Internet Memes as Instruments of Subversion in the Context of Islam and Muslims

This research investigates the nature of internet memes as instruments of subversion in the context of Islam and Muslims. For the purpose of this research, internet memes including Twitter hashtags have been conceived as idea units. The study employed network analysis to examine roughly 208,000 Twitter hashtags related to Islam and Muslims. Based on this data, actor and hashtag networks were created in order to understand the relationship between leading actors, co- occurring hashtags, dominant discursive practices, and their subversion. Thematic analysis of internet memes was also undertaken in order to study the visual and textual elements in the larger context in which the memes were set. Two major themes emerged: ‘Everyday life and Lived Religion’, and ‘Terrorism, Security and Surveillance’. The study provides evidence of agency of individuals to create fissures in the institutional narratives by reappropriating and subverting the popular symbols originally created by social structures as well as creating their own set of language which is unique to the format of internet memes. The findings derived from the network analysis as well as the thematic analysis also demonstrated the relevance of Richard Dawkins’s (1976) gene-meme analogy

Sains dalam Perspektif al-Qur'an (Studi Metodologis dalam Buku "The Quranic: Scientific Exegesis," karya Pallacken Abdul Wahid

The main issue discussed in this research was related to the interpretation of the Quranic verses based on a scientific approach in a methodological study on the book of “The Quranic: Scientific Exegesis,” written by Pallacken Abdul Wahid. The methodological approach used in this study was a library research, where the object of the study was the aforementioned book. The scientic approach taken in this research was the Tafseer approach with a modern science. The findings of this research indicated that: 1) The Ilmi Tafseer could be classified into two forms, namely a) knowing the meaning of the Kauniyyah verses through the scientific method and the knowledge related to human civilization. By knowing those knowledges, it is expected that the meaning of the Quranic verses could be well interpreted, b) understanding the true meaning of the kauniyyah verses through a scientific approach so that the interpretation was in line with the scientific problems. 2) Pallacken Abdul Wahid was considerd to be a prominent scholar in conducting research activities by integrating the science  and the Qur’an. this integration led to the development of a computer model of the interpretation (technology) based on the revelations of the Qur’an. 3) In the book of “The Quranic: Scientific Exegesis,” it is found that the Ilmi Tafseer presented in the book will enable people to understand the divine mission of human and the concept of universe rationally and holistically.Artikel ini yang akan menjadi pokok pembahasan dalam penelitian ini adalah bagaimana mengemukakan penafsiran ayat-ayat al-Qur’an dengan pendekatan saintifik dalam studi metodologis pada buku “The Quranic: Scientific Exegesis” karya Pallacken Abdul Wahid. Jenis penelitian ini adalah kajian pustaka (library research), sedangkan objek materialnya yakni yang tertuju pada salah satu kitab yang ditulis oleh seorang tokoh dengan menekankan pada aspek metodologi terpakai dalam kitab tersebut. Metode pendekatan ini adalah pendekatan Tafsir dengan sains modern. Hasil penelitian dari artikel ini adalah 1) Tafsir Ilmi dapat digolongkan menjadi dua bentuk, yakni a) mengetahui makna ayat-ayat kauniyyah yang melalui metode saintifik dan ilmu peradaban manusia pada pendekatan tersebut agar menafsirkan maksud kandungan dari ayat-ayat tersebut, b) mengupayakan dalam menemukan keselarasan terhadap ayat-ayat kauniyyah yang melalui pendekatan santifik agar penafsiran itu terasa menarik yang sesuai dengan problematika ilmiah. 2) Pallacken Abdul Wahid pernah aktif terlibat melakukan kegiatan penelitian dalam mengintegrasikan sains dengan al-Qur’an, yang menyebabkan perkembangan model komputer alam semesta (teknologi) yang berdasarkan wahyu dari al-Qur’an. Dan 3) Di dalam buku “The Quran: Scientific Exegesis” ini yang mengungkapkan bahwa Tafsir Ilmi terhadap al-Qur'an yang disajikan dalam buku ini yang akan memungkinkan kita untuk memahami misi ilahi dengan manusia dan alam semesta secara rasional dan holistik

