145. Name: Paul Katsivelis Title: Sharia and Life: Islamic Rhetoric about Power, Morality and the Middle Way (Wasatiyya) on Al Jazeera Institution: Stockholm University Country: Sweden Date: 2016 Language: Swedish Abstract: This study investigates the Islamic discourse known as the middle way or ‘wasatiya’ on Al Jazeera channel. The researcher used critical discourse analysis of dozens of episodes of Al Jazeera’s ‘Sharia and Life’ programme aired during the fall season of 2007. The reason behind this choice is to explore the traces of ideology in the construct of the program’s premises and the promotion of a specific social order in the name of Islam. A major feature of ‘Sharia and Life’, beyond the fact that the program is aired on one of the largest Arab news channel, is its infamous host, Sheikh Yusuf Al Qaradawi. Al Qaradawi’s work as a scholar and preacher is marked with what he regards as ‘wasatiya’, commonly defined as a conciliatory or moderate stance. Though Islam is consistently articulated as coherent creed, a number of hosts maintain that ‘fitna’ (civil strife) constitutes a challenge to the moral integrity of Islam’s normative values. analyzing this specific program that offers its public legal guidance, reveals a complex dynamic about how each distinct factor addressed above impacts Arab culture, religion and society.
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