Islam for Journalists

Just contributed to the Islam for Journalists e-book project with a chapter called “Digital Islam”.  The crisp looking pdf of the whole e-book is mirrored here, and it is also available on the cataloge page of the Reynolds Journalism Institute.  It was a neat project because we were supposed to anticipate the questions that a journalist new to the region might have if they were doing a story on a particular topical domain.  I ended up with these:

• If the Internet has had an impact on Islam, has Islam had an impact on the Internet? Have digital media had an impact on journalism in the Muslim world?
• Is the Internet helping the cause of Islamic hardliners or terrorists?
• What are the lessons for the West?
• What was the role of the Internet in the “Arab Spring”?
• Have citizen journalists had a role in the new structure of political communication in the Muslim world?
• What are the long-term consequences of digital media use for social movements in Muslim countries?
• What is the role of the internet in Muslim identity in the domestic politics of Western countries?
• Who are the watchdogs?
• Why is the Internet is an important tool for journalists covering Islam?

Howard, Philip N.  “Digital Islam,” in Islam for Journalists, edited by Lawrence Pintak and Stephen Franklin.  Columbia, MO:  Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute, 2014.