Preaching Digitally: Dynamisms of Deconstructing Religious Authority (the Case of Morocco) = Preaching Digitally: Dynamisms of Deconstructing Religious Authority (the Case of Morocco)

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

The Internet has permeated every aspect of people’s social lives, including their religious practices. Nowadays, digital platforms provide users with the power to renegotiate conventional norms of religion and authority. In addition, social media influencers have the chance to create and share religious issues with a variety of online communities thanks to new digital platforms. In Morocco, recognizing these contemporary realities has become a key to approaching social change. The ability to define religion now relies on religious authorities and more on Muslims, who may now select from a wide range of authoritative figures for every topic due to new media platforms. This study uses a qualitative case study approach to investigate the digital content of Moroccan new online preachers, focusing on the content of a Moroccan religious preacher, Redwan Ben Abdessalam, who gains popularity in the Moroccan media. The study aims at studying how Muslim religious identities are deconstructed in light of a new religious lifestyle that seeks for deconstructing conventional religious authorities.