Mediating Islam

"A richly-layered overview of the journalistic landscape in Malaysia and Indonesia."

"Steele’s study is well situated within the literature on Islam and politics in Southeast Asia. It provides an important corrective not only to simplistic assumptions that Islam cannot allow for free expression, balance, or critique but also to superficial understandings of how religious values shape people’s public activities."

"Steele’s book presents a landmark work, setting the stage for more nuanced engagements with contemporary Muslim practices of journalism in a world of contested religious ideals, social values, and political projects."

"Janet Steele’s book really is an eye-opener for anybody interested in comparative perspectives on journalism ethics. She skillfully deconstructs any possible assumption that ethical reflections in modern media organization is a privilege of the West."

"Janet Steele’s new book on Islam and journalism in Southeast Asia is a refreshing tour de force of qualitative research, grounded in years of in-depth interviews and participant observation at five influential print publications. . . . this is an extremely important book that sets new standards for qualitative research on the internal workings of newsrooms, and the world views that prevail there."

"Shows that media practice in Muslim societies cannot be reduced into an ideological framework or a structural explanation [but] is a complex entanglement between ideology, political economy, and personal reflection on religious values."

"Mediating Islam examines the values [the journalists] embrace and the motivations, particularly the religious ones that guide their professional work. A very worthwhile subject."

"Simultaneously intimate and sweeping in its scope, Mediating Islam provides us with portraits of a range of Muslim journalists, from conservative scripturalists to pluralist cosmopolitans. The result is a must-read book, not just for scholars of journalism, but for anyone interested in media, democracy, and religion in modern Southeast Asia and the broader Muslim world."

"This book represents an important advance in de-Westernizing media studies. Janet Steele investigates how Muslim journalists in Indonesia and Malaysia apply their religious principles. Rejecting univocal, monolithic notions of religion, the book introduces us to a rich tapestry of media organisations and practitioners, showing how Islam has inspired a wide range of ideological stances and professional role perceptions. For journalism studies, the book invites a rethink of secular liberalism as the only foundation for journalisms that value independence, truth and justice."

"Steele has written a readable, insightful book about how journalists in Indonesia and Malaysia define professional identity and practice. The analysis is packed with analytical gems and original data that show how journalistic norms, conventionally identified with Western journalism such as truth and justice, are reinterpreted in the context of Islamic culture. With the keen eye of a historian and the sharpness of a longtime scholar of the region, Steele offers important lessons for those interested in understanding the cultures of professional journalism in a globalized world. The book shakes off stereotypes and invites to study the complex nexus between religiosity and journalism."

"With this book, Steele makes a richly important contribution to the study of the international news media, and moves us past stale thinking that the principles of professional journalism are uniquely western. This is a critical read for anyone trying to understand how truth via Islamic news media in Indonesia and Malaysia is determined and projected, especially for diplomats and aid professionals who want to engage Muslim journalists and intellectuals in a more meaningful way."