opinion and participate in the socio-political life of society, indicates that Turkey is the most modernized Muslim society followed by Lebanon, Syria and Jordan. The least modernized ones are Iran and Egypt. However, the most relevant concept which expresses the state of development in these societies is Transitional Society which includes both traditions and processes of modernization. The process of social change, however, is a constant linear movement from traditional to modern. This process is described as historical but equated with Westernization. It is the main assumption of this theory that the conditions of underdevelopment are caused by internal factors within the socio-cultural nature of the Muslim society in question. This social-cultural nature is in fact another terminology which is described at length as the religion Islam. Thus, the process of modernization is not independent; it is associated, as a precondition, with modernizing traditional life ways and more significantly secularization. It is argued that the secular process of social change was behind modernization.
Table 2
Modernization and Communication Systems
in Lerner's Typology
Sector Oral System
Socio-economic
Cultural
Political
Source: Daniel Lerner, 57. 12 Ibid. 46-47.
Rural
Illiterate
Designative
4
Lerner's assertions are based on may cultural biases. Lerner excludes the sacred component from any process of development. He maintains that "sacred modes …. provide simple rules of conduct of all the flock – who can remains ignorant, or, more profoundly, innocent." He goes further and views Islam as an obstacle to this perception of development. He is dissatisfied with the fact that "secular enlightenment does not easily replace sacred revelation in the guidance of human affairs." He adds that "modernization posses the basic challenge – the infusion of rationalist and positivist spirit against which, scholars seem agreed, Islam is absolutely defenseless."13 Similarly, Ward and Rustow have argues, in their comparative analysis of political modernization in Japan and Turkey, that "in the Turkish modernization movement … the principal difficulties stemmed from the religious basis of the traditional society and state."14 These ethnocentric views do not allow for any pluralist model of development which can reflect cultural specificity or particular belief system. This seems to go against many early enlightened perceptions of development such as the one articulated by Max Weber. This latter documented the Western experience and argued that the modern capitalist development is an outgrowth of the religious values of Protestantism. Thus, religion has been the major factor behind modern economic development in the West itself.
Lerner's theory emerged when the developing world was in an optimistic frame of mind but lost its original appeal or , as Dube puts it, "their paradigm for progress collapsed and promised miracle eluded the developing world."15 However, a number of contemporary analyses still subscribe to this original biased framework of development. For example, Cefkin argues that "Arab nations remain in a transitional phase for a variety of reasons. Chief among them is the role of Islam." He adds: "Islam continues to have a powerful hold on the masses, impeding political development since it is not possible while modernizing conditions to singularly adopt religious values."16 Hajjar, in his turn, concludes about the Middle East: "In terms of the super-structure, it is a society where modern private and public institutions have been built, but where cultural fetters such as religious and social traditions inhibit the realization of the full potential of these structurally modern institutions."17
13 Ibid. 44-45.
14 Robert W. Ward and Danwart A. Rustow, Political Modernization in Japan and Turkey (New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1964), 63
15 S. C. Dube, Tradition and Development (new Delhi: Vikas Publishing House PVT. Ltd 1990), 2. 16 Sami G. Hajjar, The Middle East : From Transition To Development (The Netherlands: E.J. Brill, Leiden, 1985), 9.
17 Ibid. 14.
5
Table 3
Degree of Modernization in Selected Muslim Societies
in Lerner's Typology
Source: Deniel Lerner, 90-99 [reconstructed]
Bennabi's Conditions For Civilization
In order to have another perspective on the question, we shall now proceed to examine the ideas of Malek Bennabi. Bennabi argues that the crisis of every human society is in essence a crisis of civilization. This postulation requires understanding of the factors responsible for the rise and decline of civilization. Bennabi conceives civilization as a psycho-historical process which intervenes at different levels of growth or disintegration. It is "a set of relations that a particular civilization infuses in things and ideas."18 These relations are either dynamic when a civilization creates
18 Malek Bennabi, Shurut al- Nahdah (Beirut: Dar al-Fikr, 1979), 43
6
history, or static when such a civilization lives at the margin of history. Each civilization comprises an intellectual as well as a biological sphere. The first element supervises and sets the conditions for the latter. Thus, a civilization is not a set of material objects as such but a mode of thinking which produces material and non
material things. This means that consumption of things does not produce a civilization, whereas the act of invention-production is the very core of civilization. Bennabi views civilization essentially as a state of mind which can transform man, land and time into a dynamic process of civilization-building.
