Albrecht Hofheinz

• Hofheinz, Albrecht (2018). The Islamic Eighteenth Century: A View from the Edge, In Florian Zemmin; Johannes Stephan & Monica Corrado (ed.),  Islam in der Moderne, Moderne im Islam: Eine Festschrift für Reinhard Schulze zum 65. Geburtstag.  Brill Academic Publishers.  ISBN 9789004364035.  10.  s 234 - 253 Show summary

  This chapter acknowledges the pioneering work of Reinhard Schulze in suggesting that the eighteenth century in the Islamic world may have witnessed significant-enough epistemological and social change to justify regarding it as a turning point. It argues that extant studies on Early Modernity in Islamdom should be supplemented by a broader look at dynamics on the ‘periphery’ of the established urban centres of Islamic learning and culture. In Sub-Saharan Africa, an unprecedented explosion of writing activity can be dated to the last quarter of the eighteenth century. It was largely due to the activities of movements of ‘inner mission’ that aimed at spreading Islamic knowledge and responsible Islamic practice beyond the traditional confines of the urban-based scholar-jurists. The carriers of these movements were to a large part standing in the tradition of the Sufi orders. Their audience was mainly people at the boundaries of the traditional urban sphere. Both pietist preaching and puritan politics helped to break the hegemony of scholastic scholars over defining “Islam” and dilute the concomitant divide between the elite (al-khāṣṣa) and the commoners (al-ʿāmma). This development may be seen as an important factor in the rise of the individual in the Islamic world.

• Guth, Stephan; Chiti, Elena & Hofheinz, Albrecht (2017). Arrays of Egyptian and Tunisian Everyday-Worlds: An update on the project "In 2016—How it felt to live in the Arab World five years after the 'Arab Spring'”. Journal of Arabic and Islamic studies.  ISSN 0806-198X.  17, s 455- 508 . doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.5617/jais.6130 Full text in Research Archive.
• Guth, Stephan & Hofheinz, Albrecht (2017). Introduction: From "Issues" to "Arrays". Journal of Arabic and Islamic studies.  ISSN 0806-198X.  17, s 457- 462 Full text in Research Archive.
• Hofheinz, Albrecht (2017). Baby Milk. Journal of Arabic and Islamic studies.  ISSN 0806-198X.  17, s 466- 469 Full text in Research Archive.
• Hofheinz, Albrecht (2017). Broken Walls: Challenges to Patriarchal Authority in the Eyes of Sudanese Social Media Actors. Die Welt des Islams.  ISSN 0043-2539.  57(3-4), s 278- 302 . doi: 10.1163/15700607-05734p02 Show summary

  This article presents and discusses voices of active social media users from the urban Sudan on the social impact of internet and mobile communication, with a focus on changes in individuals’ attitudes to established patriarchal norms, in particular regard- ing relations between the sexes, and between young people and their parents’ genera- tion. The picture that emerges from interviews and online sources is that of young people often impatient with the pace of change in their society, while at the same time professing that the new technologies have enabled them, in their own lives, to break established norms, to expand the realm of their private sphere, and to assert their own voice. Such sociocultural change risks going unnoticed if one focuses mainly on the political side of the Arab Spring; it may, however, be as important as regime change to the understanding of current dynamics in the Arab world.

• Hofheinz, Albrecht (2016). #Sisi_vs_Youth, or: Who Has a Voice in Egypt?. Journal of Arabic and Islamic studies.  ISSN 0806-198X.  16, s 327- 348 Show summary

  This article presents voices from Egypt reflecting on the question of who has the right to have a voice in the country in the first half of 2016. In the spirit of the research project “In 2016,” it aims to offer a snapshot of how it “felt to live” in Egypt in 2016 as a member of the young generation (al-shabāb) who actively use social media and who position themselves critically towards the state’s official discourse. While the state propagated a strategy focusing on educating and guiding young people towards becoming productive members of a nation united under one leader, popular youth voices on the internet used music and satire to claim their right to resist a retrograde patrimonial system that threatens every opposing voice with extinction. On both sides, a strongly antagonistic ‘you vs. us’ rhetoric is evident.

• Hofheinz, Albrecht (2013). Internet, In Robert S. Kramer; Richard A. Lobban & Carolyn Fluehr-Lobban (ed.),  Historical dictionary of the Sudan.  Scarecrow Press.  ISBN 978-0-8108-6180-0.  artikkel.  s 216 - 217
• Hofheinz, Albrecht (2013). Soziale Medien im Arabischen Frühling, I: Thorsten Gerald Schneiders (red.),  Der arabische Frühling: Hintergründe und Analysen.  VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften.  ISBN 978-3658011734.  Kap. 6.  s 117 - 125 Show summary

  Welche Rolle spielten die „Sozialen Medien“ im Arabischen Frühling (2010 – 11)? Waren sie ausschlaggebend für die „arabischen Revolutionen“ (wie die Ereignisse seit dem Sturz des tunesischen Präsidenten in der arabischen Welt meist genannt werden)? Oder waren Facebook, Twitter und YouTube „nur“ Werkzeuge in der Hand von Revolutionären, die sich einfach zeitgemäßer Mittel bedienten?

