Introduction

Abstract

This article introduces the special issue ‘Online Publics in Muslim Southeast Asia: In Between Religious Politics and Popular Pious Practices’ by discussing prominent approaches in the study of media and the public sphere in light of the specific history of digital media’s rise in Muslim Southeast Asia. It focuses on earlier and current expressions of mobile and Islamic modernity as well as on changing moralities and forms of Islamic authority. Referencing the other contributions to this special issue, it particularly emphasizes the (discursive and visual) contestations and social dramas that take place in the region’s media spaces providing for a variety of Islamic forms, practices, and socialities that can best be grasped, the authors argue, by considering politics, the pious, and the popular not as separate, but as mutually constitutive domains.

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“…Delany-Moretlwe et al (2015) believe that the concept of new media often creates confusion and essentially draws the young generation into its domain. However, it has a longer history, and it is essential to comprehend the historical context in which new media technologies arose and evolved throughout Asia (Slama & Barendregt, 2018). Kluver (2003) postulates that new media poses a challenge to authoritarian governments and stresses on the intricate link between new media and political power.…”

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“…Religious preachers or propagators frequently use technology to enter and propagate their religion to a broader audience. According to Slama and Barendregt (2018), the power of digital platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, and others has made a significant difference in propagating religious teachings on a large scale and interacting more closely with a larger audience. Furthermore, one of the benefits of the digital world in the sphere of da'wah, including interfaith dialogue, is the ease of implementation, which does not require a specific location or time but can be done anywhere and at any time.…”

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“…The specialty of the Prophet's war strategy lies in the planning, implementation and completion of the war plan. War plans were sophisticated, yet simple, practical, complete, and realistic according to the needs of the time and place (Brack, 2018;Samari, 2020;Shafir, 2019;Slama, 2018). The movements and strategies of war are easy to understand and easy to adjust and change without facing difficulties according to changes in the situation on the battlefield.…”