The present state of the Muslim society shows that the three components of civilization - man-land-time – are stagnant. The Muslims today have human resources, vast land (including rich natural resources) and time (equal to all societies), but no civilization. This stationary state of the Muslim has created the tendency to identify development with consumption of things produced by another civilization. Bennabi adds that while it is possible to import technology, it is not feasible to import the moral foundation of which the material product is only an outcome, but not a cause. A civilization is that which produces its material objects. Thus, it is absurd to upset this equation and try to build a civilization from material objects.
Bennabi's explanation of the sate of backwardness of the Muslim society lies in people's detachment from the basic ethos of Islam. The societal energy which can put man-land-time into action is the moral foundation of the society. The Muslims today are unable to rise to those ethical standards which moved the early Muslim society from the state of "tribalism" to that of "ummatism." Thus, the source of their decline lies in themselves. In the Quran we read: "Verily never will Allah change the condition of a people until they change it themselves (with their our souls)" (13:11).
Bennabi maintains that the current conditions of the Muslims require psychological transformation; the transformation of the soul of the Ummah. This historical restoration depends on the Muslim's ability to integrate the components of man-land-time into a vital socio-historical force that would enable the Muslim Ummah to innovate rather than merely to react to external stimuli. These components are explained as follows:
Land: Land can be of social value only when meaningful efforts are directed toward nature. It is clear that the Muslim land is devaluated and made unproductive. This state reflects the inability to project social dynamism which is restrained by detachment from the moral basis of the Muslim Ummah.
Man: Man is the primary source of development. This agent of civilization requires: culture orientation, work orientation, and capital orientation. Culture orientation: culture consists of moral attributes, social values and manners whose purpose is to organize human life. In short, culture is the very constitution of a society. Culture, however, is a multidimensional process which consists of ethics (akhlaq), aesthetic taste, action rationale and industry. The source of ethics is religious ties that can generate social animation necessary for civilization. The aesthetic aspect of culture is based on ihsan (the ability to appreciate the beauty in others, things, etc.). The action rationale is the most deficient factor of the Muslim society today. This rationale requires a profound shift from the rationale of ideas to that of action that can produce a difference in the cultural, social and material reality of the Muslims. Industry involves the ability to master the necessary skills needed for a particular task. This latter is the technical component of culture. Thus, culture is a complex set of variables that are linked to religious ideas. For Bennabi, culture is more a reflection of ethics than any particular mode of knowledge – scientific, technical, etc.
7
Work orientation: Bennabi argues that it is fundamental to devise a dynamic social system which can set people into action. This orientation is vigor in action. In the Quran we read: "And say: Work (righteousness); soon will Allah observe your work, and His Messenger, and the Believers." (9:105). This dynamism is to be directed towards common meaningful objectives of the Ummah.
Capital orientation: This involves capital in circulation. Thus, accumulation of wealth does not create civilization. It is only when the capital is animated and invested that a civilization can prosper and generate more opportunities in the time span of that civilization.
Time: Time is equally available to all societies. However, the state of the Muslim society today shows that there is little awareness of time, that time is not segmented that much of time is lost in meaningless forms of behavior. Time in such conditions is reduced to inaction even though time by its very nature is always in the state of motion. (see Table 4).
Table 4
Bennabi's Variables of Civilization
Man
Religion
Land
Information
Time
Source: My own reconstruction based on Bannabi's theory
Bennabi's theory of civilization does not seem to take into account the role of information and communication in development. His formulations were refined at a time (1950s) when information and communication component was identified mainly with the media of newspapers, radio and television. While Bannabi uses mass media to explain the manipulative role of this form of ideology in the non-Western context, he does not include information as a major constituent in his typology of civilization growth. Had Bennabi lived this information age of computer technology, direct satellite broadcasting and international communication networks he would certainly have included information under the time variable. Information can accelerate the process of historical evolution and social change. As such, the Muslims need to seize this technological opportunity and use it to compensate for many decades and centuries of time lost, manage the present time to compete with others, and face the civilization challenges of the time.
