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The Attitude Towards the Other in Jewish and Islamic Religious Websites

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The Attitude Towards the Other in Jewish and Islamic Religious Websites University of Calgary PRISM: University of Calgary's Digital Repository Graduate Studies The Vault: Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2014-08-05 The Attitude Towards the Other in Jewish and Islamic Religious Websites Steinitz, Oren Z. Steinitz, O. Z. (2014). The Attitude Towards the Other in Jewish and Islamic Religious Websites (Unpublished doctoral thesis). University of Calgary, Calgary, AB. doi:10.11575/PRISM/28015 http://hdl.handle.net/11023/1669 doctoral thesis University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission. Downloaded from PRISM: https://prism.ucalgary.ca UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY The Attitude Towards the Other in Jewish and Islamic Religious Websites by Oren Z. Steinitz A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY INTERDISCIPLINARY GRADUATE PROGRAM CALGARY, ALBERTA JULY, 2014 © Oren Z. Steinitz 2014 Abstract This dissertation focuses on Jewish and Islamic websites that allow their visitors to pose questions relating to religious law to well-known rabbis and muftīs, receive an answer on the website itself; and, in some cases, comment on the scholars’ answers. The Q&A reviewed focused on the attitudes towards various ‘others’: members of other faiths, members of a nation in conflict with their own, and those challenging traditional religious gender roles. Utilizing a discourse analysis, case study approach, several research questions are posed: are online Questions and Answers compatible with traditional religious Q&A or are the websites creating a new form of religious discourse? Are online Q&A marking the boundaries of a religious Enclave, and who is setting these boundaries? How are the various ‘others’ treated? Is the medium actually creating a democratic, rational-critical discourse, resembling Habermas’ ideal public sphere? And does the medium’s public nature enable the religious scholars to assume the role of public intellectuals? The theoretical framework for the dissertation is outlined in Chapter II, which reviews the concepts of the “other” and the “Enclave”. The chapter then turns to theories of public discourse, primarily Jürgen Habermas’ “Public Sphere,” as well as the rise (and perhaps fall) of public intellectuals and an evaluation of the internet as a vehicle for democratic public discourse. Chapter III examines the development of Jewish and Islamic law, with a special focus on the Q&A genre. Chapter IV evaluates Q&A websites as an ideal public sphere, as well as in comparison to traditional Q&A. The second part of the chapter presents a case study dealing with social interaction with non-Jews and non-Muslims, which aids in defining the characteristics of ii online Q&A. Chapter V focuses on a political ‘other’; it reviews Q&A from Jewish Religious- Zionist and Islamic “Centrist” websites, focusing on issues related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Chapter VI focuses on the ‘other’ from within – Jewish and Muslim women who challenge their conventional religious roles. The dissertation ends with Chapter VII, presenting the study’s conclusions, as well as a look into current trends in online religious discourse, beyond the realm of Q&A websites. iii Acknowledgments It is my utmost pleasure to thank all those who made the completion of this project possible. First and foremost, to my supervisor – mori v’rabbi – Dr. Eliezer Segal, for his incredible Teachings and support throughout the entire process. To my co-supervisor, Dr. Michael Keren, for enthusiastically joining in the project and providing input and support. To my committee members – Dr. Andrew Rippin, Dr. Shlomit Keren and Dr. David Tal for their insight and feedback. Other faculty members who have contributed their time and expertise are Dr. Virginia Tumasz, Dr. Irving Hexam and Dr. Douglas Shantz from the Department of Religious Studies; as well as Dr. David Mitchell from the Department of Communications and Culture – I am very grateful for all your input. To my cohort at the RELS department, and especially Dr. Chris Daniels, Dr. Sarah Gallant, Roselle Gonsalves, Zvi Pardes, and Miriam Fry; and Naor Cohen from the department of Communications and Culture. To Pauline Fisk and everyone at the IGP for helping this project come alive. iv To the RELS departmental administrative staff – Rachel Blake and Perlea Ashton, for all their assistance and sound advice. To my colleagues at Mount Royal University, and especially Dr. Glen Ryland, Dr. Michael Hawley, Dr. Karim Dharamsi, Dr. David Ohreen and Dr. Roberta Lexier. To my colleagues at the Faith and Spirituality Centre, and specifically Adriana Tulissi, Tanda (Khadijah) Chmilovska, Rev. Paul Verhoof, Rev. Kelly Johnson, Rev. Tim Nethercott, Jef Tsui, Imam Fayaz Tilly, Rev. Klaus Ohlhoff and Rev. Tim Sampson; and to my steering committee: Dr. Betsy Jameson, Rabbi Howard Voss-Altman, Rabbi Daniel Siegel, Judi Shapiro and Drew Staffenberg – working with all of you has been an honour and pleasure, and made my time at the U of C more interesting and more valuable. An Internet-based project would not have been complete without acknowledging those who listened, advised, helped locate sources and assisted through the miracle of Google Talk, Skype, and Facebook, despite being so far away: Lior Sternfeld, from the University of Texas, Austin; Edo Steinberg from Indiana University; Steven Wagner from Oxford University; R’ Erez Luzon from Merḥav ‘Am, Israel; Rabbi Avi Novis-Deutsch from K’far V’radim, Israel; Rabbi Andrew Pepperstone from Syracuse, New York; Rabbis Alona Lisitsa and Nathalie Lastreger from Mevasseret Zion, Israel; Rabbi Eliyahu Galil from Montevideo, Uruguay; and Noa Mazor from Jerusalem, Israel. v To my father, Richard Steinitz, whose help with rephrasing my awkward paragraphs and incorrect prepositions has been invaluable; and to my family for their support and encouragement. To all the wonderful friends I met in Calgary, who supported and encouraged me all along the way, and especially Shlomo Tregubov, Sharon Gulko, Leonard Cohen, Kira Blumer, Gahl Pardes, and Katherine Jacob. And finally, to Adar – whose admirable patience and support allowed me to bring this project to completion, and to Eytan, the main reason for me wanting to complete this project. vi Contents Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgments.......................................................................................................................... iv Chapter I: Introduction .................................................................................................................... 3 Existing Studies ........................................................................................................................... 9 Chapter II: Theoretical Background ............................................................................................. 14 The Other................................................................................................................................... 14 Fundamentalism: The Enclave and Contrapuntalism................................................................ 17 The Enclave in Islam and Judaism ............................................................................................ 20 The Public Sphere ..................................................................................................................... 25 Habermas’ Critics ...................................................................................................................... 28 Public Discourse in the Twentieth Century–Public Intellectuals .............................................. 31 The Internet–An Ideal Public Sphere? ...................................................................................... 35 Chapter III: The Q&A Genre in Jewish and Islamic Law ............................................................ 40 Development of Jewish Law ..................................................................................................... 40 Development of Islamic Law .................................................................................................... 45 Chapter IV: Web-Based Q&A ...................................................................................................... 53 Q&A Websites and Traditional Authoritative Discourse–A Case Study ................................. 63 Inviting Non-Jews to a Passover Seder ................................................................................. 64 Befriending Non-Muslims ..................................................................................................... 71 vii Discussion ................................................................................................................................. 77 Chapter V: “Significant Others”: Attitudes towards the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict among Religious-Zionist and Wasaṭī websites ......................................................................................... 82 Religious-Zionism ..................................................................................................................... 83 Wasaṭīyya
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