Book Reviews

Islam in the Digital Age: E-Jihad, Online
Fatwas and Cyber Islamic Environments

Gary R. Bunt
London and Sterling, Virginia: Pluto Press, 2003. 237 pages.

This is Gary Bunt’s second monograph on the Muslims’ use of the Internet,
the first being Virtually Islamic (Cardiff, UK: The University of Wales Press:
2000). It is a good contribution to the growing literature, and will appeal to
students of contemporary Muslim societies and the sociocultural and reli-
gious influence of new communication technologies. The book provides a
useful list of websites containing information on Islam and Muslims.

Bunt suggests that a substantial number of Muslims use the Internet as
a propagation and networking tool, to dialogue with each other, and to con-
duct research. For some, it is an important way to bypass state censorship
and access other media, and it acts as a means of local and global contact.
The Internet is used to disseminate and obtain decisions and points of inter-
pretation on current events, and, for some individuals who are relatively
unknown or treated as pariahs locally, to achieve fame in the larger ummah. 

Since September 2001, Muslims’ activities and activism on the Internet
have proliferated; meanwhile, those in power have increased attempts to
restrict them. There has been an increase in websites, chat rooms, and e-mail
lists. The author justifies linking Muslims’ uses of the Internet with jihad and
fatwas by stating that these two areas have seen the most significant integra-
tion of electronic activity with religion. However, he shuns alarmism about
the Internet and Islam by presenting a rational analysis and discussion.

Bunt admits that a small, albeit growing, minority in Muslim-majority
countries uses information and communication technologies. Muslim online
discourses are part of the contemporary discussion about Islamic identities.
The Internet “has not superseded traditional forms of political expression, but
is a means through which conventional boundaries and barriers can be tran-
scended” (p. 11). 



98 The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 21:4

The author views the spiritual striving aspects of e-jihad as expressed
in the issuing of online fatwas and the militaristic aspects in hacking and
cracking of other websites. Israeli and Indian sites have been attacked by
Muslim hackers; however, the vice-president of the Islamic European
Fatwa Council has sought to prohibit such hacking, except if initiated by
the other side. Al-Qaeda has consistently used the Internet for messaging
among its members, who have often used forms of encryption.

The book looks at several websites’ discussions in the aftermath of the
9/11 terrorist attacks. A number of sites favoring militaristic jihad remained
operative, despite being run by Internet service providers in the United
States and the United Kingdom. Some openly supported Osama bin Laden
and the Taliban. Many of these were later shut down in light of the govern-
ments’ crackdown; however, some resurfaced in other guises. Bunt notes
that certain Muslim leaders were critical of the jihadist websites, which were
usually run by small organizations or individuals.

Interestingly, the site of the Algerian Front Islamique du Salut, which
many governments view as a terrorist organization, strongly condemned
the 9/11 attacks. The popular Islam Online, linked to the influential Shaykh
Yusuf al-Qaradawi, produced a critical and immediate response by
September 12, followed by an extensive commentary in later weeks and
months. The Ahlul Bayt Digital Islamic Library Project, one of the most
prolific Shi`ah websites, described the event as a crime against humanity.
These and other sites that were critical of the attacks tended to quote vari-
ous Muslim leaders and Islamic scripture and present fiqh-based arguments
to support their points of view.

The new technology has become a critical tool in the Palestinians’
resistance to Israeli occupation, for it is being used to rally support in the
West Bank, Gaza, and other parts of the world. The author quotes the fol-
lowing from a newspaper article,

… the Internet increasingly gives names, faces and voices to those
involved in the intifida … Last week as the city of Beit Jala fell under
siege, local Palestinian biologist Ihab Lulas posted a letter online. “Even
the birds have gone, my mother told me this morning.” Days later, those
words became the title to a piece published in the “Israeli” daily Haaretz
by Gideon Levy, who quoted the entire letter in an article regarding the
sieges on Bethlehem and Beit Jala. The next day, Palestinian-American
activist Muna Hamzeh distributed that article online to people in America,
the West Bank and Lebanon. For anyone who doesn't know, this is what
is happening in this Holy Land (pp. 102-3).



Book Reviews 99

Some websites seek to link the Palestinian struggle with those in Kashmir
and Chechnya.

One of the Internet’s most contentious aspects is how it enables people
to bypass traditional channels of authority. The book devotes four chapters
to describing and discussing how online “Islamic decision-making” takes
place. Muslim Internet users often seek answers to queries regarding the
practice of Islamic beliefs in contemporary societies, including ethical issues
that are common outside of traditional Muslim societies. There is a ten-
dency to seek religious “remedies” to life’s problems. Chat rooms exhibit
vigorous debates about whether answers are to be sought only from tradi-
tionally trained Muslim scholars (some of whom are considered out-of-touch
with current realities) or if others are qualified to interpret the scriptural
sources and fiqh according to their abilities. These online discussions in Sunni
and Shi`ah contexts have brought the issue of ijtihad into sharp focus.

One of the book’s problems is that it comes close to reducing contem-
porary expressions of Islam merely to the electronic activities of some
adherents. An historical overview of how current Internet use fits into the
broader communication activities of Muslims would have helped to pro-
vide a proper context. Finally, even though this is an important book that
traces present-day trends, it does not provide a sufficiently vigorous theo-
retical framework that can contribute to future studies of this nature.

Karim H. Karim
Associate Professor, School of Journalism & Communication

Carleton University
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada