Mediating Islam: Cosmopolitan Journalisms in Muslim Southeast Asia

Description

Broadening an overly narrow definition of Islamic journalism, Janet Steele examines day-to-day reporting practices of Muslim professionals, from conservative scripturalists to pluralist cosmopolitans, at five exemplary news organizations in Malaysia and Indonesia. At Sabili, established as an underground publication, journalists are hired for their ability at dakwah, or Islamic propagation. At Tempo, a news magazine banned during the Soeharto regime and considered progressive, many see their work as a manifestation of worship, but the publication itself is not considered Islamic. At Harakah, reporters support an Islamic political party, while at Republika they practice a "journalism of the Prophet" and see Islam as a market niche. Other news organizations, too, such as Malaysiakini, employ Muslim journalists. Steele, a longtime scholar of the region, explores how these publications observe universal principles of journalism through an Islamic idiom. Cover Title Copyright Dedication CONTENTS Acknowledgments Note on Translation and Transliteration INTRODUCTION ONE Sabili: Scripturalist Islam TWO Republika: Islam as Market Niche THREE Harakah: PoliticalIslam FOUR Malaysiakini: Islam in a Secular Context FIVE Tempo: Cosmopolitan Islam in Practice CONCLUSION The Journalisms of Islam Notes Bibliography Index