Bennabi's model restores religion as the basic foundation of any civilization. The concept of civilization is in essence a moral concept. This ethical base can be manifested with different degrees in the production of things. Unlike Lerner, Bennabi excludes any meaningful development that is not inspired from the outset by resourceful religious spirit. While Bennabi's model applies to any civilization, his analytical thinking is made more relevant to Islam. Islam invites its believers to be the
8
best Ummah. In the Quran, we read: "You are the best people, raised for mankind, enjoining what is right, forbidding what is wrong and believing in Allah." (3:110). It is only when Muslims strayed away from the fundamental bases of Islam that they became weak and subject to domination by others. As a result, the historical role of the Muslims evolved from pursuing a mission to abject submission.
Table 5
Bennabi's Cyclical Development of Civilization
Scale for
measurement
of psycho
sociological
values that
determine that
state of
evolution
(time scale
The First
Period:
The Spiritual
The Second
Period:
The Rational
The Third
Period:
The
Instinctual
38H Ibn Khaldun
Source: Malek Bennabi, Shurut al-nahda, 66, 73-143.
Ethical Competence In A Technical Civilization
It is apparent that modern technological civilization emphasizes technical skills (from Latin technec, skills) as the main criterion for development. The predominance of technicality invades almost every institution and aspect of life. The use of techniques has extended also to the essentially non-material aspects of culture such as education, marriage, child rearing, cooking, etc., i.e. "How To" techniques. This technical perception has also influenced the views and concepts of how society evolved historically: ancient-modern; traditional-industrial, advanced-developing, etc. Technical mentality regards almost every aspect of culture as non-relevant unless transformed into techniques. Technical skills are viewed as independent of values. In a way, technicality is the new culture which is said to be self guided and sui generis (having a life of its own).
I argue that this technical spirit is a recent phenomenon and a product of modern Western experience. Historically, most civilizations concerned with the practical dimensions of life and culture have incorporated skills, ways of doing things and material objects. These practical aspects of living, however, were subordinated to a much higher system of values, perceptions and visions which provided direction to other mundane dimensions of life. It is only when technology became the new doctrine of modern society that techniques were divorced from moral supervision. The separation of techniques from cultural values is not a universal, but a relative phenomenon which, for historical reasons, has turned into a global mode of civilization.
9
There is no question that technology, particularly communication technology, has revolutionized the way we live and conduct our lives. Modern mediums of communication have transformed our world into a global village where time constraints and space are reduced to insignificance. Nonetheless, the absence of direction led to enormous social economic and cultural disparities, conflict, tension, social ills, pollution, etc. locally and globally. Technology, however, is to be differentiated from technical mentality. Whereas technology itself can be a neutral factor of development, technical mentality is a conceptual orientation whose criterion is not based on values-orientation but on efficiency, i.e. maximizing economic gains and power. Unfortunately, the discourse of this technical mode of civilization is how to be more efficient (not how to be fair, for example).
My contention is that techniques and culture are closely inter-related. This requires the infusion of culture in techniques and not transforming culture into techniques. This process, which accords a high degree of priority to cultural transformation., would ensure that techniques incorporate a sense of direction. The inability to be creative and develop a distinct model of development in may Muslim societies is in part related to the separation of technicality from culture. Creativity occurs when culture, which consists of common stock of knowledge and heritage, is made present by the effort of integration. Culture is part of the belief system. Religion provides ethical guidance whereas culture allows for a plurality of experiences, i.e. the Muslim society consists of many cultures which subscribe to the same ethical principles. It is only when a culture is dissociated from its frame of reference that it becomes an anthropological case and an obstacle to development.
The critical integration of techniques requires ethical competence. Ethical competence is the ability to master one's culture and belief system and adopt this competent in new situations or environment . The first element of acquiring culture ethics is a long process which involves many institutions, i.e., family, schools, centers of higher learning , etc. This explains why a number of societies devote vast human and material resources to this cultural capital. The second is based on the ability of individuals to create and invent in the context of their cultural characteristics and ethical outlook. While the first aspect can be acquired through education, the second is based on personal innovativeness which the parameters of one's culture. The spirit of integration and synthesis is the essence of ethical competence which is an essential asset in this age of information and technical explosion. The present challenge for contemporary Muslim society is to strive to develop individuals who combine technical competence with a strong moral character. The absence of this balanced equation is a part of our current crisis of civilization.
