Historical and contemporary trajectories in Muslim debates about New Medias
Gæsteforelæsning af Senior Lecturer Göran Larsson, Department of Literature, History of Ideas, and Religion, University of Gothenburg
In the book Muslims and the New Media: Historical and Contemporary debates (Ashgate 2011) I have explored how Muslim theologians have discussed the introduction of the latest information and communication technologies from the printing press up till the Internet. The aim of my lecture is to highlight trajectories in the debate and to discuss similarities and differences over time and place. I will argue that it is necessary to have a so-called historical perspective when discussing Muslim opinions about information and communication technologies. Even though the latest technological developments have had a tremendous impact on the society it is also important to bring in historical cases that illustrates that the fears and hopes associated with the new technologies are not that new.