New Media Narratives and Cultural Influence in Malaysia

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-x

   PDF

2. Apostasy and Blogs

   • Radzuwan Ab Rashid, Azweed Mohamad

   Pages 1-6

3. Theories and Concepts Related to Blogging

   • Radzuwan Ab Rashid, Azweed Mohamad

   Pages 7-16

4. Identity Construction in Blog

   • Radzuwan Ab Rashid, Azweed Mohamad

   Pages 17-26

5. Storytelling in Blog

   • Radzuwan Ab Rashid, Azweed Mohamad

   Pages 27-33

6. Rhetorical Strategies in Blog

   • Radzuwan Ab Rashid, Azweed Mohamad

   Pages 35-43

7. Recapitulation of Discursive Behaviour in Blog

   • Radzuwan Ab Rashid, Azweed Mohamad

   Pages 45-49

8. Back Matter

   Pages 51-51

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This book in religious studies uses a Malaysian apostasy case study as a platform to investigate and discuss the broader radicalisation of apostates on social networking sites. It provides new insights into the emerging phenomenon of how social media tools are harnessed to promote faith and beliefs systems, specifically looking at the Malay view of apostasy from Islam. Employing sociocultural theory and theoretical concepts to analyse the discursive behaviour of a Malaysian apostate on a social networking site, the study unpacks how digital storytelling and rhetorical strategies can influence readers, culturally and socially, and contribute to identity construction in relation to politicised viewpoints. The analysis of the discourse surrounding apostasy in Malaysia enables parallels to be drawn to such discourses in other parts of the world, raising discussions on the connections between inflammatory online rhetoric and social problems, such as recruitment to terrorism, involvement ingangs or the use of addictive substances. This book is of particular interest to scholars and students considering the intersection of critical discourse analysis and religious studies. It is of interest to sociolinguists and psychologists interested in online media.

• Blog Postings
• Apostasy
• New Media
• Digital storytelling
• Rhetorical strategies
• Apostates and Blogging
• Self-identity in Blogs
• Anti-religion Identity
• Casual Blogger Identity
• religion and society

• Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, Terengganu, Malaysia

  Radzuwan Ab Rashid, Azweed Mohamad

Radzuwan Ab Rashid is the Deputy Dean of Research and Development at the Faculty of Languages and Communication, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, Malaysia. He obtained his Ph.D. in Education from the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom. This book is an output of the Fundamental Research Grant awarded to him by the Malaysian Ministry of Higher Education to research the radicalisation of apostates on social networking sites. Radzuwan is also the author of Supportive Conversations on Facebook Timelines: Discourse Topic Management (Routledge).  

Azweed completed his bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering at the University of Sheffield in the United Kingdom. He served as an engineer for five years in the oil and gas industry. Azweed then furthered his studies with a master's degree in English Language Studies to develop his expertise in a new discipline. His master's thesis was nominated for the best thesis award at the university. The apostate analysed in this book has a similar academic and professional background to Azweed which motivated him to assist in conducting this study.

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