islamic political communication online: the websites of the muslim brotherhood
DESCRIPTION
This presentation illustrates the the historical evolution of the media media strategy of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) in Egypt. It then summarizes the results of a content analysis of the official English websites of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) and its political arm, the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), over the week leading up to the Egyptian constitutional referendum of 15th December 2012. We show to which degree different communication functions that are central to social movements and political parties were present on the websites. Furthermore we summarize an analyse of collective action frames employed in the provision of information on these sites.TRANSCRIPT
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An Analysis of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood’s official English websitesAn Analysis of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood’s official English websites
Name: Anita Breuer, [email protected] & Karim Al-Khasaba, [email protected]
Prepared for: IPSA-RC22 “Political Communication in Times of Crisis”, Granada 12 – 13 September 2013
Why study the online communication of Islamic
parties and SMOs?
� Religious actors played a supporting role in more than 50% of cases of
democratization between 1972 and 2009 (Philpott, Samuel Shah, and
Duffy Toft 2011).
� BUT: Muslim countries are democratic underachievers (Fish 2002)
� Mainstream academic research has long focused Internet’s role in
© 2013 German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE) 2
� Mainstream academic research has long focused Internet’s role in
improving the organizational capacity of Islamist terrorist groups
� Post-Arab-Spring research in political communication has focused on
Internet use of liberal secular actors
� Little research on interrelation between ICT & civil, political Islam
Online communication of political parties and SMOs
� The Internet has supplemented parties‘ traditional
communication channels
� Most parties fail to realize the Internet's interactive potential.
Party websites are mainly used for unilateral top-down
communication (Gibson and Ward 2000; Welp and Marzuca
2014)
© 2013 German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE)
2014)
� But the Internet has increased amount of information on minor,
fringe, and extremist parties (Norris 2003, 2005)
� SMOs are more likely to benefit from the Internet. Digital
networks facilitate decentralized forms of campaigning typical of
unconventional politics (Rohlinger, Bunnage, and Klein 2012;
Laer and van Aelst 2009)
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Traditional communication strategies of the
Muslim Brotherhood (1928 – mid 2000s)
� Various degrees of state repression under Nasser, and Sadat, and
Mubarak.
� repression temporarily eased under Sadat (1976 – 1981) and
Mubarak (1981 – early 90s) → publication of magazines (al-Da’wa ,al-Mukhtar, al- I‘tisam, &Liwa’al-islam)
Three central pillars of communication during phases of repression:
© 2013 German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE)
Three central pillars of communication during phases of repression:
(1) Federated structure of organization
(2) Vertical word-of-mouth communication
(3) Proselytizing in mosques
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The Muslim Brotherhood in the digital era
� Renewed state repression under Mubarak starting from the early
1990s partially coincides with the „dawn of MB‘s digital era“
© 2013 German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE) 5
MB‘s digital communication strategy:
Achievements and problems� Challenge the liberal secular domination of Egypt‘s online political
sphere (e.g. Kefaya, Youth Movement April 6)
� Criticism of Independent Young MB bloggers threatens cohesion of
public image
© 2013 German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE)
� Before the Revolution Egyptian digital sphere was centred around
Western news and social media (Facebook,CNN, BBC)
� After the Revolution Egyptian digital sphere has re-arranged
around the periphery of MB websites. Content produced by the MB
has become dominant on Facebook (Howard et. al. 2011)
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Empirical Analysis of the MB‘s official English
Websites� Period of observation: 8 to 13 December 2012 = run up to the
referendum vote on new Constitution
� Sites analyzed:
− Ikhwanweb.com official English website of the
Muslim Brotherhood
© 2013 German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE)
Muslim Brotherhood
− Fjponline.com official English website of the
Freedom and Justice Party
� Methodology
− Quantitative: Feature Analysis
− Qualitative: Frame Analysis
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Feature Analysis: Political Communication Functions
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Frame Analysis: Cognitive Frameworks for the
Interpretation of Reality
� Identity frames: Definition of a collective „we“ in
opposition to „others“ / In-group solidarity
� Injustice frames: Motivating collective action by
triggering moral indignation / victimization
© 2013 German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE)
� Agency frames: Motivation to alter the status quo
through collective action / Empowerment of the
individual
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Identity frames on Ikhwanweb and FJPonline
� Who are „we“?
� A modern pious organization
� Adherent to moral principals and religious laws of
Islam
� Supporting pluralist values of democracy
� Respecting the rights of women and minorities
© 2013 German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE)
� Who / what are we not?
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� Fundamentalist
� violent / terrorist / Jihadist
� Corrupted by the negative influence of secularization and Westernization
Injustice frames on Ikhwanweb and FJPonline
� What is being done to „us“?
� “violence and arson against us”
� “systematic campaign of slander and subversion”
� „heinous treachery“
� “vicious plot to overthrow the legitimate President elected by popular will”
© 2013 German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE)
� ….and who‘s doing it?
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� „opposition thugs“
� „paid criminals and mercenaries“
� „the media“
� „corrupt regime hangovers“
� „political forces opposed to the country's stability”
Agency frames on Ikhwanweb and FJPonline
� What can we do?
� Agency frames largely absent over period of observation except
�“Participate Positively in the Constitutional Poll”
© 2013 German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE)
� Agency frames largely absent over period of observation except
call for conventional collective political action (YES vote in the
referendum)
� Limitations of this study: Focus on English language websites
that cater to Western audiences and diaspora communities:
“Ikhwanweb’s basic mission is to bridge the knowledge gap between the MB
and Western intellectuals“
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2 MB Internet platforms = 2 communication strategies
© 2013 German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE)
„Egyptians revolt for
the Prophet’s victory in
front of U.S. embassy“
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