Development As Objective Growth
It has been argued that the basic fuel for modernization is economic growth19. This criterion is a technical measure which does not provide a clear picture about the quality of life, the nature of social stratification, the moral well being of society, etc. However, it is a useful instrument which can inform us about the societal efforts and economic development of a given society. Table 6 shows that economic growth, as measured by average annual rates of Gross Domestic Product (GPD), has been sustained throughout the 1980s, the 1990s and the beginning of 2000s in many
19 Hajjaar, The Middle East, 8.
10
Muslim countries (-3.6 to 10.6). The rates of growth compares favorably with those of the developed societies (2.4 to 4.4 in UK, US and Japan during the same period). However, this relative growth is to be measured against many years and decades of un-development in the Muslim society. As such, this growth, unlike that of developed societies, is very relative. The growth rate of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in most Muslim countries led to slight increase in per capita income throughout the last two decades. Needless to say, this increase is meager when compared to increase in per capita income in developed countries like Japan, UK and US. For example, the highest per capita increase in the Muslim world occurred in Malaysia (from 1.3 to 4.035) while the per capita income in Japan jumped from 20.5 to 37.494 during the same period. The data show that there are already 3 levels of objective development in the Muslim context as measured by per capita income variable:
- High developing countries with relatively moderate per capita income (2.998 to 4.690) . This consists of Iran, Turkey and Malaysia.
- Moderate developing countries with low per capita income (1.355 to 2.702). This includes Syria, Tunisia, Algeria, Jordan and Egypt (Arab countries). - Low developing countries with very low per capita income (362 to 723). This comprise Indonesia, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
This classification is a one-variable description of the state of economic "well being" in these countries. This variable does not take into consideration the income inequalities between social classes in a given society. The variable also does not accurately express the societal effort for development as some of these countries are relatively oil reach countries such as Iran and Algeria. The impact of many intervening factors (inflation, internal conflict, etc.) led in fact to decrease in per capita income in a number of Muslim societies such as Algeria.. (see Table 6).
The above classification does not partially lend support to Lerner's typology as he Iran would
Most importantly, development as measured by per capita income cuts across all types of Muslim societies regardless of whether they are Islamic-orientated such as Iran and Malaysia or secular-oriented political systems such as Turkey (until recently) and most Arab countries. This partially supports our original contention that development takes place in all direction in so far as traditions and culture in general are made neutral or 'inactive.' So far, there is no apparent attractive model of development within the Muslim context, some countries are perceived as more well
off than others not because of "tradition-religion" factor but mainly because of some material or external factors such as the availability of natures resources (oil for example) and internal stability.
11
Table 6
Average Annual Rates of Growth of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) In Selected Muslim Countries Compared with some Advanced Non-Muslim Countries
1960-2000
12
UN Statistical Yearbook, 1995 (Table 21) , 2003, Table 24
Information: Content and Data
It is useful to distinguish, at the theoretical level, between information as content and information as data. The first dimension of information implies cultural and political consequences such as the content of mass media (books, magazines, radio, TV, etc.). The second dimension involves objective data needed for economic-financial activities in a given society. The latter one relies on computer technology. However, the line separating the two is becoming blurred through the process of convergence, i.e. broadcasting an d telecommunication. Early theories of development focused mainly on mass media as instruments of modernization that are used to disseminate skills and new ways of life and undermine the traditions that inhibit development. In Post-Modernization theory, the emphasis is placed on computer technology as the dominant channel of communication and the mass media are viewed as instruments of political socialization, advertising and entertainment.
It is evident that modern media (radio and television) were introduced on a large scale in the Muslim society. However, the impact of these technologies on meaningful development – as against material development only - is not clear, to say the least, although the negative impact of imported popular culture is quiet evident and has been documented by a number of empirical studies on Muslim societies. It is not the media as such which enhance or hinder meaningful development, but the content (i.e. ideas and values) that the medium seeks to convey to different segments of society.