• Hofheinz, Albrecht (2011). Nextopia? Beyond Revolution 2.0. Oriente Moderno.  ISSN 0030-5472.  N.S. 91, s 23-39 Show summary

  Research on the impact of the internet in the Middle East has been dominated by a focus on politics and the public sphere, and oscillated between the hope for “revolutionary” change and the admission that regime stability in the region has not easily been unsettled by media revolutions alone. Obsession with the new and with latest technologies has helped to obscure more long-term sociocultural developments. This contribution is a plea for a shift of paradigm: to study more seriously the social and cultural effects of Internet and mobile phone use; to find out what impact the use of these media has on conceptions of the individual and its role in the construction of knowledge and values; and to determine how these dynamics are embedded in more long-term historical developments promoting a greater role for the individual vis-à-vis established authorities.

• Hofheinz, Albrecht (2011). Nextopia? Beyond Revolution 2.0. International Journal of Communication.  ISSN 1932-8036.  5, s 1417- 1434 Show summary

  Research on the impact of the Internet in the Middle East has been dominated by a focus on politics and the public sphere, and oscillated between the hope for ‘revolutionary’ change and the admission that regime stability in the region has not easily been unsettled by media revolutions alone. Obsession with the new and with the latest technologies has helped to obscure more long-term sociocultural developments. This contribution is a plea for a shift of paradigm: to study more seriously the social and cultural effects of internet and mobile phone use; to find out what impact the use of these media has on conceptions of the individual and its role in the construction of knowledge and values; and how these dynamics are embedded in more long-term historical developments promoting a greater role for the individual vis-à-vis established authorities.

• Hofheinz, Albrecht (2010). A history of Allah.com, In Niels Brügger (ed.),  Web History.  Peter Lang Publishing Group.  ISBN 9781433104688.  Chapter 4. Show summary

  In chapter 4, "A history of Allah.com", Albrecht Hofheinz analyzes the development of the website Allah.com and related websites which for some time presented themselves as being the 'official site' of an Islamic religious brotherhood in the mystical tradition, the Sudanese Sammaniyya. The website Allah.com turns out to be the work of an Egyptian Muslim emigrated to the United States who uses it to promote his own mission, his own understanding of Islam. Hofheinz argue that Allah.com is an example of how the web furthers an ever growing assertiveness among modern Muslims to construct their 'own' Islam, to assume authority to speak out and represent this Islam to the whole world, and to assume personal responsibility for spreading this understanding to a generalized audience - 'everyone'.

• Hofheinz, Albrecht (2010). The elusive quest for revolution: What about the ‘next generation’?, In Fay Sudweeks; Herbert Hrachovec & Charles Ess (ed.),  Cultural Attitudes towards Technology and Communication 2010.  School of Information Technology, Murdoch University.  ISBN 978-0-86905-966-1.  Ch. 18.  s 187 - 197 Show summary

  Research on the impact of the Internet in the Middle East has been dominated by a focus on politics and the public sphere, and oscillated between the hope for ̳revolutionary‘ change and the admission that regime stability in the region has not easily been unsettled by media revolutions alone. Obsession with the new and with the latest technologies has helped to obscure more long-term socio-cultural developments. This paper is a plea for a shift of paradigm: to study more seriously the social and cultural effects of Internet and mobile phone use; to find out what impact the use of these media has on conceptions of the individual and its role in the construction of knowledge and values; and how these dynamics are embedded in more long-term historical developments promoting a greater role for the individual vis-à-vis established authorities.

• Hofheinz, Albrecht (2008). Arap Dünyasında İnternet: siyasi liberalleşme için oyun alam. Uluslararasi Iliskiler.  ISSN 1304-7310.  4(16), s 79- 96
• Hofheinz, Albrecht (2008). The internet in the Arab World: Playground for political liberalization. Uluslararasi Iliskiler.  ISSN 1304-7310.  4, s 79- 96
• Hofheinz, Albrecht (2007). Arab Internet Use: Popular Trends and Public Impact, In Naomi Sakr (ed.),  Arab Media and Political Renewal: Community, Legitimacy and Public Life.  I.B. Tauris.  ISBN 9781845113278.  kapittel 5. Show summary

