A Survey of Islam on the Internet

 

News & Views

Abdul Karim Bangura1

 

 

Introduction

In this essay2, I survey how the Internet has become a vast resource – not only for information, entertainment and interaction with other people in other places who share interests, but also for learning about Islam.

That the Internet is contributing to the spread of Islam, whether positively or negatively, is hardly a matter of dispute. Since the horrible attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington, DC on September 11, 2001, many Americans have turned to the Internet to learn about global terrorism, Osama Bin Laden, and Islam – the world’s fastest growing religion. They have turned to the Internet for answers or inspiration. What they have found is a diverse Muslim world. A search for the word Islam on the Internet yields links to thousands of websites featuring everything from shopping to sermons to Web-muftis – people who provide answers to moral and legal questions. The web allows almost anyone to offer a plethora of perspectives, and much of the resulting discussion and debate can be found in the online discussion forums and chat rooms.

Some observers point out that the Internet has also altered consensus-building among the Ummah. What used to take decades, even centuries, to trace interpretations of the Qur’an, for example, has been accelerated by the Internet’s ability to give instant access to the teachings and thoughts of distant Islamic scholars in their original words. Practices, laws and beliefs that were once bound by geography are now evolving into a mainstream Muslim identity on Internet.

Ninety percent of all users go to the Internet for news or information; of that 90 percent, 80 percent use the Internet for research3. One in four of these users surfs the Internet for religious and spiritual material (about 28 million people in the United States), with 23 percent specifically searching for information about Islam4. Increasingly, students of all levels and disciplines are using the Internet as a primary source of information; 29 percent accept the information they find as a ‘good source of information,’ and only 34 percent consider additional verification of the information important5.

John Naisbitt once said in reference to the information age: ‘We are drowning in information but starved for knowledge’6. Indeed, information is abundant. A search for the key term ‘religion’ on the popular search engine Yahoo produces over 19 million results. The key term ‘God’ similarly produces over 18 million.  A search for ‘Allah’ using Yahoo produces over 8,000 results, some of which include, ironically, ‘Jesus Christ Superstore’ and ‘Angry at God’ message boards.

Thomas S. Valovic, in his book, Digital Mythologies (2000), addresses the issue of information overload and raises three vital questions: (1) Is too much information possible? (2) Is there an inverse relationship between quantity and quality? (3) Is there a difference between information and knowledge? In contemplating these queries, one is also led to reflect upon the utility of the available information, both good and bad, accessible to all on the Internet. Thus, even the seasoned researcher is bound to stumble upon the double-edged sword: i.e. the Internet can be beneficial at times and disadvantageous at others.

The Internet has been largely marketed and pushed as a fast, easy way to find any information one desires. Through this emphasis on fast and easy, information consumers who look to the net for resources often turn to the most readily available sources for answers (top ten Web sites, most heard about sites, sites which do not require login or passwords).  In focusing on fast and easy, users may overlook buried information (the higher numbered results), difficult to browse sites, and member-sensitive journals and archives.  In this way, too much information is possible because multitude of outdated, inaccurate, unprofessional sites complicate the access to useful information. 

However, sifting and sorting through this surplus to find useful information not only takes time and energy, but it also hampers the use of critical thought and analysis. Unfortunately, as more and more information is made available, the less time an individual will have to deliberate on it with thoroughness; thoroughness which often means checking the sources for reliability, quality and validation. Raw data itself is useless without rational thought and analysis, with which they become useful information, and useful information needs application to become knowledge.

The unwillingness and/or sheer inability to process the vast quantity of information the Internet provides often leads to incorrect and/or incomplete ideas about the topic in question. However, the successful employment of the tools made available by the Internet may lead to greater understanding and/or constructive application of the knowledge gained from researching a specific issue. Virtual investigation of religion may lead to virtually any point on the spectrum, spanning destructive/fraudulent information to enlightenment, depending on the individual and the information he/she comes across.

Optimists see the good in Internet based religious research in the following scenarios: networks tend to throw together people who otherwise would never have met and been able to share their perspectives. Healthy exchange of different beliefs can lead to self-exploration and understanding of others. Since the Internet is relatively anonymous, it can provide a friendly and face-saving way to discuss difficult topics. The Internet can provide access to and a platform from which to post a plethora of religious opinions.

