Challenges to Islamic Religious Authority Online

 Authority over religious content online has become a crucial issue resulting in much study by scholars. Online communication, specifically chat rooms with Q&A, challenge traditional religious authorities by presenting personal interpretations as accurate statements of a community's faith.  In our class reading this week from Digital Culture, Cheong provides an analysis of recent studies examining implications of the Internet on religious authority. She uncovers three main assumptions, in which the final assumption states a paradox between the first two: the internet can both challenge and affirm online authority.

Cheong's first assumption about religious authority and the Internet is that religious authority is eroded by online religious activity. Cheong states digital media is framed as an erosion of power for traditional institutions and leaders. (pg. 5)

Take for example www.islam.com. It is noted in the "about" statement on the website that posted Q&A's can be revised and improved by those who visit the site. In this instance, interpretive textual knowledge guides the virtual community. This opens up a new space for persuasion and threat to traditional authority.

 Islam is a text-based religious culture, meaning authority is based on the correct and unchanging words of Allah revealed through Mohammed. Before print and the internet, memorizing was required for the survival of their religious community. (Turner, pg. 118)

Now, revelation can be routinely approached through reading the Qur'an and memorizing it whether in print or online. Online Q&A forums reveal how traditional authority can be undermined by providing visitors he ability to change or "improve" the answers given on islam.com. This is dangerous and can negatively effects the credibility of leadership. False teachings online could also weaken the status of the religion.

As the Internet becomes a more popular resource for religious knowledge, it is evident that not all online knowledge is accurate, authoritative, consistent, or affirmative, thus has the potential to undermine the traditional religious authority of a community.

Sources:

Cheong, P. H  (forthcoming) Digial Religion: Understanding Religious Practices in New Media World. London, England: Routledge. 

Turner, B. S. (2007). Religious authority and the new media. Theory, Culture, & Society, 24(2), 117-118.