How has the new media affected the political mobilization and identities of minority communities in the Middle East? In a new article in the online journal Arab Media and Society, David Faris of Roosevelt University (Chicago) uses the controversy over ID cards for Bahai’s in Egypt to examine their impact. Faris argues that these new social media “transmit information from electronic public spheres into larger spheres, either national or global, and thereby impact perceptions of subordinated minorities and, under certain circumstances, lead to mobilizations. They do so through critical “nodes” of elite blogger-activists and their connections to the mainstream Egyptian media.” He offers a rich, detailed analysis of the new media environment in Egypt, drawing attention to a little-studied case while drawing larger conclusions about how new social media are changing political communication in the region.
Download (Amplified) Voices for the Voiceless from Arab Media and Society here.