Putting the Waz on Social Media: Infrastructuring Online Islamic Counterpublic through Digital Sermons in Bangladesh

Title of the Paper

Putting the Waz on Social Media: Infrastructuring Online Islamic Counterpublic through Digital Sermons in Bangladesh

Paper Information

• Subject Area: Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Religious Communication and Politics, Technology and Social Change in the Global South
• Keywords: Islamic media, waz, grassroots political activism, religious counterpublic, social media, content creation, infrastructuring

Research Background and Issues

• Research Questions and Challenges:

  • Current HCI literature focuses more on the interaction between grassroots politics and technology, primarily centered on secular content, while neglecting the production, dissemination, and impact of religious content, especially in the Global South.
  • The digital dissemination of Islamic sermon content (waz) is rapidly growing, but the technical and social practices involved and their political implications remain underexplored.
  • Religious content on social media platforms provides new spaces for public discourse but also faces challenges due to platform rules and technical constraints.

• Significance:

  • The dissemination of religious content is not only a significant area of technological research but also a crucial perspective for understanding socio-political and cultural transformations in Global South countries.
  • Studying the infrastructure and social networks behind the transmission of Islamic content can inform the design of more inclusive technologies and platforms.

• Research Motivation and Related Work:

  • To explore the informal infrastructuring and political impact of religious content production and dissemination in the Global South.
  • To address the theoretical gap in existing HCI literature regarding grassroots religious politics and improve technological design and policy interventions.

Solution

• Proposed Solution:

  • Through nine months of ethnographic research, the authors documented the ecosystem of Islamic sermon content production and dissemination in Bangladesh.
  • The study identifies five core dimensions of religious infrastructuring: faith-driven motivation, informal learning, collaboration and negotiation, creativity and skills, and maintenance and repair.
  • It provides new insights into the interaction between religious emotions and the politics of online platforms.

• Innovations:

  • This is the first systematic analysis in HCI literature of the infrastructuring process of religious content production and its impacts.
  • Introduces the concept of "faith-driven infrastructuring," explaining the social dynamics of technology use and dissemination from the perspective of religious emotions and beliefs.
  • Illustrates how religious counterpublics construct voices and engage in political discourse through online sermon videos and diverse technological media.

• Implementation Steps and Key Techniques:

  • Data Collection and Methods: Conducted in Dhaka and Tongi, the study used ethnography and interviews to collect data from organizers, content creators, vendors, and audiences.
  • Thematic Analysis: Applied a general inductive approach to analyze the ecosystem of content creation and use, exploring a framework of emotion-driven infrastructuring.
  • Technological Insights: The study highlights technological evolutions throughout the research, including video recording, editing software, storage devices, and social media operational practices.

Research Findings

• Specific Findings:

  • Describes the ecosystem of Islamic sermon video production and dissemination in Bangladesh.
  • Identifies how faith-driven informal learning, collaboration, and creativity help content creators overcome technical, financial, and social challenges.
  • Documents how religious audiences cultivate digital literacy and construct political and social discourse spaces through digital sermon content.

• Advantages of Existing Solutions:

  • Compared to existing technological designs, this study emphasizes the integration of religious beliefs with technological practices, enhancing sensitivity to the needs of religious communities.
  • Through ethnographic methods, it provides an in-depth analysis of the emotional and social rules in the use of technology by religious groups in the Global South.

• Experimental or Evaluation Results:

  • Found that online Islamic sermon content can overcome some religious groups' resistance to technology and improve digital knowledge dissemination.
  • Through in-depth analysis of audiences and content creators, the study reveals trends and challenges in the transition from passive users to innovative producers.

• Limitations and Future Directions:

  • Limitations:
    • The data predominantly involves male participants, with limited representation of women's roles in content creation and organization, leaving female perspectives underrepresented.
    • The religious dynamics studied are primarily based on the Bangladeshi context, with insufficient exploration of cultural and technological differences in other Islamic communities.
  • Future Directions:
    • Extend ethnographic research to other countries to compare Islamic technological practices across regions.
    • Design solutions to address the contextualization of platform policies and optimize social media platforms' management and support for religious content.

Through its analysis, this study provides valuable references for multiple fields, including social media design, platform politics, and the dissemination of religious content.