Statistically, book production in the Muslim world is either moderate or weak. The most active Muslim countries in book production are Turkey, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia and Egypt.20 It has been suggested that print communication is a basic factor of development and civilization. McLuhan maintained that print communication21, associated with the invention of printing press in the 15th century, inaugurated a new era in the Western civilization: a historical shift from oral to print communication. The Muslims in the early period of their history had given great importance to the process of documentation beginning with the collection, writing and classification of the Quran and Hadith to the age of tadwin (preservation) in which the most important scientific, philosophical and artistic works were preserved in writing. The decline of the Muslim civilization can be attributed in part to the decline of this particular form of communication. Today, print media are still an elite form of communication in many Muslim societies. The total number of books produced by the leading Muslim countries in 1999 is only a small fraction of what is produced by Japan in the same year (see Table 7).
20 The numbers are not analyzed proportionally with the population size.
21 Herbert M. McLuhan, Understanding Media: The Extension of Man (New York: McGraw-Hill), 1964.
13
Table 7
Book Production in Selected Muslim Countries
Compared with some Advanced Non-Muslim Countries
UN Statistical Yearbook, 1995 (Table 21) , 2003, Table 25
The state of book production described above also applies to newspapers in the Muslim society. Newspapers circulation per 1,000 varies from very low (6) in Bangladesh to moderate in Jordan (75.4). The exception to this main features is Malaysia where newspapers circulation per capita is high (117) and approaches those of developed societies. Moreover, major daily newspapers in the Muslim world are concentrated in large cities. Most of these papers do not reach the rural population. Illiteracy is viewed as a major obstacle for the growth of print media in the Muslim society. The cost factor restrains people's access to such medium. (see Table 8).
Table 8
Daily Newspapers in Selected Muslim Countries
Compared with some Advanced Non-Muslim Countries
UN Statistical Yearbook, 1995 (Table 21) , 2003, Table14
(*) 1999
(**) 1998
14
Unlike print media, the number of radio and TV sets per 1,000 inhabitants, is high in Muslim countries (except in Pakistan and Bangladesh). These hard media, not affected the problem of illiteracy, are used for political socialization an promotion of social policies. The cultural impact of these media is of great concern, particularly the effect of imported popular culture. Many functions are provided by these media: social integration, promotion of certain ideas and products, entertainment, etc. Still, it is difficult to assess the role of these in socio-economic development. Critics argue that the current state of the Muslim society is a witness to the negative role played by these media in the contemporary Muslim society.
Table 9
Television and Radio Receivers in Selected Muslim Countries
Compared with some Advanced non-Muslim Countries
UN Statistical Yearbook, 1995 (Table 21) ,1999,( Table17)
The same observed pattern of hard media applies to technologies of telefax stations, telephones and mobile cellular telephones and Internet users. The leading Muslim countries with a high number of cellular mobile telephone subscribers, main telephone lines in operation and Internet users are Turkey, Malaysia and Indonesia. (see Tables 10, 11 and 12).
15
Table 10
Cellular Mobile Telephone Subscribers In Selected Muslim Countries
Compared with some Advanced Non-Muslim Countries
UN Statistical Yearbook, 1995 (Table 21) ,2003( Table17)
Table 11
Main Telephone Lines in Operation in Selection Muslim Countries
Compared with some Advanced Non-Muslim Countries
UN Statistical Yearbook, 1995 (Table 21) ,2003( Table18)
Table 12
Internet Users in Selected Muslim Countries
Compared with some Advanced Non-Muslim Countries(Estimate Numbers)
16
UN Statistical Yearbook, ,2003( Table19)
(*) 1995
The same trend observed in analyzing the rate of GNP applies to the state of mass media and telecommunication in the Muslim context. There are basically three levels of objective media development in the Muslim context:
- Leading Muslim countries with relatively high level of media and communication infrastructure (MCIS) such as Malaysia and Turkey. - Countries with moderate level of MCIS such as most Arab countries. - Countries with low level of MCIS such as Bangladesh and Pakistan. This study does not include Arab oil rich countries which have relatively high level of MCIS such as the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. The study also does not include the very poor Muslim countries such as Somalia and the Sudan. In any case, objective development or lack of it in these countries is not related to major transformation in the traditions-religion equation which seems to remain neutral or ineffective. Certainly, there are voices which object to the Western type of media content but such discontent did not affect the introduction of media and communication outlets. The trend is for media and communication to expand whenever the economic means are available regardless of whether the political system is secular or Islamic-oriented.
