Washington Post: Muslim Televangelist
According to this Washington Post article, young Muslims (late teens and early 20s) are listening in to the words of young televangelist Muslim voices, such as Moez Masoud.
Masoud speaks on Arab satellite TV, reaching vast audiences and providing competition for "extremists". The article quotes Jawad Abbassi, general manager of Arab Advisors Group, as saying, " 'Governments have realized that the good old days of controlling what people watch on TV are over...'"
Masoud challenges religious extremists not by revolting against Islam, but by being a 'middle man' in his preaching. However, he goes so far as to promote being "compassionate toward homosexuals and tolerant of non-Muslims," as well as a hip new Muslim 'look.' Apparently the 'conversion' that his words (spoken in what is described as "youthful Arabic slang") are inspiring is a turn from what are seen as the stagnant (mis)interpretations of Islam. The article opens with the testimony of young female Egyptian medical student who, after hearing Masoud's preaching, decided to live her dream of studying to be a film-maker--although she will not leave her medical studies just yet. This reluctance to fully 'convert' could be seen as symptomatic of a superficial embrace of Masoud's ideas.
Later in the article the critiques of Masoud appear, as some have accused him of propagating a "Westernized 'Islam lite'". It seems only logical, however, that this cultural hybridity would crop up; Masoud comes from an American high school education in Kuwait, and later the American University in Cairo, but has studied the Koran with notable teachers for the last 5 years. His TV preaching thus represents the reconciliation of an internal struggle between "West" and "Islam," mediated to reach a wide range of viewers.
In some ways, Masoud sounds too good to be true. He traveled to Denmark with three others "for dialogue" after the Muhammad cartoon incident. He is attributed with "a middle-ground solution, balancing religious devotion with an acceptance of modern life." If only we all could find what he seems to achieve.
While his conception of Islam does seem to open some heretofore forbidden doors, not all of Masoud's re-interpretations are easy for the liberal-minded (in the Western sense) to swallow. Masoud's treatment of gays is one of "compassion", insofar as he wants his listeners to understand that gays are not in the wrong, they have simply received "a test from God" to resist the desires they experience. While somewhat revolutionary, this interpretation seems worrisome in the sense that "gay" is no longer "wrong", but still something to be fought against. Then again, this may be the closest one can come to an Islamic "acceptance" of the gay condition...
Masoud, and the phenomenon of televangelism, offer new attempts at the hybridity of tradition and modernism. In a moment when much of American media focuses on the extremity of Islam and the fearful threats pouring from it West-ward, the Washington Post's treatment of this subject is laudable and noteworthy. The phenomenon of Muslim televangelism is certainly something to watch.
