"A book worth
reading"
Ehsanul Haq Haqqani
Book review in The Statesman
(Peshawar) 15 April 2001/Muharram 20, 1422 AH
When will it be possible
in the Islamic world that a scholar of religious studies will write a book
about Islam in the cyberspace? Probably after decades or more. But it has
happened in the un Islamic world. Dr. Gary Bunt, a teacher in the Centre for
Islamic Studies (CIS) Lampeter University, Wales, UK, has written a very
comprehensive and concrete book about Islam on the Internet.
Virtually Islamic is a pioneering research book of this young doctor
of Islamic theology. The book very nicely reflects the vast knowledge of the
author both about Islam and the Internet. It is a very beautiful and rate
combination of conventional world of knowledge and the cyber information flow.
The work is replete with
references and information that dilate upon a verity of issues closely relevant
to Islam and the modern world. Gary writes:
"Similarly issues
emerge of CyberSalat, a site which provides a sophisticated freeware programme
to teach prayer, which can be downloaded from its webpage. There is no charge
of this, although the user is invited to make a donation to Muslim charity.
CyberSalat describes itself as providing:
Under the heading of
"Primary forms of Islamic expression online", "Muslim diversity
online", Politics, Islam and the Net", "Digital Minbar",
"Islamic Obligation and authority online" and "Cyber Islamic Future",
the authori has covered a variety of issues related to islam on the Internet.
The book is not only a
highly valuable research work, but also a brand-new idea of Digital Ummah. Dr.
Bunt has discovered a new aspect of the Muslim Ummah that exists in the cyberspace.
He has visited almost all the website about Islam and Muslims and his honest
comments on the site are accurate and diversified.
This is a pioneering study
on a challenging topic that is undoubtedly a difficult job to be carried out.
The people of the Internet are not Ulamae Islam and Ulamae Islam are normally
not computer literate. But Dr. Bunt has covered both the sides in a commanding
way. Both the aspect of the work are better than each other. The issues taken
up in the book are (in the words of Gary)
" - The nature of
Islamic authority and guidance on the Internet.
- Application of the
Internet in fulfilling Islamic obligations
- Islam and politics on
the Internet
- The future of the
internet in Islamic contexts."
One reason that makes the
work of Dr. Bunt more different than common non-Muslim orientalists is that he
has precisely discussed Islamic thoughts and beliefs. No orientalism is there,
all the Islamic beliefs are discussed in the light of the Quran and Sunnah,
that is something new and interesting. The information about various Muslim
sects and political group online is an interesting and concise summary of
Muslim history. If one study the book without a reference to the author, he
will think that it must be written by some well-versed and known Muslim
scholar.
Sorry for Pakistan readers
that the book may be available only in the superbook stores of big cities. The
price is, if found, 14.99 pound, that is Rs. 1,260 - more than one-third of my
monthly salary. If the book is printed in Pakistan or India, the same standard
of printing will cost less than 2 pounds. Even then it is not cheap for a
Pakistan reader. But thanks to the Internet that has made communication easy
and information cheap, a lot about the book is available at www.virtuallyislamic.com