  The introduction of the Internet as a medium available to the grand public was preceded and accompanied around the world by great visions and strong fears. The Arab world was no exception. Some hoped the net would contribute to enhancing possibilities for democratic participation in public debate and decision making. Others feared the medium would lead to cultural homogenization, transporting mostly Western values and helping to undermine other cultures. Along with moral concerns, fears for the political stability of existing regimes meant that in many cases, public Internet access was opened belatedly and often not without restrictions. Meanwhile, Western observers in the wake of September 11, 2001 have often focused on 'E-Jihad' and the use of the Internet for terrorist aims. But to what extent have such visions and fears been borne out? The chapter approaches this question from the angle of majority use. What does the 'Arabic section' of the Internet look like in comparison to other language regions? What do majority activities on the net consist of? What themes, what ideas are particularly popular? Are there social and political trends that are especially evident on the net? It is argued that Internet use in Arab societies shows both important similarities to and significant differences from other countries. The wish to communicate with friends; entertainment; contact with the 'world outside'; news and information gathering from sources other than those available locally; and chatting and discussion about everything under the sun, but in particular about relations between the sexes, about politics, and about religion that is, about the three big 'taboo' subjects of traditional public discourse in Arab societies: these are the major reasons why people in the Arab world go online, and they are fairly similar to the concerns of people world-wide. What is markedly different in international comparison is a greater importance given to religion (about 10% of the most popular sites are explicitly devoted to the propagation of Islam in one form or another), and the greater popularity of discussion forums, showing perhaps a particular need to transgress discursive boundaries obtaining in offline public space. The use of the net mostly for 'private' reasons; the fragmentation of public forums into a plethora a sub-publics; and the commercialization of the net under the leadership of a few global IT players these are all elements that would appear to militate against the hypothesis of the Internet as harbinger of democratic change. And the practical impact of Internet use by 'civil society' activists has indeed been limited so far. But it may be more useful to look for other, subtler effects. Structurally, the net helps to entrench a more individualized access to information and participation in knowledge construction. Content providers and big portals try to channel visitors' flows and direct their attention, but at the same time individual visitors get to develop a sense that they have a choice, and that their choice matters. More and more, this possibility is seen as a right, the right to have a choice. With young generations increasingly socialized on the net, this development is likely to have consequences also on their attitude to participation in the public sphere. The greatest transformative potential of the Internet for the public sphere may thus lie not in its helping civil society organizations vis-à-vis the state, but in its enhancing a sense of individual autonomy.

View all works in Cristin

• Guth, Stephan; Hofheinz, Albrecht & Chiti, Elena (2018). In 2016 -- How it felt to live in the Arab World five years after the "Arab Spring". [html ]. Show summary

  An 'encyclopedia' of the most frequently observed phenomena and configurations of Egyptian and Tunisian everyday-worlds in the year 2016

• Hofheinz, Albrecht (2018). Meikal Mumin and Kees Versteegh (eds.). The Arabic Script in Africa: Studies in the Use of a Writing System. Studies in Semitic Languages and Linguistics 71. Leiden: Brill, 2014. xx, 400 pp. €142.00, hardback; €137.00, e-book.. Islamic Africa.  ISSN 2333-262X.  9(1), s 118- 122 . doi: https://doi.org/10.1163/21540993-00901008
• Hofheinz, Albrecht (2018). Social Media.
• Hofheinz, Albrecht (2018). Social Media Buzz in 2016.
• Hofheinz, Albrecht & Guth, Stephan (2018). In 2016: Life in the Arab World after the ‘Arab Spring’. Show summary

  Much has been written about democracy (or the lack of it), political Islam and violence in the Middle East after the ‘Arab Spring’. But how do these aspects relate to the realities of everyday life in the post-revolutionary Arab world? And aren’t there many other matters that are much more important to ‘ordinary’ Arabs than these three catchwords of western media coverage?

• Guth, Stephan; Hofheinz, Albrecht & Haugen, Toril Kristin Viken (2017, 27. januar). Lagar "leksikon" over året 2016: Livet i Egypt og Tunisia fem år etter. [Tidsskrift].  Apollon.
• Hofheinz, Albrecht (2017). Baby Milk.
• Hofheinz, Albrecht (2017). Who Speaks for Islam? And What Is Islam? Anti-authoritarianism, Humanism, and Autonomy of Choice as Important Dimensions in Current Self-Reflection.
• Hofheinz, Albrecht (2016). A Look Back on Generation Stuck: of Dreams Repressed, of Seeking a Way Out.
• Hofheinz, Albrecht (2016). Blasphemy among Muslims.
• Hofheinz, Albrecht (2016). Broken Walls: Challenges to patriarchal authority in the eyes of Sudanese social media actors.
• Hofheinz, Albrecht (2016). Daring to Transgress: The Growing Visibility of Blasphemy and Atheism in the Current Arab Public.
• Hofheinz, Albrecht (2016). Policy Brief: Broken Walls: Challenges to Patriarchal Authority in the Eyes of Sudanese Social Media Actors. Show summary

  From “Arab Spring” to “Arab Winter”—this narrative, focused on the political reestablishment of unbridled authoritarianism, misses the bigger picture. After a year of frustrated silence, social media actors re-emerged from disengagement “because there’s much more to the story than what may seem evident. Progress within the political maybe stunted. But “[...] thanks to demographic trends and exponential technology, the cultural and societal is hastening.” What role does technology play here? This brief summarizes views of Sudanese users on the impact of the internet in their country, after their own attempt at joining the “Arab Spring” was crushed in 2013.

• Hofheinz, Albrecht (2016). Social Media Five Years after the “Arab Spring”—Some General Remarks.
• Hofheinz, Albrecht (2015). Brave New Sudan. [www ].
• Hofheinz, Albrecht (2015). Of Broken Walls and Broken Illusions, or: Where do Sudanese Social Media Actors Perceive Liberating Change?. Show summary

  ‘Patriarchal authority has collapsed,’ was a young intellectual’s first thought on the impact of internet use on his society. Where the outsider points to much continuity, Sudanese are convinced that their country has ‘totally changed’. To them, the experience of social change beneath the façade of superficial similarities and regime stability is fundamental. Old authorities still wield considerable power; and disrespect for the authorities is nothing new. But it remains a striking fact that this attitude is perceived by the actors themselves as a significant change, compared to the norms that they were fed by these authorities during their upbringing. This paper discusses how people in Egypt and Sudan reflect on the social changes they are experiencing.