However, harm is not difficult to find. The dissemination of misinformation may lead to confusion, apathy, or aversion. Individuals are allowed to post hate-promoting messages freely, breeding more hate. The overload or poor quality of information may lead to discouragement and abandonment of research. Persuasive information could potentially distract uncritical users. 

 

A Survey of Islam on the Internet

In the light of the nature by which the Internet is used for research – i.e. quick, readily available and user-friendly, the following five search engines were used to research available information about Islam using the keyword ‘Islam’: MSN, Google, Lycos, Yahoo, and HotBot. Assuming that browsers will only look at a handful of sites to gather information and that they turn to  sites will not take too much time to come across (i.e. in the lower numbers of the number of results found), every twentieth Web site of the first two hundred Web sites are taken as samples. The name, web address, and topics claimed to be covered by the websites are offered in the following tables to demonstrate what the average person looking for information about Islam, using one of the five most popular search engines, would come across. The actual validity and contents of the websites are discussed in another article.

 

Table 1: A Survey of Islam on the Internet: WebPages accessed 10/20/03

 

Search Engine: MSN	URL Address	Topics
1. (20) Frontline — Muslims	www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/ shows/muslims	Examines Islam through the stories of diverse Muslims
2. (40) Women & Islam	www.motherjones.com/photofund/ benchallal.html	Various progressive articles covering a range of topics in Islam
3. (60) Nation of Islam – Beliefs	www.answering-islam.org/nol/no12.html	A paper about Luis Farrakhan from a Christian perspective
4. (80) Examining the Black Muslim Movement, Nation of Islam	www.webzonecom.com/cnn/ cults/bmuslims.txt	A discussion about the black Muslim movement through a Christian perspective
5. (100) Islam Online – 6 Muslims Killed in Karachi	www/islam-online.net/English/news/2003-10/03/article09.shtml	News article from October 3, 2003
6. (120) Islam, the Koran & the Torah – There is Only One God	www.world-war-2-holocaust.org/koran.html	Examines the Qur’an
7. (140) Islam in Kyrgyzstan	www.peacecorps.gov/wws/guides/ kyrgyzstan/islam.htmlislam1	An overview of Islam in Kyrgyzstan
8. (160) Where Islam and Christianity Agree and Differ on Jesus	www.al-islam1.org/inquiries/7.html	A comparative discussion about Jesus in Christianity and Islam
9. (180) Answering Islam – Wife Beating in Islam	www.answering-islaml.org/silas/wife-beating.htm	Discusses the status of the wife in Islam via the Qur’an, Hadith, and other
10. (200) Al-Islam	www.al-islam.org	Basic beliefs, history, and resource guide to Islam

 

Search Engine: Google	URL Address	Topics
1. (20) IslamWeb.net	www.islamweb.net	World headlines, overview, beliefs, current issues
2. (40) Women in Islam	www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/humanrelations/	Personality of a woman as defined by the Qur’an and Sunnah, women in society, etc
3. (60) ForIslam.com	www.forislam.com	Electronic mail service
4. (80) Introduction to Islam	www.iad.org/intro/intro.html	Info by topic: Allah, cleanliness, contribution, human rights, Jesus, etc
5. (100) Islam	www.wsu.edu:8080/~dee/ISLAM/ISLAM.HTM	Historical information
6. (120) Islam – Wikipedia	www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam	Islam as defined by this encyclopedia
7. (140) Scholars of Islam and the Tragedy of September 11th	www.groups.colgate.edu/aarislam/response.htm	Statement from the Academic Organizations pertaining to Islam
8. (160) About Women in Islam – A resource page	www.answering-islam.org/Women/inislam.html	Collection of links to information on women and Islam
9. (180) The Status of  Sunnah in Islam	www.qss.org/articles/status.html	Various papers discussing the status of Sunnah
10. (200) Rizwi’s Bibliography for Medieval Islam	http://us.geocities.com/rfaizer/biblio/	List of references and links for research

 

Table 1 Continues: A Survey of Islam on the Internet: WebPages accessed 10/20/03

 

