The representation of Islam within social media: a systematic review

ABSTRACT

This systematic review was carried out to provide insights into how Islam has been represented in social media; and the omissions and gaps in the synthesized literature on the topic. Two databases – Scopus and the Web of Science – were explored to collect data. Primary searches between 2010 and 2019, revealed more than 100 studies dealing with the topic of investigation. After scrutinizing abstracts and removing duplicates, 36 studies came within the research criteria and were retained for analysis. A thematic analysis was conducted for the derivation of themes. The themes that emerged were: (1) Islam as a liberal religion; (2) Islam as a religion of extremism and terrorism; (3) Islam as religion of gender discrimination; (4) Islam as a religion of collective identity; and (5) Islam as a humane religion. Although the representation of Islam in social media is wide-ranging, more empirical studies found that social media users represent Islam negatively than studies which revealed positive view of Islam by social media users.

KEYWORDS:

• Islam
• Muslims
• social media
• Islamophobia

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia under Grant [FRGS/1/2018/SS103/UniSZA/02/11].

Notes on contributors

Umair Munir Hashmi

Umair Munir Hashmi (former lecturer at King Khalid University, KSA) is a PhD scholar and Graduate Research Assistant in the Department of Languages and Communication at the Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, Malaysia. His research focuses on the discourses in social media, authoritative discourses and applied linguistics. He also studies Islam and Postmodern Western Thought.

Radzuwan Ab Rashid

Radzuwan Ab Rashid is an Associate Professor of Education and Discourse Studies with a special interest on contemporary discourse in online settings. He is the main author of Supportive Conversations on Facebook Timelines published by Routledge (2018) and New Media Narratives and Cultural Influence in Malaysia published by Springer (2019).

Mohd Kamil Ahmad

Mohd Kamil Ahmad obtained his BA and MA in Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences in the field of Fiqh & Usul al-Fiqh from International Islamic University Malaysia. His PhD in Islamic Economy was awarded by University of Malaya.