Between Sect and Secularism: The Mediated Ambiguities of the Syrian Nation State

Authors

  • Ehab Galal University of Copenhagen
  • Zenia Yonus University of Copenhagen

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22032/dbt.47739

Keywords:

collective identity, cult, martyrs, mediated “mythscapes”, mobilization media, narrative discourses, national symbols, Sama TV, secularism, Syrian television

Abstract

This paper examines narrative discourses of the Syrian loyalist TV channel Sama TV in the light of Syria’s current armed conflict, demography, and regional geopolitics. The focus is on the tense relationship between secularism and religious representations on the channel. Compared to state television, private channel Sama TV has more room for maneuver to embrace a new form of religious presence that challenges the ideological secularism of the Syrian nation state. The national “mythscapes” of Syria, simultaneously a secular and (Sunni) Muslim nation, characterized by acertain ambiguity, are consequently reinforced.

Author Biographies

Ehab Galal, University of Copenhagen

Dr. Ehab Galal is an Associate Professor at Department of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies, University of Copenhagen. He has published widely on Arab Media, for instance the book Arab TV-Audiences: Negotiating Religion and Identity (Peter Lang, 2014). He is currently the leader of the collaborative and interdisciplinary research project “Mediatized Diaspora: Contentious Politics among Arab Media Users in Europe”. The project is funded by Independent Research Fund Denmark (ID: 8018-00038B).

Zenia Yonus, University of Copenhagen

Zenia Yonus is a Ph.D. student at the Department of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies, University of Copenhagen. She has specialized in Syrian media coverage of the ongoing conflict, focusing on the dynamics of media, nationalism, sectarianism, and memory constructions. Her Ph.D. is part of the “Mediatized Diaspora”-project which examines the role of media in political action formation among Syrian diaspora groups in Europe.

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Published

2021-02-19

How to Cite

Galal, E., & Yonus, Z. (2021). Between Sect and Secularism: The Mediated Ambiguities of the Syrian Nation State. Global Media Journal - German Edition, 10(2). https://doi.org/10.22032/dbt.47739

Issue

Vol. 10 No. 2 (2020): Autumn/Winter 2020

Section

Peer-Reviewed Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2020 Ehab Galal, Zenia Yonus

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.