Abstract
The genesis of social media ushered in a new paradigm of collaboration and communication across the developed world and is gradually traversing the developing world. This paradigm shift transformed the exchange of information, altering the ways communities are socialized. The way that social media has aided in the socialization of religious communities is particularly interesting because of the complex influence of religion on one’s upbringing, outlook, and social interactions. This research paper seeks to understand this interplay, presenting an exploratory study on the nexus between Islam, social media, and Muslim youth. This tripartite system is of growing interest because, while a substantial amount of literature has been published on one or two of these topics together, little is known about the relationship between all three. This paper is meant to address this literature gap by posing the question: “How do Muslim youth interact with social media for religious reasons, and does social media affect their perception of Islam?” This question establishes two basic assumptions: 1) that youth who are Muslims are indeed using social media and 2) that these Muslim youth are using social media for religious reasons. These religious reasons include sharing information about Islam online, spreading the message that Islam is peaceful, and engaging in community-building and activism. To investigate these findings, this exploratory study combines a review of existing literature and the findings of a survey conducted in Summer 2021 to discuss the main aspects of the nexus between Islam, social media, and youth.
Presenters
Iman IsmailStudent, MA in Contemporary Islamic Thought, College of Islamic Studies, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar Bayan Khaled
Research Fellow, College of Islamic Studies, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Religious Community and Socialization
KEYWORDS
Religion, Social media, Online Muslims, Youth, Islam, Virtual faith communities
