The Saudi Blogosphere: Implications of New Media Technology and the Emergence of Saudi‐Islamic Feminism. Issue 1 (31st December 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Tschirhart, Philip
• Is Part Of: Cyber Orient. Volume 8:Issue 1(2014)
• Page Start: 55
• Page End: 79
• Publication Date: 2020-12-31
• Subjects: Islam -- Saudi Arabia -- gender -- Muslim women -- blogs; Digital media -- Middle East -- Periodicals; Digital media -- Arab countries -- Periodicals; Mass media -- Middle East -- Periodicals; Mass media -- Arab countries -- Periodicals; Middle East -- Civilization -- Periodicals; 306.0956
• DOI: 10.1002/j.cyo2.20140801.0004
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1804-3194

Abstract

Abstract: he Kingdom of Saudi Arabia serves as a protector of the social, cultural, and religious epicenters of the Islamic faith; Mecca and Medina. While other Islamic autocracies have fallen in the wake of the Arab Spring, Saudi Arabia and its religious and political elite remain. However, threats to their legitimacy are growing. Especially relevant are increasing calls for women___s rights. The Saudi Arabian public sphere of the pre-digital era had effectively banned women___s participation in public. More recently, the spread of Internet authored blogs has created a new public sphere for women___s deliberation. This study seeks to analyze how the Saudi blogosphere, as a public sphere of deliberation, provides insight into the emergence of Saudi-Islamic feminism through a critical discursive analysis. Three discursive themes emerge to identify how Saudi women negotiate identity and manage dialectical tensions stemming from their intersectional positions: displaying and defending iman (faith), repositioning the ___ulam__, ___ and restoring Saudi history. Taken together these discursive themes detail a Saudi-Islamic Feminist perspective that is emerging in resistance to Western feminist frameworks and in defense of a distinctively Islamic claim to women___s rights, education, and equitable treatment within the public sphere.