Islam in the New Media

Bismillāh ar-Rahmān ar-Rahīm
In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Scenario One..

There I was, replying to a message on Facebook when I remembered a line from the Qur’an that I thought to be relevant to my reply. Instead of reaching out for my thick translation by Abdullah Yusuf Ali on my shelf which was barely 7 steps away from where I was, my fingers typed out Quran Explorer in the address bar. Within seconds, I found the line, copied and pasted the translation, and hoped with Allah’s Grace that the one who would soon be reading my reply would derive comfort from it.

Scenario Two..

I was resting in my room when my brother knocked on the door and asked me to go over to his. So I went over and he had already prepared the headphones and his swivelling chair. (Usually he would make me stand or get my own chair. So him wanting me to sit on his chair made me realize the magnitude of the situation.) His laptop was switched on invitingly and a video was put on pause. “The video must have really affected him,” I thought to myself.

True enough, he made me watch a video (on Youtube, what did you expect?) and after barely 2-3 minutes into the video, we were both sniffling and I had to continuously wipe the tears away.

Scenario Three..

A good friend asked me recently, “Hey, any good websites to recommend? So far, I’m reading from such-and-such & such-and-such and they’re really good. I’ve learnt a lot.”

Harmless question, no doubt about it. But when I sat down to think about it, he did not ask “Any good books to recommend?”. The web has been preferred over traditional reading sources. I don’t deny the significance of books still in this age and I know of many, myself included, who would still appreciate a good book. Yet with the ubiquitious presence of the Internet and the ease with which access is obtained to it, it has become an effortless choice when it comes to reading materials.

Getting Our Spiritual High Online

I listened to a radio broadcast by Here On Earth – Radio Without Borders on Young Muslims and New Media.

One of the guest on the show, Reza Aslan, mentioned that on the institutional level, the clergies are wary of this trend. How many times have we heard our Ustaz complain about the dangers of the Internet? They want the mosque to be the source of knowledge and where community-building happens. Yet the Internet is more accessible to the youths than the mosque that is 10 minutes away from home.

If you miss a lecture or sermon, no problem. Wait a few hours and someone is bound to upload a podcast or recorded video of what you’ve missed. Although this may cause people to intentionally miss out on events and talks, I think it is an inevitable occurrence. Something my GP tutor said to us echoes loudly in my head right now: Ease of use = ease of abuse.

Utilizing What We Have

It is not as easy as to label it as Good or Bad. Indeed, my mind goes back to the night at Madrasah Khairiah when we had an event organised by SimplyIslam.sg. Shaykh Usama Canon  pointed to the microphone and said, “You think Allah created this so that people could sing haraam songs and talk about sex and rock & roll?” He mentioned how Allah created everything so that it could lead to “La ila ha ilallah” but people use it for whatever they use it for.

In the same vein, we should not pull ourselves away from the tools and applications that are available out there. Video blogging? Okay, instead of letting the internet be saturated with music videos, why not use it for recorded lectures? Will it benefit others? Can I remind others of the akhira with it? If yes, do so.

Facebook has been one arena that can be described as a social reformation. At the beginning, I was hesistant to open an account and for over a year, my account was inactive. Today, I get tagged in Facebook Notes that are excerpts from books, articles written by scholars, fatwas issued by Muftis. I read Facebook statuses that displays a line from the Qur’an, or are one-liners worth of wisdom, and I get invited to talks, events and camps through it.

There are pages dedicated to singers and celebrities? Okay no problem. We’ll dedicate a page to Habib Ali al-Jufri, Habib Umar bin Hafiz, Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi etc. It also came as a pleasant surprise to me when I found my very own asatizah on Facebook. Some of those include Ustaz Yusri Yusoff, Ustaz Leyaket Ali, Ustaz Saiful Adli and Ustaz Mazdiuky.

Facebook, blogging, Youtube etc: It has been created for whatever purpose that it was created for. But we as Muslims should use it to spread the message of “La ila ha illallah”. At the very least, we utilize whatever resources we have to gain the pleasure of Allah.

Mosques Staying Relevant

While the clergies are worried that mosques are no longer the focal point, I beg to differ. Mosques will always have its special place because the benefits derived from it are irreplaceable. No website could replace the spiritual satisfaction of praying in a jemaah or being in a state of iktikaf. No podcast could replace the atmosphere of being physically present to listen to sermons and no video could replace the ukhuwwah that is found in mosques.

No doubt switching on the laptop is easier, faster and requires less effort than to get ready and walk over to the mosque. But I believe that instead of making it a war of “Mosques against Internet”, mosques should utilize the Internet to get people to come to mosques. I also have faith that the young and old alike do realize that gaining Allah’s Pleasure requires mujahadah (struggle) and effort. That although the Internet may be more accessible, mosques can never replace the significance that it has in the life of Muslims.

In a hadith narrated by Abu Hurayrah RA, one of the 7 groups that “Allah will shade with His Shade on the Day when there is no shade except His Shade is the man whose heart is attached to the mosques”.

May we all be grouped under that category insyaAllah.

Wa billahi Tawfeeq wal Hidayah,

Ameera Begum Aslam