240 KB42 KB199420242002Poole, Elizabethštevilka:1letnik:9str. 51-63ISSN:1318-3222COBISSID:21108317URN:URN:NBN:SI:doc-PRVLLEH5enEvropski inštitut za komuniciranje in kulturoJavnost (Ljubljana)communicationetnične skupineinformacijska tehnologijainformation technologykomuniciranjemanjšineMuslimmuslimaniračunalniška omrežjasociologija komunikacijNetworking Islam| the democratising potential of new tehnologies in relation to muslim communities|This article critically examines existing theory on the uses of new technologies by minority communities to make connections, transforming identities and challenging traditional notions of community. As with the debate about new technologies in general, a utopian and dystopian position has prevailed. Has the development of new technologies, as the optimists predict, opened up access and liberated minority groups from established structural constraints? Has the Internet been a tool for mobilisation both socially and politically? Or as theorists such as Robins and Webster (1999) argue does the development and use of new technologies reinforce and maintain traditional hierarchies both within and without minority communities. What are the consequences of global and technological processes on already excluded groups? After examining these theories, the article applies them to Muslim communities in Britain by situating them within the worldwide community of Muslims (the Umma). Suggesting that there has been perhaps too much emphasis on theorising about the potential of new technologies with few empirical studies to support arguments that new technology provides for greater connectivity between dispersed groups, the article argues that an empirical approach will reveal how far minority communities are able to access new technologies for these purposes or whether these are limited to a privileged educated elite. Such questions are important for identifying the barriers to access and suggesting ways of enabling and empowering people in a new media environmentČlanek analizira teorijo uporabe novih tehnologij med manjšinskimi skupnostmi za povezovanje, preoblikovanje identitet in spreminjanje tradicionalnih pojmovanj skupnosti. Tako kot v razpravah o novih tehnologij nasploh tudi tu prevladujeta poziciji utopije in distopije. Potem, ko razgrne te teorije, jih avtorica aplicira na muslimanske skupnosti v Britaniji v odnosu do globalne muslimanske skupnosti. Izhaja iz domneve, da so dosedanje teoretske obravnave pretirano poudarjale pomen novih tehnologij v povezovanju razpršenih skupin. V empiričnem raziskovanju išče odgovor na vprašanje, ali nove tehnologije lahko uporabljajo skupnosti v celoti ali pa je uporaba omejena le na privilegirano izobraženo elitoTEXTznanstveno časopisjejournalsSlovenian National E-content AggregatorNational and University Library of SloveniaEvropski inštitut za komuniciranje in kulturo - EURICOM