Religion and Media in the Middle East (With Special Emphasis on Iran)

• Main Author: Hassan Khani
• Format: Article
• Language: fas
• Published: Iranian Institute for Social and Cultural Studies 2008-10-01
• Series: Taḥqīqāt-i Farhangī-i Īrān
• Subjects: Culture; Internet; Iran; media; Middle East; Religion; satellite television
• Online Access: http://www.jicr.ir/article_49_aa9923079891c8821a3cc0a6cb1cb180.pdf

Religion and media are two important phenomena in today’s Middle Eastern societies. In these societies media is a newcomer player which its history of presence hardly approaches a century while religion is among the oldest and most important elements and factors in the Middle East. This article is an attempt to evaluate the different aspects of confrontation and interaction between these two in the Middle Easters societies in general and in Iranian Society in particular. The aim of this article is to investigate the different ways in which media occurred for and against religion trying to show how religion has managed to use media as an opportunity and at the same time how it has been threatened by it. This article argues that cooperation and confrontation between media and religion has left a significant effect on these societies influencing deeply the process of formation of political and social culture of the people something that can affect the confrontation between tradition modernity in these societies.