The New Arab Public Sphere

by Muhammad I. Ayish

The introduction of satellite television and Web-based communications in traditional societies are often taken as manifestations of a new more democratic public sphere. In the book this Western intellectual tradition is taken to task for failing to grasp the real dynamics of an Arab public sphere that has yet to be realized. The author argues that we could not conceive of the Arab public sphere outside the boundaries of sustainable egalitarian and participatory political developments in Arabian societies. Ayish harnesses the notion of 'Islamocracy' or Islamic democracy to put forward a new public sphere perspective that draws on both Islamic moral values and contemporary political practices. According to the author, this synthesist approach holds a great promise both for inter-Arab World communications as well as for dialogue with other cultures based on mutual recognition and peaceful coexistence. Muhammad I. Ayish is Professor and Dean of the College of Communication at the University of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. He holds a Ph.D. in international communication (University of Minnesota, Twin-Cities). Ayish has published two books and over 50 articles in both Arabic and English on issues ranging from political communication to media convergence to war coverage to women representation.

254 pages, Paperback

First published February 28, 2008

Reviews

[Bill DeGenaro · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probably needs to be re-written based on events of the past two years, but a very, very useful overview of how an ethos of civic engagement in the Middle East evolved within (sometimes due to) the contexts of colonialism and empire.