Introduction to “Muslim Family and Cyberspace” Book
“Muslim Family and Cyberspace” is Dr. Saeid Reza Ameli’s newest book that is published by the Office for Islamic Culture Publication in September 2017. The book has 347 pages and is published in 500 copies.
Family, as the society’s fundamental unit and the center of human and society evolution and as the maintaining entity for social and cultural traditions and values, on the one hand, reflects great social changes and, on the other hand, is a sign of other cultural changes. In the past century, family and its construct, function, and patterns went through some changes. During the 60s and 70s, the idea of “nuclear family” as the modern family pattern spread against the idea of “expanded family”. During the 90s, especially in the West, the idea of “family diversity” turned into a critical sociological concept and signified the move toward “single families” or “single-parent families” from “nuclear family”. Today, since the emergence of cyberspace in line with the real space and “dual speciation paradigm”, it could be argued that the pattern of “dual spatial family” is considered as the new pattern of the institution of family where construct, function, and patterns are produced.
“Muslim Family and Cyberspace” could be introduced as one of the studies in the field of cyberspace in Muslim families. It focuses on value-oriented and native approaches in the contemporary dual spatial world to study the changes in family trends and patterns and its function and construct. The book concentrates on the identification of opportunities and new issues that have encompassed the dual spatial family, especially in the value system. On the other hand, considering the opportunities provided by the cyberspace to bypass the family weaknesses in the real world, therefore, the book provides a discussion about the virtual characteristics and services offered by the cyberspace for the family.
The Book
“Muslim Family and Cyberspace” seeks to redefine the advantageous, influential, healthy, and active cyberspace for the Muslim family. The book aims at teaching the ways to use this space and introduce the capacities, dangers, and damages caused by cyberspace to all family members. Ultimately, the book tries to provide a context for a huge portal architecture for the Muslim family. It is published in 347 pages and includes Table of Contents, Author’s Introduction, Glossary, and Index.
“Muslim Family and Cyberspace” could be considered as one of the most important books in the field of Muslim family and cyberspace in the country. The book adopts a comprehensive approach to study the different aspects of the subject and, therefore, could be considered as a reference for use in cultural policymaking, virtual service providers for the families, families, and academic scholars.
The book is constituted of ten chapters. The first chapter, “Conceptual Study of the Family in the Western Intellectual and Social Discourse”, studies the concept of family and different forms and patterns of the family in the Western society. The second chapter, “Family and Its Characteristics in Islam”, discusses the concept of family and its functions, fundamental elements, and theoretical approaches in Islamic teachings. The third chapter, “Islamic-Iranian Lifestyle and the Desired Family Pattern”, first studies the trends of lifestyle and the concept itself and, then, analyzes the Islamic-Iranian lifestyle Muslim family, divine lifestyle, and desired Islamic-Iranian family pattern. The fourth chapter, “Family Change Trends in the World”, studies the population and structural changes of the family in the world, future trends of the family in the world and its scenarios, and cyberspace technologies in the living environment and various new home types. The fifth chapter, “Family Change Trends in Iran”, studies the documents of Islamic Republic of Iran, family as seen by the Supreme Leader, population and constructional changes of family in Iran, mass media and cyberspace technologies in Iran, desired media family, changes in media consumption patterns due to new family trends, and future trends of family in Iran. The sixth chapter, “Dual Spatial Family”, first, studies the world’s dual speciation paradigm and dual spatial family pattern and, then, analyzes the powerfulness and powerlessness of Muslim families and opportunities, threats, pros, and cons of cyberspace for Muslim families. In the seventh chapter, “Cyber (Internet) Literacy of Family”, the concept of literacy and its redefinition in the contemporary world, global dual speciation paradigm, dual spatial literacy, family literacy, and multilayer cyber (internet) literacy of Muslim families are discussed. The eighth chapter, “Cyberspace Services for Families; Nationally and Internationally”, the family services in websites and family portals in some non-Muslim countries are analyzed based on the family services paradigms. The ninth chapter, “Cyberspace Services for Families in the Muslim World”, the services provided by websites and portals in Muslim countries, including Iran, are discussed. The tenth chapter of the book suggests solutions for the promotion of Muslim families in connection with cyberspace.