islamic political communication online: the websites of the muslim brotherhood

IslamicIslamicIslamicIslamic Political Communication OnlinePolitical Communication OnlinePolitical Communication OnlinePolitical Communication Online

An Analysis of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood’s official English websitesAn Analysis of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood’s official English websites

Name: Anita Breuer, [email protected] & Karim Al-Khasaba, [email protected]

Prepared for: IPSA-RC22 “Political Communication in Times of Crisis”, Granada 12 – 13 September 2013

Why study the online communication of Islamic

parties and SMOs?

� Religious actors played a supporting role in more than 50% of cases of

democratization between 1972 and 2009 (Philpott, Samuel Shah, and

Duffy Toft 2011).

� BUT: Muslim countries are democratic underachievers (Fish 2002)

� Mainstream academic research has long focused Internet’s role in

© 2013 German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE) 2

� Mainstream academic research has long focused Internet’s role in

improving the organizational capacity of Islamist terrorist groups

� Post-Arab-Spring research in political communication has focused on

Internet use of liberal secular actors

� Little research on interrelation between ICT & civil, political Islam

Online communication of political parties and SMOs

� The Internet has supplemented parties‘ traditional

communication channels

� Most parties fail to realize the Internet's interactive potential.

Party websites are mainly used for unilateral top-down

communication (Gibson and Ward 2000; Welp and Marzuca

2014)

© 2013 German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE)

2014)

� But the Internet has increased amount of information on minor,

fringe, and extremist parties (Norris 2003, 2005)

� SMOs are more likely to benefit from the Internet. Digital

networks facilitate decentralized forms of campaigning typical of

unconventional politics (Rohlinger, Bunnage, and Klein 2012;

Laer and van Aelst 2009)

3

Traditional communication strategies of the

Muslim Brotherhood (1928 – mid 2000s)

� Various degrees of state repression under Nasser, and Sadat, and

Mubarak.

� repression temporarily eased under Sadat (1976 – 1981) and

Mubarak (1981 – early 90s) → publication of magazines (al-Da’wa ,al-Mukhtar, al- I‘tisam, &Liwa’al-islam)

Three central pillars of communication during phases of repression:


Three central pillars of communication during phases of repression:

(1) Federated structure of organization

(2) Vertical word-of-mouth communication

(3) Proselytizing in mosques

4

The Muslim Brotherhood in the digital era

� Renewed state repression under Mubarak starting from the early

1990s partially coincides with the „dawn of MB‘s digital era“


MB‘s digital communication strategy:

Achievements and problems� Challenge the liberal secular domination of Egypt‘s online political

sphere (e.g. Kefaya, Youth Movement April 6)

� Criticism of Independent Young MB bloggers threatens cohesion of

public image


� Before the Revolution Egyptian digital sphere was centred around

Western news and social media (Facebook,CNN, BBC)

� After the Revolution Egyptian digital sphere has re-arranged

around the periphery of MB websites. Content produced by the MB

has become dominant on Facebook (Howard et. al. 2011)

6

Empirical Analysis of the MB‘s official English

Websites� Period of observation: 8 to 13 December 2012 = run up to the

referendum vote on new Constitution

� Sites analyzed:

− Ikhwanweb.com official English website of the

Muslim Brotherhood


Muslim Brotherhood

− Fjponline.com official English website of the

Freedom and Justice Party

� Methodology

− Quantitative: Feature Analysis

− Qualitative: Frame Analysis

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Feature Analysis: Political Communication Functions


Frame Analysis: Cognitive Frameworks for the

Interpretation of Reality

� Identity frames: Definition of a collective „we“ in

opposition to „others“ / In-group solidarity

� Injustice frames: Motivating collective action by

triggering moral indignation / victimization


� Agency frames: Motivation to alter the status quo

through collective action / Empowerment of the

individual

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Identity frames on Ikhwanweb and FJPonline

� Who are „we“?

� A modern pious organization

� Adherent to moral principals and religious laws of

Islam

� Supporting pluralist values of democracy

� Respecting the rights of women and minorities


� Who / what are we not?

10

� Fundamentalist

� violent / terrorist / Jihadist

� Corrupted by the negative influence of secularization and Westernization

Injustice frames on Ikhwanweb and FJPonline

� What is being done to „us“?

� “violence and arson against us”

� “systematic campaign of slander and subversion”

� „heinous treachery“

� “vicious plot to overthrow the legitimate President elected by popular will”


� ….and who‘s doing it?

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� „opposition thugs“

� „paid criminals and mercenaries“

� „the media“

� „corrupt regime hangovers“

� „political forces opposed to the country's stability”

Agency frames on Ikhwanweb and FJPonline

� What can we do?

� Agency frames largely absent over period of observation except

�“Participate Positively in the Constitutional Poll”


� Agency frames largely absent over period of observation except

call for conventional collective political action (YES vote in the

referendum)

� Limitations of this study: Focus on English language websites

that cater to Western audiences and diaspora communities:

“Ikhwanweb’s basic mission is to bridge the knowledge gap between the MB

and Western intellectuals“

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2 MB Internet platforms = 2 communication strategies


„Egyptians revolt for

the Prophet’s victory in

front of U.S. embassy“

Thank you for your attention!

German Development Institute /

Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE)


Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE)

Tulpenfeld 6

D-53113 Bonn

Telephone: +49 (0)228-949 27-0

E-Mail: [email protected]

www.die-gdi.de

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islamic political communication online: the websites of the muslim brotherhood

News & Politics

communication gibson

political islam

political sphere

frame analysis

empirical analysis

digital networks

feature analysis qualitative

dawn of mbs digital