Connecting the Actual with the Virtual: The Internet and Social Movement Theory in the Muslim World-The Cases of Iran and Egypt

The rapid expansion of Internet use in the Muslim world has called into question what role-if any-this medium can play in political action in these countries. This paper seeks to analyze the extent to which the Internet offers space for an expansion of social movement theory in the Muslim world. It...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Muslim minority affairs 2010-12, Vol.30 (4), p.555-574
Main Author: Lerner, Melissa Y.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Activism
Blogs
Case studies
Collaboration
Communication
Communications technology
Egypt
Internet
Iran
Islam
Islamic countries
Muslim Brotherhood
Muslims
Networks
Political action
Political factors
Social activism
Social Movements
Tilly, Charles
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Summary:The rapid expansion of Internet use in the Muslim world has called into question what role-if any-this medium can play in political action in these countries. This paper seeks to analyze the extent to which the Internet offers space for an expansion of social movement theory in the Muslim world. It relies on a number of case studies from two Muslim countries, the One Million Signatures Campaign and "Weblogistan" in Iran, and the Kefaya Movement and Muslim Brotherhood blogging in Egypt. When placing Internet use in the context of political scientist and historian Charles Tilly's "repertoire" of social movement characteristics (worthiness, unity, numbers, and commitment) and political scientist Robert Putnam's theory that the Internet can isolate individual users, it appears that the key to the successful collaboration of the web and social movements is an adaptive dynamic, through which groups function in both the cyber-world and the real world. This paper presents a potential vision for the future of the Internet and Islamic activism based on the assumption that an online element will help generate some of the elements of Tilly's social movement repertoire, particularly if the Internet is used to inspire sympathetic individuals to real world political action.
ISSN:1360-2004
1469-9591
DOI:10.1080/13602004.2010.533453