The changing dynamics of religious authority on Pakistani religious television

This paper analyses the production, ownership and control of Pakistani religious talk shows, which have emerged as a popular genre of religious programming, subsequent to the liberalisation of Pakistani media in 2002. Much scholarship has implicated the nexus between Islam and televisual media in en...

Full description

Saved in:  
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Culture and religion
Main Author: Kazi, Taha (Author)
Format: Electronic/Print Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Journals Online & Print:
Drawer...
Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Published: Taylor & Francis [2016]
In: Culture and religion
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Pakistan / Television / Religion / Authority / Religious education / Religious change
RelBib Classification:AH Religious education
BJ Islam
Further subjects:B Islamic pluralism
B religious authority
B Politics
B Religious television
B anthropology of Islam
B commercialisation
Online Access: Volltext (doi)
Description
Summary:This paper analyses the production, ownership and control of Pakistani religious talk shows, which have emerged as a popular genre of religious programming, subsequent to the liberalisation of Pakistani media in 2002. Much scholarship has implicated the nexus between Islam and televisual media in enabling the fragmentation of religious authority, by altering ‘lay’ engagements with Islam and thereby eliciting wider participation in religious discourse. In contrast, this paper focuses on the changing terms of asserting religious authority in the newly liberalised media context. Based on an analysis of the innovative formats and modes of editorial control characterising contemporary religious shows, I posit the significance of religious talk shows in both altering the nature of scholarly participation in religious public debate, and subjecting featured scholars to non-scholarly interests and agendas. I argue that the latter two insights into the nature of religious authority on television are only accessible from a production-based perspective, which is crucial for evaluating the wider implications of broadcast media for religious authority.
ISSN:1475-5610
Contains:Enthalten in: Culture and religion
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1080/14755610.2017.1296011