A Religious Media Revolution? The Syrian Conflict and the Mediated Sunni Authority

TY - JOUR

T1 - A Religious Media Revolution?

T2 - The Syrian Conflict and the Mediated Sunni Authority

AU - Skovgaard-Petersen, Jakob

PY - 2016

Y1 - 2016

N2 - This article is a preliminary survey of the media usage of Sunni religious actors during the Syrian conflict. It traces the adoption of new media by religious actors, and analyses the kind of authority these actors have sought to embody, whether regime supporting, oppositional or jihadist. It argues that the conflict has completely altered the means and modes of Sunni religious communication, transforming classical genres and bypassing them with new ones. It concludes that the lack of formal authority in the messaging of the jihadist groupings, and their failed efforts to build up credible religious leaders, is a weakness that could well be exploited in the period to come.

AB - This article is a preliminary survey of the media usage of Sunni religious actors during the Syrian conflict. It traces the adoption of new media by religious actors, and analyses the kind of authority these actors have sought to embody, whether regime supporting, oppositional or jihadist. It argues that the conflict has completely altered the means and modes of Sunni religious communication, transforming classical genres and bypassing them with new ones. It concludes that the lack of formal authority in the messaging of the jihadist groupings, and their failed efforts to build up credible religious leaders, is a weakness that could well be exploited in the period to come.

KW - Faculty of Social Sciences

KW - medier og religion

KW - medier og krig

KW - sunni-islam

KW - kleresi

M3 - Journal article

SN - 1604-0058

VL - 19

SP - 55

EP - 66

JO - Politik

JF - Politik

IS - 4

ER -