"Book Review"
Virtually Islamic, reviewed by Sayyed Nadeem Kazmi
Review in Dialogue, published by the Public Affairs Committee for Shi'a Muslims, London, February 2001
This is the first really broad-ranging academic survey to explore how Islam - arguable the world's fastest growing religion - and the internet combine and interact. Information technology has had a global impact on how Muslims approach and interpret their faith and, given its utilization as a primary source of information, whether for laypeople or scholars, the internet also influences how non-Muslims perceive Islam and matters relating to it. From the outset in his Introduction, Gary Bunt allows the reader to enter the world his study is concerned with. "A 'virtual world' is one created by digital illusion to provide a spatial sense of time and place containing phenomena that may or may not have a connection with 'reality'. In a virtual world, I can take off from a major airport in the aircraft of my choice, happily at the controls despite having no aeronautical training. I am safe in the knowledge that when my Boeing 747 enters a spin (which it inevitably does) the aircraft's fragmentation is virtual. I have been playing 'Microsoft Flight Simulator". In the same vein, he continues, "To an extent, the Cyber Islamic Environments I visit are simulations too, representations of the real and also representations of the ideal".
This original and highly fascinating work is part of the Religion, Culture and Society series (edited by Oliver Davies and Gavin Flood of the Department of Theology and Religious Studies, University of Wales, Lampeter - the same institute that the author lectures at in Islamic Studies). The series is presented by leading scholars on a wide range of contemporary religious issues. Gary Bunt first introduced the title for a plenary presentation at the 1998 BRISMES (British Society for Middle East Studies) Annual Conference at Selly Oak Colleges, Birmingham, England. It appeared again as a presentation at the BASR (British Association for the Study of Religions) Conference at Lampeter the same year.
Virtually Islamic could, according to Bunt, refer to a number of things: it could be an abstract world in which the illusory virtual contents are just data; it could refer to notions of identity ("Is it possible to be 'digital' and 'Islamic'?"). The term, Islamic, in this book refers to any influence, for example, cultural, social, textual, political, Divine. Whatever the raison d'etre, it is undeniable that internet gives one - anyone - a global audience of millions and access to literally billions of pages of information, with varying degrees of quality. It is also fast and efficient. The inherent nature of its accessibility means that webpages generally cannot be regulated ("whether that is desirable or not").
Many use the internet to convey their own interpretation of Islam and Islam-related issues. This, as the author correctly states, has serious implications in a number of contexts, especially given the diversity of material and the random way in which this information can be accessed. This may be confusing to the casual observer or user, regardless of whether he or she is Muslim it is therefore important to analyze developments on the internet per se as they are significant gauges of individual self-perception and specific group expression.
The emphasis throughout the series is generally multicultural, and the approach is often interdisciplinary. Clear and accessible, as well as authoritative, this is recommended to students, specialists and non-specialists alike. This particular study emerged as a tangent form of research, completed in 1995, discussing forms of decision-making issues in Islamic contexts. Bunt undertook field interviews assessing and evaluating the impact of the internet's innovative technology.
Issues discussed in the book include the nature of Islamic authority and guidance on the internet; applications of the internet in fulfilling Islamic obligations; Islam and politics on the internet; and the future of the internet in Islamic contexts. Other questions considered by the author included: is the digital umma a real and/or imagined phenomenon; does cyberspace create an idealized sense of Muslim identity (or identities) compared with the reality; what impact can this have on individual sand communities, especially those situated in 'hostile' situations; how do Cyber Islamic Environments (CIEs) reflect traditions, orthodocy, messages, individuality and pluralism in Islamic contexts [one might add to this, what do we mean by 'islamic contexts'?]; do CIEs on the internet represent, in certain contexts, the loss of traditional centers of knowledge and power, manifestations of transnationalism where conventional borders, controls and authorities are electronically circumnavigated? There is little doubt, indeed, that traditional structures of authority and power can be reconfigured within such an environment, with new forms of authority emerging. Thus, the book also addresses the issue of internet globalization.
The chapters look at, inter alia, Primary Forms of Islamic Expression Online, Muslim Diversity Online, politics, obligations, Cyber Islamic Futures. The Notes at the end of the book contain many useful Islamic and related website addresses. In addition to surveying the so-called "information superhighway", material for this book was acquired through email interviews. This, in some cases, ensured anonymity to those who wanted it.