• Hofheinz, Albrecht (2015). Withdrawal from Taḥrīr? Voices from the social media on the fate of the revolution, the wall of fear, and the role of individual actors in post-coup Egypt. Show summary

  This report presents results of a critical survey of how ‘revolutionary’ individuals in Egypt assessed the fate of the revolution and their own trajectory in it, a year after the military deposed president Mursī. Based on an analysis of social media and online interviews, it focuses on those who spearheaded the 2011 ‘revolution’ and who use the term ‘revolutionaries’ as self-description, in contrast to the other major forces: the Muslim Brothers (MB), the supporters of the old regime, and the military. I argue that among long-standing activists, ‘withdrawal’ from public action was less pronounced than some would believe, and often understood as a tactical retreat to safeguard one’s forces from being crushed in the clash of the ‘old’ giants. Maintaining the ‘spirit of the revolution’ rather than exhausting oneself in useless street battles was the order of the day. On the surface, the ‘deep state’ has managed to reassert itself, through cooption of the media and harsh repression of any opposition. Paradoxically, this shows how afraid the old regime is of the power of new ideas. It is thus all the more important for those who are not susceptible to direct persecution to support forums for alternative visions and free debate in Egypt. Outside actors such as Norway should • help to keep open spaces—physical and virtual—for alternative information flows, like the ‘Tahrir Lounge’ supported by the German Foreign Ministry; • monitor and publicly criticise attempts to restrict such spaces and hold Egyptian authorities accountable for such restrictions.

• Hofheinz, Albrecht (2014). How did the Arabic Twittersphere react to Obama’s speech outlining his strategy against IS?. [www ].
• Hofheinz, Albrecht (2014). Landslide. [www ].
• Hofheinz, Albrecht (2014). Regime of fear, 2.0. [www ].
• Hofheinz, Albrecht (2014). Rāqī bi-akhlāqī, or: The Moral Turn, from Sufi Shaykhs to Facebook groups.
• Hofheinz, Albrecht (2014). Tunisia – Egypt: who won?. [www ].
• Hofheinz, Albrecht (2014). #WhyIHateIkhwan. Islamist-secular polarisation in Egyptian social media.
• Hofheinz, Albrecht (2014). #WhyIHateIkhwan. Islamist-secular polarization in Egyptian social media.
• Hofheinz, Albrecht (2014). Withdrawal from Taḥrīr? Voices from the Social Media on the Fate of the Revolution, the Wall of Fear, and the Role of Individual Actors in Post-Coup Egypt. Show summary

  Withdrawal from Taḥrīr? Voices from the social media on the fate of the revolution, the wall of fear, and the role of individual actors in post-coup Egypt After the polarisation of the Egyptian political scene culminated in 2013 in a military coup and violent crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood, Egyptians who had embraced the 2011 revolution found themselves in a limbo regarding how to assess and react to this. While Brotherhood supporters maintained an air of steadfastness, many seculars slipped into a disillusioned pessimism. Opposed to military rule as much as to the Brotherhood’s attempt to appropriate the state, they found themselves squeezed between the ‘steadfast’ but unrepentant Brothers; a population tired of disruptions to daily life and the economy; an unreformed security apparatus; and a reassertively repressive ‘deep state’. No wonder that many who had engaged in public in 2011/12 now tended to withdraw. Many activists regarded such withdrawal into perceived passiveness as dangerous and tried to fight it. But how does it look from ‘below’, from the perspective of individuals taking the decision to ‘withdraw’? In my contribution, I shall investigate this through the lens of individuals’ reflections and other traces on social media — does the retreat from ‘Taḥrīr’ (the paradigmatic symbol of street power) signify a withdrawal from public action altogether? Is it a withdrawal into the private sphere, leaving public affairs to the powers that be? Or are we witnessing a ‘post-Taḥrīr’ readjustment, conscious of a longer, and perhaps more realistic, time frame (cf. the oft-quoted comparison to the “ten years” the French Revolution took). Reading into some prominent social media accounts as well as based on interviews with rank-and-file participants in the 2011 revolution, I shall argue that the ‘withdrawal’ from public action was less pronounced than some would believe, and often understood as a tactical retreat to safeguard one’s forces from being crushed in the clash of the ‘old’ giants. Maintaining the ‘spirit of the revolution’ rather than exhausting oneself in useless street battles was the order of the day. Using individual cases, I shall present a nuanced picture of how different individuals view their own trajectory with the revolution and their own role in its future path. A leitmotif will be to ask what people say about the ‘wall of fear’ that was declared broken in 2011 – a feat that some at the time described as the one irreversible effect of the Jan. 25 revolution. How do post-revolutionary individuals set themselves up vis-à-vis reassertive authorities – political, religious, family, etc. – after having claimed to have lost fear of them?