Jihadi Audiovisuality and its Entanglements

Explores the use of images, sounds and videos in Jihadi media and how people engage with them Fosters theoretical approaches to audiovisuality in the context of ‘propagandistic’ imagery Points to strategies and logics of appropriation within and around Jihadi audiovisuality, such as humour, re-enactments and memetic forms of cultural resistance Considers cultural and aesthetic expressions that evolve in response to Jihadi media output Presents empirically grounded research, combined with historical, multi-modal, rhetorical, ethnomusicological and digital audio-visual analysis and interpretations Case studies include: an exploration of: staged violence in IS productions; the appropriation of IS’s nashīd Ṣalīl al-Ṣawārim in digital contexts; the responses by social workers and former supporters of jihadi groups and movements; and how researchers themselves are part of the entanglements caused by politicisation and securitisation of Islam ISIS is often described as a terrorist organisation that uses social media to empower its supporters and reinforce its message. Through 12 case studies, this book examines the different ways in which Jihadi groups and their supporters use visualisation, sound production and aesthetic means to articulate their cause in online as well as offline contexts. Divided into four thematic sections, the chapters probe Jihadi appropriation of traditional and popular cultural expressions and show how, in turn, political activists appropriate extremist media to oppose and resist the propaganda. By conceptualising militant Islamist audiovisual productions as part of global media aesthetics and practices, the authors shed light on how religious actors, artists, civil society activists, global youth, political forces, security agencies and researchers engage with mediated manifestations of Jihadi ideology to deconstruct, reinforce, defy or oppose the messages

Jihadi Audiovisuality and its Entanglements

Explores the use of images, sounds and videos in Jihadi media and how people engage with them Fosters theoretical approaches to audiovisuality in the context of ‘propagandistic’ imagery Points to strategies and logics of appropriation within and around Jihadi audiovisuality, such as humour, re-enactments and memetic forms of cultural resistance Considers cultural and aesthetic expressions that evolve in response to Jihadi media output Presents empirically grounded research, combined with historical, multi-modal, rhetorical, ethnomusicological and digital audio-visual analysis and interpretations Case studies include: an exploration of: staged violence in IS productions; the appropriation of IS’s nashīd Ṣalīl al-Ṣawārim in digital contexts; the responses by social workers and former supporters of jihadi groups and movements; and how researchers themselves are part of the entanglements caused by politicisation and securitisation of Islam ISIS is often described as a terrorist organisation that uses social media to empower its supporters and reinforce its message. Through 12 case studies, this book examines the different ways in which Jihadi groups and their supporters use visualisation, sound production and aesthetic means to articulate their cause in online as well as offline contexts. Divided into four thematic sections, the chapters probe Jihadi appropriation of traditional and popular cultural expressions and show how, in turn, political activists appropriate extremist media to oppose and resist the propaganda. By conceptualising militant Islamist audiovisual productions as part of global media aesthetics and practices, the authors shed light on how religious actors, artists, civil society activists, global youth, political forces, security agencies and researchers engage with mediated manifestations of Jihadi ideology to deconstruct, reinforce, defy or oppose the messages

The Divine Pedagogy: Theological Explorations of Intelligent Extraterrestrial Life

