Fitna, the video battle: how YouTube enables the young to perform their religious and public identities
In March 2008, Dutch parliamentarian Geert Wilders released a 16 minute anti-Islam movie called Fitna. Wilders had a hard time finding a broadcaster or internet provider willing to air the film, because his mere idea caused an immense global controversy, leading to death threats, violent protest, diplomatic incidents and fierce public debate. One of the reactions consisted of organised and unorganised video protest by young people from all over the world, who uploaded their reactions to websites such as YouTube or LiveLeak. These videos form the material for this research project funded by the AHRC/ESRC Religion and Society Program.
Project
arts-humanities.net
Zoonen, L. van, Vis, F. and S. Mihelj (2010). Performing citizenship on YouTube: activism, satire and online debate around the anti-Islam video Fitna. Critical Discourse Studies, vol.7(4), p.249-262.
Vis,F., Van Zoonen, L. and S. Mihelj (2010). Women responding to the anti-Islam film Fitna: voices and acts of citizenship on YouTube. Accepted for publication in Feminist Review.
Zoonen, L. van, Müller, F. and F. Hirzalla (2009). De slag om Fitna [Fitna, the video battle]. In M. Aarts and M. van der Haak (eds). Popvirus: popularization of religion and culture. Amsterdam: Aksant Publishers.
Zoonen, L. van, Vis, F, and S. Mihelj (under review). YouTube interactions between agonism, antagonism and dialogue: video responses to the anti-Islam film Fitna. Available on request from the research team.
Vis, F., van Zoonen, L. & S. Mihelj (2009).'Women's voices in and around Fitna'. Paper presented at CRESC Religion, Media and Social Change symposium on Media Reception, Participation and Power, London, 27 June 2009.
Vis, F., Thelwall, M., van Zoonen, L. and Mihelj, S. (2010), Challenging dominant representations of Islam online: innovative methods for studying YouTube, Innovative Methods in the Study of Religion Conference, London, 29-30 March.
Vis, F., van Zoonen, L. and Mihelj, S.(2010), Fitna: the video battle. Outreach, impact and creative dissemination. Presented at the Public Engagement for Arts, Humanities and Social Science Researchers event, organised by Connection Factory, University of Westminister, 29 April.