• Hofheinz, Albrecht (2013). Abdullah al-Tayyib, In Robert S. Kramer; Richard A. Lobban & Carolyn Fluehr-Lobban (ed.),  Historical dictionary of the Sudan.  Scarecrow Press.  ISBN 978-0-8108-6180-0.  artikkel.  s 41 - 41
• Hofheinz, Albrecht (2013). Ahmad ibn Idris, In Robert S. Kramer; Richard A. Lobban & Carolyn Fluehr-Lobban (ed.),  Historical dictionary of the Sudan.  Scarecrow Press.  ISBN 978-0-8108-6180-0.  artikkel.  s 56 - 56
• Hofheinz, Albrecht (2013). Allah.com – a Trajectory.
• Hofheinz, Albrecht (2013). Islamic studies in Germany: an overview.
• Hofheinz, Albrecht (2013). Majadhib, In Robert S. Kramer; Richard A. Lobban & Carolyn Fluehr-Lobban (ed.),  Historical dictionary of the Sudan.  Scarecrow Press.  ISBN 978-0-8108-6180-0.  artikkel.  s 283 - 284
• Hofheinz, Albrecht (2013). Shadhiliya, In Robert S. Kramer; Richard A. Lobban & Carolyn Fluehr-Lobban (ed.),  Historical dictionary of the Sudan.  Scarecrow Press.  ISBN 978-0-8108-6180-0.  artikkel.  s 379 - 380
• Hofheinz, Albrecht (2013). Social Media in the 'Arab Spring': The Example of Egypt. :NewME Reports. 1. Show summary

  Was the ‘Arab Spring’ a ‘Facebook revolution’? Or were social media mere tools used by revolutionaries like others before? What role did the internet play in the Arab uprisings? And beyond that: what impact do these new forms of communication have in the Arab mediascape and in society more generally? In 2011, the importance of social media was heavily and controversially debated in media and academia. To gain insight into how users themselves view the role of social media in the recent events, I did fieldwork in Egypt in autumn 2011 and spring 2012. Interviews and participant observation suggest that 1. while the importance of Facebook and Twitter may have been exaggerated in early reporting, social media did play a key role in mobilising and organising people; 2. the weight of social media in the flow of information is growing; 3. social media’s impact on socialisation may be at least as important in the long run as the immediate political role they play.

• Hofheinz, Albrecht (2013). Uthman ibn Abi Bakr Diqna, In Robert S. Kramer; Richard A. Lobban & Carolyn Fluehr-Lobban (ed.),  Historical dictionary of the Sudan.  Scarecrow Press.  ISBN 978-0-8108-6180-0.  artikkel.  s 448 - 449
• Hofheinz, Albrecht (2013). #WhyIHateIkhwan. Islamist-secular polarization in Egyptian social media.
• Hofheinz, Albrecht (2013). #WhyIHateIkhwan. Islamist-secular polarization in Egyptian social media.
• Hofheinz, Albrecht (2013). al-Damer, In Robert S. Kramer; Richard A. Lobban & Carolyn Fluehr-Lobban (ed.),  Historical dictionary of the Sudan.  Scarecrow Press.  ISBN 978-0-8108-6180-0.  artikkel.  s 119 - 120
• Hofheinz, Albrecht & Bergseng, Anne (2013, 20. august). Tror turistene vil vende tilbake til Egypt. [Internett]. Show summary

  Til tross for avlyst sesong for Egypt som reisemål, tror ekspertene at landet igjen vil bli populært blant turister

• Hofheinz, Albrecht & Lohne, Jenny-Linn (2013, 26. juli). Fem drept og flere skadet etter nye kamper i Egypt. [Internett]. Show summary

  Situasjonen i flere egyptiske byer er svært spent etter at Mohamed Morsi ble varetektsfengslet.

• Hofheinz, Albrecht (2012). "Born on the 25th of January". Introduction to the European premiere of Aḥmed Rashwān’s film "Mawlūd fī 25 yanāyir".
• Hofheinz, Albrecht (2012). Egypt: Election results vs November Facebook popularity. [www ].
• Hofheinz, Albrecht (2012). En attendant… le salut. [www ].
• Hofheinz, Albrecht (2012). From the high skies, or: the lie of the land – a view from the edge. [www ].
• Hofheinz, Albrecht (2012). New Media, Religion and Gender. Comment on the presentation by Mia Lövheim.
• Hofheinz, Albrecht (2012). Out-Reach. [www ].
• Hofheinz, Albrecht (2012). Social Media in the ‘Arab Spring’ — field observations from Egypt. Show summary

  Was the ‘Arab Spring’ a ‘Facebook revolution’? Or were social media mere tools used by revolutionaries like others before? What role did the internet play in the Arab uprisings? And beyond that: what impact do these new forms of communication have in the Arab mediascape and in society more generally? In 2011, the importance of social media was heavily and controversially debated in (mostly western) media and academia. The present paper presents results of my fieldwork in Egypt in 2011/2012 where I focused on how users themselves (not least among the rank and file) view the role of social media in and following the Arab uprisings. Interviews and participant observation suggest that • while the importance of Facebook and Twitter may have been exaggerated in early reporting, social media did play a key role in mobilizing and organizing people; • the weight of social media in the flow of information is growing; • social media’s impact on socialization may be at least as important in the long run as the immediate political role they play.

