The Internet from Christian and Islamic Perspectives - Research Paper Example

?The Internet from Christian and Islamic Perspectives Introduction Essentially, the Internet is a medium or a platform by which people could access all sorts of information. It is free and unrestricted, containing available data coming from all sources from anywhere around the world. It is this fundamental characteristic that is relevant in approaching the Internet as a subject from Christian and Islamic points of view. Both of these religious faiths have established norms, culture and mission. This paper will determine whether there is any marked difference between the Christian and Islamic attitudes towards the Internet. Internet in Islam The popular notion, especially in the West is that Islam may not be comfortable with the Internet. Images of censorship and restriction would probably inform this perception. But the fact is that the Internet is accessible to many Muslims across the world. There is no specific Islamic teaching that bars the use of the Internet for Muslims. As a matter of fact, many Muslims are finding the Internet a convenient and useful way to learn not just about common knowledge but also about Islam, its rituals, among other information. Today, both traditional Muslim texts and contemporary Muslim conversation have found their way to the information superhighway (Bowen and Early, 300). Abdulla also pointed out that while Islam is not dependent on the Internet and computers and would not miss it if it disappears, there is still the fact that these technological innovations have expanded several aspects of Islam (62). For example, the Internet is also increasingly becoming a place for Muslims to join together into many communities that strengthen relationship and brotherhood. According to Karagiannis and Wagner, the Internet, along with the so-called "new media", created new forms of Islamic communities, which revolve around shared communications and which bind together new relationships (97). These are made possible by the amount of information that can be accessed as well as the social media (popular among Muslims) and the emergence of the e-mail messaging tool. These facilitate Islamic propagation. The capability of the Internet to be accessible to many people makes it an effective form of evangelizing tool. Many people are learning about Islam online and this is particularly important especially in the era wherein Muslims are constantly being treated with suspicion and Islam, being commonly misinterpreted. Many Muslims find the Internet useful in these areas. The Christian Tradition The utility of the Internet is also true in the case of Christians. Everyone agrees that on its positive side and in regards to its technological capabilities, it is important for evangelism and missionary activities. As Campbell explained, from the point of view of many Christians, the Internet serves as "a social technology that helps people of shared faith gather together, thereby connecting those from the same religious tradition who would normally be separated by geography, time and other limitations" (39). This characteristic is supposed to be congruent with the Christian religious concept of the "body of Christ", which in this case manifest in a networked community of believers with the Internet as a medium. The Internet also serve as a resource and communication tool for Christians across the globe in their religious activities, information campaigns, among other evangelical works. It allows the Christian churches to reach out to its flock and facilitates in giving charity, missionary work, among others. Comparison It is important to underscore that the positive perspectives on the Internet as demonstrated in the previous sections are both true in the cases of Christianity and Islam. And this is also shown in terms of the negative attitude or perspective towards the Internet is not exclusive to any religion. There are Christian and Islamic values that can be both threatened by the Internet. For example, Christians criticize the uncensored content in the Internet that are made available to children. There are numerous data and information being disseminated online that are considered immoral and, hence, encouraged to be filtered out. This is also true in the case of Islam. Cases of extreme opposition for the Internet, hence, are not merely found in Islamic communities. There are also those found in conservative Christian societies. To illustrate the previous point, there is the example of a sheikh in al-Jahra, one of Kuwait’s most conservative town, who issued a fatwa, demanding that the local residents rid their households with Internet, among other new media technologies such as television, video cassettes and satellite dishes (Wheeler, 163). This attitude is also true in Christian communities. Many conservative groups are pressuring governments to censor the Internet or filter out its contents in order to protect children and prevent the attack on religious values. The Christian Coalition is one such religious groups actively promoting vigilance and restrictions imposed on the Internet and its users. The truth is that even the conservative population of both Christian and Islamic denominations find uses for the Internet and do not readily reject it as immoral or against the rules and teachings of their religion. One can find an example in the cases of the Al-Azhar University in Cairo, which is the established voice of Sunni Islam and the Shi'i counterparts in Iran, many Islamic schools (madrasas) and training institutes (Bowen and Early, 300). Conclusion It is clear that the discussion of the positive and negative outcomes of the Internet have the same issues and themes for both the Christian and Islamic points of view. Both of these religious traditions recognize and use the technological capability of the web in order to evangelize, conduct and expand its activities. On the positive side, both Christianity and Islam benefit from the Internet in pursuing their respective objectives. Meanwhile, the negative aspect is also the same. Censorship, filters and restrictions are similarly being called out from various sectors of these religious communities because some aspects of the Internet could threaten and harm religious traditions and values. All in all, there is really no marked difference with regards to how Internet is perceived by religious authorities and the religious believers from both Christian and Islamic denominations. In general, the medium is considered as a tool and that it is not considered immoral or unethical based on the nature of the content it delivers. Work Cited Abdullah, Rasha. The Internet in the Arab World: Egypt and Beyond. Peter Lang, 2007. Print. Bowen, Donna Lee and Early, Evelyn. Everyday Life in the Muslim Middle East. Indiana University Press, 2002. Print. Campbell, Heidi. When Religion Meets New Media. Oxon: Taylor and Francis, 2010. Print. Karagiannis, Nathalie and Wagner, Peter. Varieties of World-Making: Beyond Globalization. Liverpool University Press, 2007. Print. Wheeler, Deborah. The Internet In The Middle East: Global Expectations And Local Imaginations In Kuwait. New York: SUNY Press, 2006. Print. Read More