Information Society and Muslim Society
Many theories of information society emerged during the 1970s. The notion of society which operates on the basis of information commodity was sparkled by such novel writing as Bell's Post Modern Society22 and Toffler's Third Wave.23 This theory, projected to non-Western contexts, postulate that information society provide more opportunities for development and allows fro a plurality of modes of growth. Much of the literature that I have reviewed on this matter was produced by economists. Literature by sociologists and communication researchers is scarce. It seems that the concept of information society is not well received in these disciplines even though social factors and communication are among the basic ingredients of such society.
Simply put, post-modern society is the result of a historical shift in the structure of economy: from goods-producing industry to services-producing industry. The dominant economic sector of this society is tertiary economy organized around information and services, i.e. financial institutions, transportation, education, health. mass communication, etc. The basic commodity in this society does not comprise raw materials but information. Thus, knowledge became the constituent for social stratification both internally and externally. Information is channeled through the new technology of computers and on-line communications. Socially, this society is dominated by the middle class make up of skilled and semi-skilled while collar workers. Politically, there is a decline of political parties and thus the influence of labor unions and the rise instead of interest groups reflecting different social,
22 Daniel Bell, The Coming of Post-Industrial Society (New York: Basic Books, 1973) 23 Alvin Toffler, The Third Wave, 2nd ed. (New York: Bantam Books, 1990).
17
economic and cultural interests. This society is also described as consensual in the sense that conflict is resolved through democratic elections.
It is argued that the enormous progress in advanced information technologies would replace the model of "development through modernization of mass media campaigns."24 The theory assumes that rapid accumulation of information and information systems could speed up the development process and help promote modernization and self-reliance. The argument further maintains that this process "promotes Third World countries' self-sufficiency, closing the gap between North and South, opening up news sectors of manufacture in the South, and bringing massive education and health to the neglected areas of the world."25
This optimistic view is not shared by many critics from different theoretical and ideological backgrounds. The critics argue that information technology is "the natural result and inherent component of the overall social system which produced them, a system that is ripe for their invention, fabrica-tion and social allocation." Thus, "technology transfer does not occur in a vacuum, isolated from the context in which technology is generated."26
As far as the Muslim and non-Western societies are concerned, the impact of this theory of development is not that clear. This theory indirectly exclude the moral dimensions of development. It views relation as an independent factor which can hinder or promote development. The secular component of this theory, however, is in line with the assumptions of modernization theory of development. Theoretically, Post-Modernization Theory projects many opportunities in non-Western contexts particularly the technical and practice dimension of this emerging society. (see Table 13 for our summary and evaluation.).
24 Jennifer Daryl Slack and Fred Fejes, The Ideology of the Information Age (New Jersey: Ablex Publishing Corporation, 1987), 203.
25 Ibid.
18
Table 13
Information Society and Muslim Society
Source: my reconstruction based on references cited.
Conclusion
19
It is evident that the Muslim society is heading towards modernity. The modern, however, is not to be viewed in terms of specific Western societies which are characterized as secular, individualistic, capitalist, etc. Theoretically modernity, as a factor of civilization, can only be based on moral foundations. Malek Bennabi has well demonstrated that the spiritual element generates the social energy that give rise to any civilization. In every society, the primary conditions for civilization are Man + Land + Time. However, the absence of attachment to the transcendental force of religion and ethics render these conditions worthless. This argument is in line with many enlightened Western formulations, for example, those of Max Weber and Herman Lang. Objectively, development in the current Muslim context is not affected by the traditions-religion equation as this is made neutral or ineffective. Development seems to cut across different Muslim societies regardless of attachment-detachment to traditions and religion. I have argued the post-modern society of development offers a more enlightened pluralist interpretation of development in the non Western context than the pervious ethnocentric modernization theory which clearly advocates the exclusion of traditions and religious norms from the process of development. I maintain that our age of information and commutation technology requires ethical as well as technical competence, the latter is to be subordinated to the first. This allows for creation and invention in the context of our cultural and civilizational environment. This competence can only enhance the moral and the material well being or our society both locally and the at the global level.
20