Media, War and Terrorism Responses from the Middle East and Asia

This collection of essays covers the media and public debate dimension of the events of 9/11, and beyond, from the point of view of Middle Eastern and Asian countries. The first part of the book deals with the use of the media as an instrument of warfare, the growing significance of religion, the emergence of transnational media and a transnational public sphere and the relationship between the West and the rest of the world. The second part of the book contains nine case studies relating to different parts of the Middle East and Asian world, all with a strong empirical focus, while at the same time elaborating the book's theoretical concerns.

Acknowledgements 1. Introduction 2. War Propaganda and the Liberal Public Sphere 3. The West and the Rest: A Drama in Two Acts and an Epilogue 4. Television in America from 9/11 and America's Continuing 'War on Terror': Single Theme, Multiple Media Lenses 5. The Middle East's Democracy Deficit and the Expanding Public Sphere 6. Political Islam in Iran and the Emergence of a Religious Public Sphere: The Impact of September 11 7. September 11 and After: Pressure for Regulation and Self-Regulation in the Indian Media 8. The Jewish Hand: The Response of the Jamaat-e-Islami Hind 9. The WTC Tragedy and the US Attack on Afghanistan: The Press Joins in Beating the War Drums 10. War, Words and Images 11. When Osama and Friends Came A-Calling: The Political Deployment of the Overdetermined Image of Osama ben Laden in the Contestation for Islamic Symbols in Malaysia 12. Some 'Muslims' Within: Watching Television in Britain After September 11

Peter Van der Veer is Professor of Comparative Religion and Director of the Research Center of Religion and Society at the University of Amsterdam.Shoma Munshi is Assistant Director at the Center for the Advanced Study of India, University of Pennsylvania.