MASS MEDIA AND ISLAMIC RELIGIOUS PROPAGATION (DA‘WAH) IN KYRGYZSTAN

Abstract

The contemporary religious calling has gradually adopted the state of the art (technology) primarily because the audience whose attention it tries to attract has become highly preoccupied with technology which has become an essential facilitator of communication. Da‘wah experts in the Muslim world have gradually but successfully pushed the media to the front line as an important tool. This paper examines the use of the mass media for Islamic religious propagation (da‘wah) in Kyrgyzstan. Although the conventional style which enables face-to-face interaction is the dominant mode of da‘wah in Kyrgyzstan, the Islamic organizations are also aware of the impact of the mass media on ‘evangelism.’ Nonetheless, the financial implications of the broadcast media diverts many da‘wah groups to the print media (i.e. newspaper, magazine, books) and more importantly, the internet. Therefore, we conclude that, although the Kyrgyz mass media is, undoubtedly, perceived as being capable of making an impact on the people’s minds, the practical expertise that will facilitate the professional exploitation of the broadcast media is not deep among the da‘wah experts in the country.