• Hofheinz, Albrecht (2012). Social Media in the ‘Arab Spring’ — the example of Egypt.
• Hofheinz, Albrecht (2012). Social Media in the ‘Arab Spring’ — the example of Egypt. Show summary

  Was the ‘Arab Spring’ a ‘Facebook revolution’? Or were social media mere tools used by revolutionaries like others before? What role did the internet play in the Arab uprisings? And beyond that: what impact do these new forms of communication have in the Arab mediascape and in society more generally? In 2011, the importance (or not) of social media was heavily and controversially debated in (mostly western) media and academia. To gain insight into how users themselves view the role of social media in the recent events, I did fieldwork in Egypt in autumn 2011 and spring 2012. Interviews and participant observation suggest that 1) while the importance of Facebook and Twitter may have been exaggerated in early reporting, social media did play a key role in mobilising and organising people; 2) the weight of social media in the flow of information is growing; 3) social media’s impact on socialisation may be at least as important in the long run as the immediate political role they play.

• Hofheinz, Albrecht (2012). Sosiale mediers rolle i den egyptiske revolusjonen.
• Hofheinz, Albrecht (2012). Who owns the revolution? A contested anniversary. [www ].
• Hofheinz, Albrecht & Utvik, Bjørn Olav (2012). Egypt one year after: Military rule in guise of democracy?. Show summary

  A year after people took to the streets of Egypt demanding an end to the rule of Mubarak, the question about what has actually happened since is contested. One the one hand there are those who argue that a revolution took place, ousting the old regime, and that the country is now heading towards a brighter future. On the other hand, there are others who claim that no substantial change has taken place and that the old regime is still intact. To debate these two opposing views, The Centre for Islamic and Middle East Studies in cooperation with The New Middle East and The Gulf Research Unit held a seminar, featuring Albrecht Hofheinz and Bjørn Olav Utvik.

• Ohlander, Erik S.; Ballanfat, Paul; Ephrat, Daphna; Hofheinz, Albrecht & Kılıç, Mahmud Erol (2012). From the Editors. Journal of Sufi Studies.  ISSN 2210-5948.  1(1), s 1- 2
• Hofheinz, Albrecht (2011, 11. februar). Den første Facebook-revolusjonen?. [Internett].  ABC Nyheter. Show summary

  Revolusjonen i Egypt er utvilsomt en folkets revolusjon, men uten mediene ville ikke gnisten kunnet spre seg.

• Hofheinz, Albrecht (2011, 29. januar). Die Welt schaut zu – Islamwissenschaftler über das Internet in der arabischen Welt. [Radio].  Deutschlandfunk: Informationen am Morgen. Show summary

  In Ägypten sei das Internet nicht die Ursache für die Proteste, sagt Albrecht Hofheinz, Islamwissenschaftler an der Universität Oslo. Welch große Bedeutung die Regierung dem Medium beimesse, sehe man an der Unterbrechung der Leitungen.

• Hofheinz, Albrecht (2011, 21. januar). Korrespondenten: Sosiale medier i Tunisias folkerevolusjon. [TV].  TV2.
• Hofheinz, Albrecht (2011, 28. januar). Kuttet hele internett: Egyptiske myndigheter har sperret befolkningens tilgang til internett i påvente av demonstrasjoner etter fredagsbønnen. [Internett].  ABC Nyheter.
• Hofheinz, Albrecht (2011). Nextopia? Beyond Revolution 2.0.
• Hofheinz, Albrecht (2011, 22. mars). On the events in Libya. [TV].  Insu^tv.
• Hofheinz, Albrecht (2011). Revolution II. [www ].
• Hofheinz, Albrecht (2011, 31. januar). Schmalband: Ägypter nutzen das Internet per Modem. [Internett].  golem.de: IT-News für Profis. Show summary

  Die ägyptische Regierung hat die Abschaltung der Mobilfunknetze auf Druck der Wirtschaft wieder aufgehoben, SMS funktioniert aber weiter nur sehr schlecht. Die Internet Service Provider sollen sich bereithalten, um den Betrieb wieder aufzunehmen.

• Hofheinz, Albrecht; Akerhaug, Lars & Skevik, Erlend (2011, 21. november). Øyenvitne til VG Nett: Folk løper forbi med sårede. [Internett].  VG Nett.
• Hofheinz, Albrecht & Falkenberg Mikkelsen, Sigurd (2011, 28. januar). NRK P2 Kulturnytt: [om sosiale mediers rolle i demonstrasjonene i Egypt]. [Radio].  NRK P2.
• Hofheinz, Albrecht & Havdal Tangenes, Anders (2011, 15. februar). Håp om frihet og fremtid: opptøyene i Egypt.  Under Dusken. Show summary

  I Egypt er arbeidsløsheten ti ganger høyere blant de med universitetsutdanning enn blant de uten. Da er det ikke rart at studentene sto øverst på barrikadene i protest mot Hosni Mubaraks regime.

• Hofheinz, Albrecht & Meringolo, Azzurra (2011, 22. mars). «Il web ha dato coraggio alla rivoluzione araba».  Il Messaggero. Show summary

  Il professor Hofheinz: «La rivolta era matura, i social networks l’hanno fatta crescere»

• Hofheinz, Albrecht & Mohammed, Ferhad (2011, 14. juli). (on the significance of South Sudan’s independence for the future of non-Arab people in the Arab states). [Internett].  Gulan Media.
• Hofheinz, Albrecht & Reichmuth, Christoph (2011, 03. desember). Sieg der Frommen trifft Tourismus.  Neue Luzerner Zeitung. Show summary

  Der Rückhalt in der Bevölkerung für die Protestbewegung schwindet, sagt ein Islamexperte. Das Ergebnis der Wahlen könnte im Land einiges umwälzen.

