Employing discourse, language and television media to reconstruct the image of Islam: a case study of Malaysia

Abstract

Religion and mass media have always had an uneasy relationship as both spheres seem to have contradictory aims and objectives. Employing a discourse driven textual analysis of script excerpts from a contemporary religious program in Malaysia and in-depth personal interview data from key production personnel of the said television program, this research effort analyzes how modern electronic media concept, content and language medium were used to try to present a contemporary, forward looking, 'popular' view of Islam in a moderate, modern Muslim majority country. The results of this research effort point to the possibility of using electronic media not merely as a vehicle for blunt religious indoctrination, but as a means to disseminate positive universal human values across linguistic, racial, religious and social differences that in turn will help in strengthening multicultural, multi-religious nations - as in the case of Malaysia. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]