Outline of the thesis

The thesis consists o f ten chapters. Thereafter, Chapter 2 explores the phenomenon o f televangelism in terms o f its main features, and its broader

dynamics, for example new media power, the predominance o f “info-tainment” , the commodification o f religion and fragmentation o f religious authority. I argue in this chapter that televangelism is a complex phenomenon and can be perceived from many varied perspectives.

In Chapter 3 “Muslim identities in a global context”, I investigate the complex meanings o f identity and draw on the concept o f imagined communities. I trace the emergence o f “transnational Islam” in terms o f its dynamics and manifestations (e.g. rise o f global media technologies and e-religion). I argue that transnationalism, rather than “diaspora” can be a theoretical framework through which we can understand the processes o f identities' construction, particularly among M uslim youth in the West (e.g. Vertovec and Cohen, 1999, p. xxi and Faist, 2010, pp. 14-22). This is a significant aspect o f the theoretical framework o f the study; since it will enable us to better understand the processes underlying identities' construction o f Muslims in the West and how televangelists' sermons and their online visibility fit into these processes.

In Chapter 4, I turn attention to the Internet (e.g. Barton and Lee, 2013; Page et al, 2014) as one medium through which the selected televangelists have achieved popularity. First, I engage with the question o f whether the Internet provides a virtual public sphere; then, I examine what happens to new media when it meets religion. I aim here to gain a perspective on the dynamics and manifestations that are shaping religion on the Internet. One aspect I highlight in this chapter is how televangelists' fans play an important role in “popularizing” their discourses and extending their visibility.

In chapter 5 , 1 examine the methodological frameworks I will draw upon in examining televangelists' sermons and online data. I locate the thesis within Critical Discourse Studies and employ a synergy o f the Discourse Historical Approach (e.g. Wodak, 2001 and Wodak and Meyer, 2009) and multi-modality (e.g. see Kress and van Leeuwen, 1996; Le Baron and Streeck, 2013; van Leeuwen, 2005; 2011 and Wodak 2001) to deconstruct salient features o f televangelists' performance, including the use o f staging, dress code, color schemes and gesture and to explore the salient discursive strategies most related to persuasion and identities' construction; for example, use o f repetition and narratives; creation o f in-groups and out-groups (e.g. Wodak et al, 2009) and the use o f historical and religious references in constructing a collective memory for M uslims (e.g. Heer, Manoschek, Poliak and Wodak 2008:7).

In chapter 6 , 1 explore the first research question o f the thesis, i.e. how each televangelist self-represents his identities. I argue in this chapter that each televangelist constructs multi-faceted identities, inter alia, as preachers and media celebrities. I argue that -in representing their identities- televangelists draw on many resources including drama-related features (e.g. staging and gestures), discursive strategies (use o f particular topics rather than others), and cinema techniques (e.g. graphic elements and reaction shots). Thus, I highlight how televangelists' sermons have become a multi-modal field.

In chapter 7 , 1 examine how Islam and the West are linguistically referred to and predicated. I will throw light on the different ideological positions the three

televangelists adopt towards the West. For example, whereas Hamza Yusuf constructs a bi-cultural M uslim identity in which he addresses his audiences as both Americans/W esterns and Muslims, Yusuf Estes adopts the strategy o f “calculated ambivalence” in which two contradictory images o f the West are given, using negative and positive predication. Baba Ali, however, refrains from using the West as a homogenous entity; however, he negatively represents the media, as the other.

In Chapter 8, I explore the discourse topics and fields o f action that each televangelist invokes and how these elements contribute to the construction o f a distinct representation o f Islam and Muslims. As I will illustrate, topics that are recurrent in televangelists' sermons include the misrepresentation o f Islam/Muslims and M uslim civilization.

In Chapter 9 , 1 investigate how each televangelist re-contextualizes religious and historical references in his sermons and to what effects. I examine the two sources that the three televangelists draw upon: Qur'anic resources and the Prophet's sayings. I further explore the historical references made by each televangelist, the eras they refer to and their meanings. Finally, in Chapter 10, I present a summary o f my findings and suggest opportunities for further research in the domains o f religious studies and Critical Discourse Studies.

Chapter Two

2. Televangelists as "media celebrities": What is at stake in televangelism?

Historically speaking, the use o f television as a medium o f religious preaching started in the 1950s in the United States (e.g. Bruce 1990: 29-48) when religious institutions sponsored radio and television programmes for the dissemination o f religious information. In the 1980s, however, a new form o f religious programmes appeared. Fast-paced and entertaining, programmes constituted o f a series o f segments that included songs, talk shows, interviews, film clips and sermons (Schmidt and Kess, 1986, p. 36). With telephone counseling and prayer requests, callers were automatically placed into a computerized mailing list through which appeals for donations were sent (ibid.).

Back then, it was the first time that songs, interviews and recorded clips were integrated into sermons by religious figures. These programmes attracted wide audiences and as a result o f their popularity, religious figures became- for the first time- media celebrities, on equal grounds to popular stars. Televangelism was soon transferred to Muslim religious contexts in many countries. As thousands o f audiences in the United States turned their TV programmes to watch programmes by televangelists in the 1980s, audiences in Muslim majority contexts such as Egypt and Indonesia turned around TV sets years later to watch the televangelists who were -broadly speaking - different in their dress code and style o f presentation from the formally educated preachers.

As has been the case with Muslim majority contexts such as Egypt and Indonesia, Muslims in minority contexts such as the United Kingdom and the United States soon produced their "home-made" televangelists. British and A merican M uslim televangelists were featured on religious satellite channels such as Huda TV, Islam Way, Islam Channel UK and on YouTube.

As one main aim o f the PhD thesis is to explore how televangelists discursively construct the religious identities o f their audiences, this entails first an understanding o f the phenomenon o f televangelism, which raises some interesting questions. For instance, what does televangelism -a s a hybrid phenomenon o f entertainment and religion- suggest about the representation o f Islam in the twenty first century? In addition, what wider interactions and dynamics may relate the phenomenon o f "televangelism" to a similar phenomenon, i.e. "politico-tainm enf' where politics and entertainment are blurred (e.g. see Riegert, 2007; Wodak, 2009, 2010)? In addition, what critique can we give on this combination o f what was once sacred (religion) and entertainment; and what does the popularity o f televangelists, particularly among Muslim youth, reveal about religious authority and leadership in Islam in the twenty first century?

In this chapter, I argue that televangelism can be better understood as a by­ product o f the interaction between media power, the rise o f infotainment and the commodification o f religion (e.g. Couldry, 2003a and 2003b; Hallin, 2008 and Kellner, 2003; 2010). It is worth noting that in Chapter 3 o f the thesis, I will take my investigation further by focusing on M uslim identities' construction and the rise o f transnationalism.

Thematically, the chapter is divided into two parts. In the first part, I delineate the main characteristic features o f televangelism. In the second part, I explore the wider interactions that appear to be relevant to the shaping o f televangelism including media power, the rise o f infotainment, and the fragmentation o f authority. This is followed by a closer inspection o f the socio- historical context o f M uslim youth in the West that represent the main audiences o f the selected televangelists (e.g. see Gilliat-Ray, 2010: 162; Echchaibi, 2011).