16 Introduction
society model, to address the entire realms of societal and cultural life that
has relevance to the social and political order”.^4
n these papers, the notion of the public sphere provides ways of I
thinking about societal transformation that neither compartmentalizes
nor homogenizes the units of analysis. It helps unpack the concepts of
“nation” and “nation-state” as well as focus on transnational, non-national
and virtual spaces and processes. Importantly, the role of space and place
in enabling the emergence and institutionalization of publics and political
participation are highlighted and “located” in particular settings. In this
way, the volume challenges, and adds to, prevailing models and modes of
understanding the public sphere as well as provides valuable compara-
tive insights, largely lacking in the current literature. At the same time,
it has to be admitted that the task of “talking back” to the literature on
Western liberal democratic public spheres (and those that would univer-
salize it as an ideal) is at its beginning, especially from the perspective of
the Middle East and North Africa region. In this endeavor, this volume
joins a small number of books and edited volumes that have appeared in
the last decade.^5
ven within this sparse literature, certain themes come clearly to E
the fore as important for understanding the overlapping regions variously
defined as the Middle East, Arab World and Islamic World. These themes
are also explored in this volume: A focus on Islam is apparent, even par-
amount, in order to locate (or re-locate) religion in the public sphere,
account for contemporary religious political and social movements and
serve as a historical and civilizational framework of analysis. A second
and related preoccupation is with understanding the shifting line between
the private and the public (in Muslim societies) and the functioning of
gender roles and identities in negotiating this distinction. An interest
in democratization and participation also shapes many of the questions
raised by the literature, which is apparent in studies of the media, espe-
cially new media and its role in creating new publics and the ways in
which virtual publics differ from national publics.
s volume shares these concerns with the available literature.Thi^6
However, these themes are inflected through a primary interest in politics
and the ways in which publics coalesce around political dynamics that
may be local, national or transnational. The issue of political, and armed,