• Hofheinz, Albrecht & Torgersen, Hans Henrik (2011, 21. november). Revolusjonen, del 2.  Verdens Gang.
• Hofheinz, Albrecht (2010). Dynamics of internet use in the Arab-Islamic world. Show summary

  Internettbruk i den arabisk-muslimske verden

• Hofheinz, Albrecht (2010). The elusive quest for revolution: What about the 'next generation'?. Show summary

  Research on the impact of the Internet in the Middle East has been dominated by a focus on politics and the public sphere, and oscillated between the hope for ̳revolutionary‘ change and the admission that regime stability in the region has not easily been unsettled by media revolutions alone. Obsession with the new and with the latest technologies has helped to obscure more long-term socio-cultural developments. This paper is a plea for a shift of paradigm: to study more seriously the social and cultural effects of Internet and mobile phone use; to find out what impact the use of these media has on conceptions of the individual and its role in the construction of knowledge and values; and how these dynamics are embedded in more long-term historical developments promoting a greater role for the individual vis-à-vis established authorities.

• Hofheinz, Albrecht & Wiedemann, Charlotte (2010, 19. april). Portrait Abdelkader Haidara: Aus den Sandlöchern in die digitale Bibliothek. [Internett].  qantara.de. Show summary

  Vergessen, geraubt, wiederentdeckt: Im westafrikanischen Timbuktu existieren seit Jahrhunderten Tausende islamische Handschriften in Familienbesitz. Für den Schutz und die Aufarbeitung des Erbes dieser alt-afrikanischen Bibliotheken engagieren sich Privatleute wie Abdelkader Haidara.

• Myrvold, Pernille; Moubarak, Mary Boulos & Hofheinz, Albrecht (2010). RAPPORT utarbeidet til Universitets- og høgskolerådet (HRS): Sammenligning av bruken av bokstavkarakterer for emnene ARA103 (UiB) og ARA1120 (UiO) høsten 2010.
• Hofheinz, Albrecht (2009). Contested authority? Reflections on the niqāb debate.
• Hofheinz, Albrecht (2009, 23. november). “Den nubiske apekatt”. [Radio].  NRK P1 “Her og nå”.
• Hofheinz, Albrecht (2009, 01. mars). Fī istikhdām al-Internet fī al-ʿĀlam al-ʿArabī. [Radio].  Deutsche Welle (DW-RADIO/DW-WORLD/Arabic).
• Hofheinz, Albrecht (2009, 29. juli). Fī taʿāwun norwēǧī saʿūdī: Naql ṭullāb wa-ṭālibāt min Iskandināfiyā li-taʿallum al-lugha al-ʿarabiyya fī Jidda.  al-Madīna - al-Arbiʿāʾ.
• Hofheinz, Albrecht (2009). Identity • Authority • History: Facets of Muslims’ Internet use. Show summary

  The presentation highlights three aspects that are important to pursue in greater earnest if we want to advance our understanding of how Muslims make use of ICT. First, Muslims are human beings with multiple, negotiated, and performed identities. Consequently, we must make analytical room for the fact that Muslims, including Islamists, do not only act as Muslims. This may be a truism, but in practice it appears that our research often focuses too exclusively on the religious dimension of actors in the religious field, and thus risks to over-simplify a more complex reality. Secondly, we need more seriously to investigate the dynamics between users/crowds and authorities in the new media. These media have posed a challenge to established religious, political, and social authorities, but also provided them – like any other user – with new opportunities. The rise of Web 2.0 has given new life to the idea of ‘wise crowds’ performing better than old hierarchical systems. In reality, however, individuals, crowds, and both new and old authorities interact in complex ways to juggle for position within the field of contestation (religious or otherwise), and to use this position to define and redefine normative and dogmatic content. To find out in exactly what ways the new media are a factor – and not merely an arena – of this struggle to reconstruct Islam should be the focus of more in-depth and long-term work both in the field and with texts. Thirdly, as we realise that authorities have had to struggle for influence also in the days preceding Internet, cell-phone and satellite TV, we must take a step back from the screen to gain a wider historical perspective. Many of the developments that are attributed to the impact of the ‘new media’ are comparable to developments that happened much earlier, in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. In the Muslim world, the roots of these developments predate colonial encroachment and cannot therefore be reduced to being the outcome of a confrontation with (Western) modernity or a reaction to it. Placed in such a wider historical horizon, the Internet may loose some of its ‘revolutionary’ mystique – which may be just what is needed to gain a more sober understanding of how Muslims use it.

