The impact and perception of Islam and authority online among Muslim university students in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador

Abstract

Within the context of the digital age, this thesis examines how the Internet has influenced the religious lives of Muslim university students in the North Atlantic city of St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador by asking two primary questions: First, how is the Internet perceived and what benefits, challenges and concerns does this digital technology raise? And second, what strategies do participants use to religiously authentic Islamic websites? To answer these questions I draw upon fifteen qualitative interviews conducted with Muslim university students in St. John’s about their online activity and how they navigate Islam-related websites. My participants expressed concerns with online radicalization and the current securitization climate, but their primary concern was with authenticating Islamic websites. In this regard, they relied on online religious leaders, religious texts, and the ideology of a unified Islam (and rarely on formal Islamic institutions). Paralleling research by Campbell (2007), these authorities were used by my participants to authenticate Islam-related websites and ultimately helped them navigate the complexities of Islam online.