Towards an Islamic Paradigm of the Information Society

The main purpose of this study was to understand how Muslim Communication Scholars think about the phenomenon of "information society". The study was carried out through three research questions: 1) What is the concept of information society from the perspective of Muslim Communication Sc...

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Main Author:	Baghestan, Abbas Ghanbari
Format:	Thesis
Language:	English English
Published:	2009
Subjects:	Communication - Social aspects Informations - Social aspects Information technology - Social aspects
Online Access:	http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/10353/1/FBMK_2010_7_A.pdf
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id	my-upm-ir.10353
record_format	uketd_dc
spelling	my-upm-ir.103532013-05-27T07:45:46Z Towards an Islamic Paradigm of the Information Society 2009-09 Baghestan, Abbas Ghanbari The main purpose of this study was to understand how Muslim Communication Scholars think about the phenomenon of "information society". The study was carried out through three research questions: 1) What is the concept of information society from the perspective of Muslim Communication Scholars? 2) How could Muslim countries achieve that information society and through which process? 3) What are the similarities and differences between Muslim and Western scholars‘ opinions about the concept and process of information society? These questions aim to determine how Muslim Communication Scholars conceptualize the information society and what characteristics and components it must have to be suitable for Muslim countries. Due to the nature of the study, a qualitative research method was used by the researcher to investigate on how Muslim Communication Scholars think about the phenomenon of information society. Among the qualitative research methods, because of the nature of research problem, "grounded theory" was used in this study. Data was gathered from eleven Muslim Communication Scholars in the field of communication who had fulfilled the criteria of sampling procedure. Respondents were selected through "snowball and chain" strategy. The data collection method employed was mainly in-depth interview with the respondents. All interviews were taped recorded, transcribed verbatim and analyzed. In addition, document analysis was also carried out. The validity of study was ensured through identifying the research biases, triangulation, members‘ checks, and peer examination. The reliability was ensured through stating the researcher‘s position, triangulation and audit trail. The findings of this study yielded new characteristics, components and structure of Muslim Communication Scholars‘ perspective that are no similar to what so called "information society" in the West. Eleven major themes and several sub-themes emerged from this study in relation to Muslim Communication Scholars' conceptualizing of information society. Two themes were regarding question No.1 that are: 1) Strategy of Domination and 2) Building Islamic Civil Society. And also nine themes were found regarding question No.2, including: 1) Predominant of Knowledge, 2) Highly Educated, 3) Regulated Flow of Information, 4) Controlled Information and Communication, 5) Logical Freedom of Expression, 6) Participatory Political System, 7) Free Access to Right Information, 8) Bridged Digital Gap and 9) Maintaining Traditional Culture. According to the above themes, it was discovered that Muslim Communication Scholars conceptualize this phenomenon much different from their counterparts in the West. This study concludes that based on the findings, new model of society with different structures, components and characteristics are needed for contemporary Muslim countries. Therefore, based on their argument, the paradigm of "information society" should be changed to paradigm of "Islamic Civil Society" to be suitable for Muslims. However, as Islamic Civil Society is broader concept suggested by respondents of this study as an ideal society for contemporary Muslim countries, only its components related to the area of communication and information was discussed in this study. Specific implications and recommendation for future research are also suggested. Communication - Social aspects Informations - Social aspects Information technology - Social aspects 2009-09 Thesis http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/10353/ http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/10353/1/FBMK_2010_7_A.pdf application/pdf en public phd doctoral Universiti Putra Malaysia Communication - Social aspects Informations - Social aspects Information technology - Social aspects Faculty of Modern Language and Communication English
institution	Universiti Putra Malaysia
collection	PSAS Institutional Repository
language	English English
topic	Communication - Social aspects Informations - Social aspects Information technology - Social aspects
spellingShingle	Communication - Social aspects Informations - Social aspects Information technology - Social aspects Baghestan, Abbas Ghanbari Towards an Islamic Paradigm of the Information Society
description	The main purpose of this study was to understand how Muslim Communication Scholars think about the phenomenon of "information society". The study was carried out through three research questions: 1) What is the concept of information society from the perspective of Muslim Communication Scholars? 2) How could Muslim countries achieve that information society and through which process? 3) What are the similarities and differences between Muslim and Western scholars‘ opinions about the concept and process of information society? These questions aim to determine how Muslim Communication Scholars conceptualize the information society and what characteristics and components it must have to be suitable for Muslim countries. Due to the nature of the study, a qualitative research method was used by the researcher to investigate on how Muslim Communication Scholars think about the phenomenon of information society. Among the qualitative research methods, because of the nature of research problem, "grounded theory" was used in this study. Data was gathered from eleven Muslim Communication Scholars in the field of communication who had fulfilled the criteria of sampling procedure. Respondents were selected through "snowball and chain" strategy. The data collection method employed was mainly in-depth interview with the respondents. All interviews were taped recorded, transcribed verbatim and analyzed. In addition, document analysis was also carried out. The validity of study was ensured through identifying the research biases, triangulation, members‘ checks, and peer examination. The reliability was ensured through stating the researcher‘s position, triangulation and audit trail. The findings of this study yielded new characteristics, components and structure of Muslim Communication Scholars‘ perspective that are no similar to what so called "information society" in the West. Eleven major themes and several sub-themes emerged from this study in relation to Muslim Communication Scholars' conceptualizing of information society. Two themes were regarding question No.1 that are: 1) Strategy of Domination and 2) Building Islamic Civil Society. And also nine themes were found regarding question No.2, including: 1) Predominant of Knowledge, 2) Highly Educated, 3) Regulated Flow of Information, 4) Controlled Information and Communication, 5) Logical Freedom of Expression, 6) Participatory Political System, 7) Free Access to Right Information, 8) Bridged Digital Gap and 9) Maintaining Traditional Culture. According to the above themes, it was discovered that Muslim Communication Scholars conceptualize this phenomenon much different from their counterparts in the West. This study concludes that based on the findings, new model of society with different structures, components and characteristics are needed for contemporary Muslim countries. Therefore, based on their argument, the paradigm of "information society" should be changed to paradigm of "Islamic Civil Society" to be suitable for Muslims. However, as Islamic Civil Society is broader concept suggested by respondents of this study as an ideal society for contemporary Muslim countries, only its components related to the area of communication and information was discussed in this study. Specific implications and recommendation for future research are also suggested.
format	Thesis
qualification_name	Doctor of Philosophy (PhD.)
qualification_level	Doctorate
author	Baghestan, Abbas Ghanbari
author_facet	Baghestan, Abbas Ghanbari
author_sort	Baghestan, Abbas Ghanbari
title	Towards an Islamic Paradigm of the Information Society
title_short	Towards an Islamic Paradigm of the Information Society
title_full	Towards an Islamic Paradigm of the Information Society
title_fullStr	Towards an Islamic Paradigm of the Information Society
title_full_unstemmed	Towards an Islamic Paradigm of the Information Society
title_sort	towards an islamic paradigm of the information society
granting_institution	Universiti Putra Malaysia
granting_department	Faculty of Modern Language and Communication
publishDate	2009
url	http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/10353/1/FBMK_2010_7_A.pdf
_version_	1747811103519277056

Towards an Islamic Paradigm of the Information Society

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