• Hofheinz, Albrecht (2009). Jāmiʿat Ōslō wa’l-dirāsa fīhā.
• Hofheinz, Albrecht (2009, 28. oktober). Midtøsten ruster opp.  Universitas.
• Hofheinz, Albrecht (2009). Response to Fredrick Bäck, Islamic groups on the internet in Finland.
• Hofheinz, Albrecht (2009, 16. september). Timbuktus verschollenes Erbe: vom Sande verweht. [TV].  ARTE. Show summary

  In Westafrika gehen Tausende von alten islamischen Handschriften zugrunde. Spezialisten aus vielen Ländern bemühen sich um ihre Rettung, bevor sie völlig vom Sand verweht werden. Timbuktu – das Wort steht für den Mythos vom ‚Ende der Welt’, für den geheimnisvollen Ort voller Reichtümer inmitten der Wüste, unzugänglich für Europäer. Im Mittelalter war dieser Mythos Realität. Timbuktu war nicht nur ein wohlhabender Handelsknotenpunkt für Tuareg-Karawanen, die Salz, Gold und Sklaven aus dem Süden nach Ägypten und Marokko brachten. Es war auch die Hauptstadt des islamischen Geisteslebens in Westafrika im 15. und 16. Jahrhundert. Noch heute existieren Hunderttausende Manuskripte aus dieser Zeit, die versteckt, vergraben und vergessen darauf warten, wiederentdeckt zu werden. Es sind die verschollenen Bibliotheken des islamischen Weltwissens. Die Handschriften müssen so bald wie möglich aufgefunden, zusammengetragen und vor dem Verfall gerettet werden, bevor sie sich vollständig auflösen. Ein Lauf gegen die Zeit, denn Timbuktu droht, vom Sand der Wüste verschlungen zu werden. Jedes Jahr rückt die Wüste der Stadt um 10m nähter. Timbuktu wurde von der UNESCO 1990 auf die Liste der gefährdeten Orte des Weltkulturerbes gesetzt. Nach dringenden Schutzmaßnahmen gegen die Versandung konnte es 2006 wieder vorerst von der Liste gestrichen werden. Die zunehmende Austrockunung und Versandung der Stadt durch den Klimawandel machen jedoch weitere Maßnahmen notwendig – sonst bleibt von Timbuktu nur noch sein Mythos. Der Film geht dem Mythos Timbuktus nach, verfolgt die Spuren seiner verschollenen Manuskripte und erzählt von der akuten Gefahr, im Wüstensand zu verschwinden.

• Hofheinz, Albrecht (2008). A history of Allah.com. Show summary

  This case study analyzes the development of the web page Allah.com and related pages that for some time presented themselves as being the 'official site' of the Sudanese Sammaniyya (an Islamic religious brotherhood in the mystical tradition). Internet 'archeology' -- chiefly relying on the Internet Archive and an analysis of whois information -- helps to unearth a different picture. The web site turns out to be the work of an Egyptian Muslim emigrated to the United States who uses it to promote his own mission, his own understanding of Islam. He draws on a variety of symbolic resources, including the "spiritual heritage" of a "traditional shaykhs" such as the Sammani Hasan al-Fatih, and uses these resources to develop his own personal response to Islamic revivalism. Allah.com is an example of how the Internet furthers an ever growing assertiveness among modern Muslims to construct their 'own' Islam (even after the original Sammaniyya has disassociated itself from the site), to assume authority to speak out and represent this Islam to the whole world, and to assume personal responsibility for spreading this understanding to a generalized audience - 'everyone'. In terms of methodology, the paper provides a detailed example for how much information an careful hermeneutical textual analysis (i.e., an 'old' method) can yield also if applied to 'new' types of textual material.

• Hofheinz, Albrecht (2008, 31. januar). Internett og sensur i Tunisia. [Internett].  NRK P2 "Sånn er livet".
• Hofheinz, Albrecht (2008). Reconstituting bodies of knowledge: Disciplining the body – simplifying the corpus – reconstructing the community. Show summary

  Muḥammad Majdhūb -- a Sufi-inspired Muslim reformist and inner missionary of the early 19th-century Sudan -- illustrates all three thematic aspects of the conference. He re-formed body discipline, knowledge corpus, and group identity. He worked his disciples (who stemmed from a rural and semi-urban periphery) to internalize self-discipline in controlling their sexuality, and thereby internalize moral norms derived from the "high" literary culture of scholastic Islam. In order to reach a wider audience, he composed a simplified body of literature essentializing this knowledge, and in the process detached it from its scholastic methodological roots. And in reconstituting his followers into a new social body, a tariqa, he was part of a process changing the basis of group identity from, ideal-typically, an inherited ethnic (gezeugt) formation to a self-selected, voluntary (überzeugt) association of individuals. All three dimension are interlinked, and they are illustrative of a dynamics that has been highly significant in the Muslim world over the past two centuries, and that finds its most recent avenues in cyberspace. The paper aims at finding a balance between pointing out significant development trends while avoiding teleological determinism. The transformation of Majdhūb’s ancestral home from "Dāmar Ḥamad" into "Dāmar al-Majdhūb" -- a process that took almost 200 years -- shows both how the new model gradually becomes superimposed on the old, and reminds us of the tenacity and inertia of established bodies and their tendancy to integrate (einbinden) the new into the old.

• Hofheinz, Albrecht (2008, 28. juli). Sesam im Sandmeer.  DER SPIEGEL. Show summary

  Das sagenhafte Timbuktu, einst Standort der südlichsten islamischen Universität, birgt Abertausende vergessene Handschriften aus dem Mittelalter. Jetzt werden die Wüsten-Manuskripte ausgewertet – ein Vorstoß ins literarische Herz Afrikas.

• Hofheinz, Albrecht (2008). The Internet, the quest for democracy, and the role of the individual in the Arab world.
• Hofheinz, Albrecht (2008). Virtual Jihad: transmission belt of a global movement?.

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