Digital Theology: Saintly Marvels and God-talk on Facebook (original) (raw)
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DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals), 2018
The 21 st history of the Qur`an sees the scripture's availaibility in the social media technology. This paper discusses the hermeneutical configuration of the Qur`an commentary in social media, not as religious phenomena in sociological or anthropological perspective, but rather as a study of the history of exegesis. The paper addresses two points: the character of the Qur'an commentary presented in Facebook within the context of the modern Qur'anic commentary. The paper suggests that digital hermeneutics emerges as a step of popularizing commentary in modest and presentation. Accordingly, people are now closer to Qur`anic interpretation than before, and therefore the upsurge of semantic function of the Qur`an is on the way. At the same time, digital hermeneutics marks the phenomena of equality and democratization of participation in hermeneutical activity and the challenge of authority.
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In today's digital age, many Indonesian Muslims utilise social media, such as Facebook, WhatsApp and BlackBerry Messenger (BBM), to express their piety. However, their religious online practices are not devoid of ambiguities, discontents and tensions. The article focuses on these specific consequences of being digitally pious in Indonesia. It examines how riyā', an established concept in Islamic theology that refers to showing off one's piety, has gained new relevance in the context of contemporary uses of social media for religious purposes. The article particularly discusses online Qur'an reading groups (ODOJ) and sedekah (charity) activities that utilise social media, and asks how Muslims deal with the problem of riyā', which is strongly discouraged in Islamic theology, and with the discontent and anxieties it generates. At the same time, it reveals that the responses to the challenge that riyā' poses vary greatly and that Indonesian Muslims have found different ways to overcome it.
Al-Jami'ah: Journal of Islamic Studies, 2018
The 21 st history of theQuràn sees the scripture's availaibility in the social media technology. This paper discusses the hermeneutical configuration of the Quràn commentary in social media, not as religious phenomena in sociological or anthropological perspective, but rather as a study of the history of exegesis. The paper addresses two points: the character of the Qur'an commentary presented in Facebook within the context of the modern Qur'anic commentary. The paper suggests that digital hermeneutics emerges as a step of popularizing commentary in modest and presentation. Accordingly, people are now closer to Qurànic interpretation than before, and therefore the upsurge of semantic function of theQuràn is on the way. At the same time, digital hermeneutics marks the phenomena of equality and democratization of participation in hermeneutical activity and the challenge of authority.
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Online-Heidelberg Journal of Religions on the Internet, 2016
Technologization of discourse is generally conceptualized as a process of influencing people’s way of thinking through the use of certain linguistic strategies. In this process, power is exercised through the use of linguistic strategies that shape the construction of identity as well as socio-religious vision. This study analyzes the ways in which certain linguistic strategies and religious discourses used in Facebook posts, reviews and comments on a religion-based Facebook page create and shape the narratives of religious authority, religious identity and religious community. Using the Facebook page of a popular prophetic Christian church in Botswana, Gospel of God’s Grace (3G Ministries), as a case study, this study examines the following questions: in what ways can an active religion-based Facebook page reconfigure and provide a platform for religious practice? To what extent does the use of various linguistic strategies inform and shape religious discourses found in various Fac...
Indonesia and the Malay World, 2018
In today’s digital age, many Indonesian Muslims utilise social media, such as Facebook, WhatsApp and BlackBerry Messenger (BBM), to express their piety. However, their religious online practices are not devoid of ambiguities, discontents and tensions. The article focuses on these specific consequences of being digitally pious in Indonesia. It examines how riyā’, an established concept in Islamic theology that refers to showing off one’s piety, has gained new relevance in the context of contemporary uses of social media for religious purposes. The article particularly discusses online Qur’an reading groups (ODOJ) and sedekah (charity) activities that utilise social media, and asks how Muslims deal with the problem of riyā’, which is strongly discouraged in Islamic theology, and with the discontent and anxieties it generates. At the same time, it reveals that the responses to the challenge that riyā’ poses vary greatly and that Indonesian Muslims have found different ways to overcome it.
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