Thesis Proposal
Introduction
This is a dissertation to study the growing phenomenon of communicating Islamic knowledge on the Internet. More specifically, the dissertation aims at unraveling the spectacle of Islamic representation. Five Islamic websites are highlighted and their content, activities and performance are analyzed and evaluated. In addition, the management practices of these websites are also considered. This will comprise administrative applications, including sources of funding (zakat) and financial performance.
This will provide a discourse for the appraisal of Islamic websites operating in an eastern context. The study also allows for the development of a comprehensive framework by which to compare and contrast the teachings of Islam through traditional means, and the application of the Internet as a new and advanced method of Muslim scholarship. In effect, this is a study that aims at researching the teachings of a traditional religion as communicated through a contemporary media source.
The advent of the World Wide Web and the rapid spread of the Internet have led to the explosion of online media sources. Especially among youth, the reliance on the
Internet as a medium of communication and a source of information has reached unprecedented levels and proportions. The Internet has become an indispensable tool for updates on politics, the economy, weather, sports and a host of other events and activities.
Bunt (2000) pointed out that “from scholars to casual browsers, millions of people,
Muslims and non-Muslims now use the Internet as a primary source of information”
Electronic communication, most notably the Internet, has revolutionized Communication technologies. The Internet has clearly changed our way of life and has expanded our horizons beyond means that would have been incomprehensible just ten years ago. In addition, whereas traditional media – such as radio, television, newspapers and magazines – requires considerable capital outlay, the Internet
This is a dissertation to study the growing phenomenon of communicating Islamic knowledge on the Internet. More specifically, the dissertation aims at unraveling the spectacle of Islamic representation. Five Islamic websites are highlighted and their content, activities and performance are analyzed and evaluated. In addition, the management practices of these websites are also considered. This will comprise administrative applications, including sources of funding (zakat) and financial performance.
This will provide a discourse for the appraisal of Islamic websites operating in an eastern context. The study also allows for the development of a comprehensive framework by which to compare and contrast the teachings of Islam through traditional means, and the application of the Internet as a new and advanced method of Muslim scholarship. In effect, this is a study that aims at researching the teachings of a traditional religion as communicated through a contemporary media source.
The advent of the World Wide Web and the rapid spread of the Internet have led to the explosion of online media sources. Especially among youth, the reliance on the
Internet as a medium of communication and a source of information has reached unprecedented levels and proportions. The Internet has become an indispensable tool for updates on politics, the economy, weather, sports and a host of other events and activities.
Bunt (2000) pointed out that “from scholars to casual browsers, millions of people,
Muslims and non-Muslims now use the Internet as a primary source of information”
Electronic communication, most notably the Internet, has revolutionized Communication technologies. The Internet has clearly changed our way of life and has expanded our horizons beyond means that would have been incomprehensible just ten years ago. In addition, whereas traditional media – such as radio, television, newspapers and magazines – requires considerable capital outlay, the Internet