Abstract Speculation regarding the plurality of worlds and its closely related subject of the existence of intelligent extraterrestrials has remained an important question for Christian theology from antiquity until the modern age. Advancements in space science of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries have revealed a vast universe containing trillions of galaxies, as well as new discoveries of exoplanets, which has provided an unprecedented greater context and perspective in consideration of the place of humanity, possible intelligent extraterrestrials, and the role of divinity in relation to creatures. This has led to increased importance to the question regarding the relation of extraterrestrials to the Christian doctrines of the Incarnation and Redemption, which for centuries has evaded theological resolution. Historically, a handful of theologians have given limited attention to the question of the redemption of possible extraterrestrials, and since early Christianity have proposed several possible solutions, which are categorized according to four types: an exclusive view, asserting a single divine incarnation and salvation provided solely for humans on Earth, without access to potential extraterrestrials; an inclusive view, which includes extraterrestrials within the redemptive sacrifice of Christ on Earth; a multiple view, which posits multiple incarnations of the Logos in extraterrestrial civilizations for their redemption; and a varied view, which argues for the total freedom of divine plans in the salvation of intelligent extraterrestrials. This thesis will argue for the varied view in consideration of intelligent extraterrestrials, which allows for the ‘omni-properties’ of divinity in the creation and redemption of intelligent creatures according to divine prerogative. Examination of the history of developments in scientific and theological thought on extraterrestrials, from antiquity to the twenty-first century will demonstrate a consistent pattern of theological formulations of extraterrestrials and their relation to Christian Christology and Soteriology. In the discussion of this subject, an extraterrestrial ‘anthropology’, psychology, morphological possibilities, sociological compositions, extraterrestrial religions, implications of contact, and a ‘divine pedagogy’ of potential modalities of extra-mundus supernatural presence and action will be considered

Social Media and Social Order

Social Media and Social Order combines a structural analysis of the global impact of social media as contributing to the production of a datafied social order with a series of actor-focused analyses, each examining how roles structured by social media are performed at various sites: enmeshed in European cities, entangled in contested Middle Eastern borders, and embedded in provincial Indian small-town networks. The final section then arcs back to a focus on the general properties of social media networks revealed through two American cases, emphasizing the human costs for the recipients of abuse (legislators of color) and the political costs of participatory propaganda for a deliberative understanding of democracy. A central theme is how the principle of differential treatment embedded in the datafied social order is becoming increasingly widespread across social fields. The book demonstrates how social media are implicated in reshaping social order in ways which align with this principle, including creating new precarious hierarchies of esteem, reinforcing existing social, class and religious hierarchies, opening political discussion to more participants but at the cost of reinforcing local hierarchies and dominant discourses, underlining gendered constructions of national identity, amplifying the abuse received by women and people of color in leadership positions and enmeshing users in the circulation of propaganda which resonates with their preconceptions, thus deepening societal polarization

Social Media and Social Order

This book addresses the relationship between social media and social order at multiple scales and sites, from city neighborhoods to national politics, to how the data harvested by transnational corporations influence lives worldwide. It provides insights into how diverse social worlds are being reshaped by social media, analysis of what this means, and reflection on how critical publics might constructively respond

Factors Influencing Customer Satisfaction towards E-shopping in Malaysia

Online shopping or e-shopping has changed the world of business and quite a few people have decided to work with these features. What their primary concerns precisely and the responses from the globalisation are the competency of incorporation while doing their businesses. E-shopping has also increased substantially in Malaysia in recent years. The rapid increase in the e-commerce industry in Malaysia has created the demand to emphasize on how to increase customer satisfaction while operating in the e-retailing environment. It is very important that customers are satisfied with the website, or else, they would not return. Therefore, a crucial fact to look into is that companies must ensure that their customers are satisfied with their purchases that are really essential from the ecommerce’s point of view. With is in mind, this study aimed at investigating customer satisfaction towards e-shopping in Malaysia. A total of 400 questionnaires were distributed among students randomly selected from various public and private universities located within Klang valley area. Total 369 questionnaires were returned, out of which 341 questionnaires were found usable for further analysis. Finally, SEM was employed to test the hypotheses. This study found that customer satisfaction towards e-shopping in Malaysia is to a great extent influenced by ease of use, trust, design of the website, online security and e-service quality. Finally, recommendations and future study direction is provided. Keywords: E-shopping, Customer satisfaction, Trust, Online security, E-service quality, Malaysia