Search Engine: Lycos	URL Address	Topics
1. (20) IslamWay.com	www.islamway.com	Audio lectures, how-to guides (pray etc), educational materials
2. (40) Islam The Eternal Path to Jannah	www.jannah.org	Resources, links, articles, news
3. (60) www.islam-usa.com	www.islam-usa.com	Poems, prose, articles, links
4. (80) The Institute of Islamic Information and Education	www.iiie.net	Dedicated to providing the most accurate look at Islam in America
5. (100) Al-Islam.org	www.al-islam.org	Article library
6. (120) Homepage of the Qur’an and Sunnah Society	www.qss.org	‘Aqidah, ‘Ibadah, Sunnah, Manhaj, Qur’an, Da‘wah, Fatawa, Fiqh, Bayan
7. (140) Astronomy and Islam	www.ummah.net	Links, groups, software, resources
8. (160) Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting	www.irib.com	News headlines
9. (180) Al Azhar	www.alazhar.org	Center’s Web site
10. (200) Muslim Directory	www.muslimdirectory.co.uk	Publishes information regarding Islamic organizations and resources in the UK

 

 

Table 1 Continues: A Survey of Islam on the Internet: WebPages accessed 10/20/03

 

Search Engine: Yahoo	URL Address	Topics
1. (20) Understanding Islam	www.understanding-islam.com	Questions, discussions, articles, books, translations
2. (40) Talk Islam	www.talkislam.com	Islamic world, family, country studies, questions and answers
3. (60) BBC Religion and Ethics: Islam UK	www.bbc.co.uk./religion/ religions/islam/index.shtml	The essentials, the basics, features
4. (80) Islam—Academic info	www.academicinfo.net/islam.html	Links, Islamic law, Women in Islam, Muslims in China, Islam in America, Terrorism
5. (100) Islam	www.carm.org/islam.htm	Educational information for Christians about Islam
6. (120) Islamic Links – Sultan	www.sultan.org	Correct your information about Islam
7. (140) What is Islam?	www.probe.org/docs/islam.html	History, status, basic beliefs, practices, Christian perspective
8. (160) Muslims.org	www.muslims.org	Information and news network
9. (180) Muslim Women in Oman	www.members.tripod.com/ oum_abdulaziz/	Culture of women in Oman
10. (200) Islamic Tradition	www. religion.rutgers.edu/ vri/islam.html	General resources, links on Mohammed, the Qur’an, Hadith, Shari‘ah, Shiite, Sufis, modern movements

 

Table 1 Continues: A Survey of Islam on the Internet: WebPages accessed 10/20/03

 

Search Engine: HotBot	URL Address	Topics
1. (20) Internet Islamic History Sourcebook	www.fordham.edu/halsall/islam/ islamsbook.html	Guide for research on Islamic history
2. (40) Islam Online	www.islam-online.net/	Multiple language news, information, cultural resources, and analysis
3. (60) Converting to Islam	www.convertstoislam.org/	Resource and comparative guide
4. (80) Intro to Articles and Pillars of Islam	www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/ fundamentals/pillars/intropillars.html	Overview of Islam
5. (100) Intro to Islam	www.isgkc.org/intro_islam.htm	Explains central questions on Islam
6. (120) Islam Today	www.islamtoday.com	Current issues in Islam
7. (140) Women in Islam – United Submitters Int’l	www.submission.org/women	Addresses misconceptions about women in Islam
8. (160) Islam avoiding inappropriate websites	www.wisechoice.net/stories/islamLha.html	How to avoid inappropriate websites
9. (180) Modern Islam	www.friesian.com/afghan.htm	Afghanistanand Fascism in Palestine
10. (200) Web resources for the study of Islam	ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~rs143/Resources	Links to websites for research and information

 

Discussion of the Findings and Conclusion

As the preceding table reveals, the Internet frees individuals from the physical boundaries of their hometowns, their campuses, their cities and their countries when they need to learn about Islam. Information on Muslims in the Maldives or Tanzania or the United States can be gleaned just as fast and easily as information across the hall. Because the Internet does not have opening or closing hours, its information on Islam is more accessible than the information in a library. A school library may be tiny; but with access to the Internet, people have more information on Islam at their fingertips. All individuals need to do to obtain information about Islam on the Internet is to learn how to find it.

In conclusion, while the Internet has become a pervasive and inexpensive way of learning about Islam, one must evaluate the usefulness of the available information in this medium. The user must bear in mind that unlike most books or journal articles which go through a number of checks to make sure that their contents are reliable, he/she must give some thought to where a posting on Islam is found and whether the author who put it on the Internet is a reliable authority on the subject.