A lecturer at the Department of Mass Communication, Bayero University, Kano (BUK), Dr. Umar Jibrilu Gwandu has revealed that there is an increasing interest in the area of Islam and the media.
Dr Gwandu who was a panelist at the 2nd anniversary lecture series of Muslim News Nigeria hinted that the growing interest in the discipline is evident both in its study and professional practice.
Recall that Muslim News Nigeria’s 2nd anniversary virtual lecture series tagged “Islam and the Media” had in attendance local and international scholars and practitioners.
The theme was “Survival of Islamic Media Institutions: Reflections from Nigeria”.
According to Dr Gwandu, “When we say media and Islam, we are talking about how the media is reporting the individual Muslims, areas majorly populated by Muslims and certain teachings of Islam.
“This also includes, among others, the Muslims’ participation in the media or the presence of the Muslims, especially Muslims’ ownership and proprietorship; the use of the media for Islamic propagation; the Islamic teachings that are relevant to the media practice and Muslim media organisations, as well as the contribution of Muslim scholars in the media as far as the practice and teaching is concerned,” he added.
The Varsity Don, who also doubles as the Special Assistant on Media to the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, stated that there is growing interest in Islam and the media, either as a subject of study or issue of professional practice.
He noted that there are a lot media organisations in Nigeria owned by Muslims, stating that funding has been a major setback for their survival and sustainability.
Talking on various challenges, Dr Gwandu said, “Apart from the establishments by the philanthropists or the rich among us, there is also the issue of funding which is related to the contents of the Islamic media organisations. The issue of producers, programming, language usage, issues that are being discussed – whether they are purely religious or of socio-political concern or the medium is uniting or dividing the Muslims”.
The media scholar noted that adoption of national language that is appealing to everybody and ensuring that the media content is reflective of varieties of views of the Muslims are some of the ways of achieving a long lasting surviving media organisation
Speaking on, he sued that, “Islamic media aren’t necessarily to be propagating the Islamic teachings. They are also essentially supposed to be re-awakening those who are asleep, guiding those who are astray, giving medium to those who speak with wisdom to express analysis.
“We have to have the media that is talking about business, economy, politics, health, entertainment and so many other issues as far as they are viewed from the Islamic perspective,” he added.
