The Production Culture of Religious Television The Case of the Islam Channel Nur Kareelawati Binti Abd Karim Submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Leeds The School of Media and Communication September 2015 - ii - Declaration of Authorship The candidate confirms that the work submitted is her own and that appropriate credit has been given where reference has been made to the work of others. This copy has been supplied on the understanding that it is copyright material and that no quotation from the thesis may be published without proper acknowledgement. The right of Nur Kareelawati Binti Abd Karim to be identified as Author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. © 2015 The University of Leeds and Nur Kareelawati Binti Abd Karim - iii - Abstract Drawing on media sociology and cultural studies approaches, this thesis aims to conceptualise the production culture of religious television. The study of production culture emphasises ‘collective, daily cultural performance involving symbolic codes, [and] conventionalized power hierarchies’ within media organisation (Caldwell, 2008, p. 342). The study of production culture of Islam-based television is important as it stands to aid our understanding of how religious television programming – and in particular, Islamic television programming – comes to take the form it does. It might also enhance our understanding of how and under what conditions television production employees produce television programmes. By combining participant observation and interviews with textual analysis, this study analyses the complex ways in which television production workers adapt to the resource limitations and ideological constraints within the production culture of a television channel. It analyses both the production quality of a magazine talk show called Living the Life and the quality of working life amongst members of its production community. This thesis argues that the diminished quality of working life exhibited by television production workers contributes to the poor production quality of a magazine talk show. Empirical findings reveal the ways in which the socioreligious and political mission of the channel shapes creative decision-making processes during the production of Living the Life. By exploiting the religious idea of ‘work as a mission,’ the channel motivated its television production employees to work with limited resources and, subsequently, to become more vulnerable to self-exploit whilst striving for the ‘deferred reward’ promised by God in the afterlife. Additionally, ideological constraints foster a ‘culture of caution’ amongst workers, which lessens both their creative autonomy and emotional well-being. Whilst research into television production offers rich insights into the employee’s experience of creative-commercial tensions and emotional work, this particular thesis demonstrates how religion shapes the production culture of a religious television organisation, thereby affecting the ways in which television production employees perceive their positions and manage emotions in their everyday working lives. - iv - Acknowledgements My utmost praises to Allah for providing me with such a humbling experience in my life. I thank both the Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia and the Ministry of Higher Education of Malaysia for scholarship awards. I am grateful to Mohamed Ali and his staff at the Islam Channel for their kindness and cooperation. Thank you to Professor Sylvia Harvey for inspiring me to embark upon this academic journey, as well as to my transfer viva panel interlocutors, Dr David Lee, Dr Lee Edwards and Dr Steve Lax. Also, thank you to the Head of school, Professor Bethany Klein; the Postgraduate Tutors, Professor Kevin Barnhurst and Dr Julie Firmstone, as well as to all of the faculty and administrative staff at the School of Media and Communication. I am truly honoured to have been under the academic supervision of Professor David Hesmondhalgh and Dr Anna Zoellner. I am indebted to them, as their priceless advice and honest criticism that have changed completely my opinions of academic life. I must offer a special word of thanks to my many mentors: the late Dr Redzuwan Yunus and Professor Musa Abu Hassan (Allah bless their souls), Professor Zulkiple Abd Ghani, Professor Mizan Adiliah Ahmad Ibrahim, Professor Faridah Ibrahim, Professor Asiah Sarji, Professor Mazni Buyong, Dr Rushdan Jailani, Dr Muhammad Yusuf Khalid, Dr Sapora Sipon, Dr Saedah Abd Ghani, Dr Sharifah Meriam Syed Akil, Dr Mohd Yahya Ariffin, Dr Faizal Kasmani, Dr Rosidayu Sabran, Dr Sofia Hayati, Dr Siti Suriani Othman, Dr Daniel Mutibwa, Dr Jason Cabanes, Professor Gary Rawnsley and Dr Ming-Yeh. Likewise, I offer another word of thanks to my PhD comrades: Roslizawati, Marina Munira, Suria Hani, Wan Fazrul, Zaki, Andreas, Ana, Antje, Caitlin, Carlo, Carly, Carolyn, Charlotte, Chris, Christiaan, Christina, Dimitri, Ellis, Faisal, Heidi, James, Jeremy, Kristina, Lone, Luca, Mario, Molly, Modestus, Nelly, Patrick, Paul, Penelope, Ray, Ruben, Salem, Stu, Sarah, Sharine, Tracey, Toussaint, Turki, Victoria, Yang, Yiben, Yinyi, Ysabel and Yummi. Thank all of you for having been part of this wonderful journey. - v - My friends at Astro, Haida, Fida, Fatin, Linda, Nita, Ruby, Rina, Mina, Zul, Fadhil, Laila, Jimmie, Asmada, Ravi, Rashdan, Masrohan, Yusof, Anuar, Izan, Junaidah, Jamil, Nurjannah, Haji Izelan, Yusak (Allah bless his soul) and many others, I thank you for inspiring me to study media workers. My family in Leeds has been an endless source of support: Dr Suhaila, Juliana, Zatul, Fatimah, Sherry, Mary, Deng, Ina, Zaimah, Shafa, Kamla, Eva, Noraini and Fadli, Jun and Iwan, Fidah and Fendi, Is and Laila, Amy and Man, Tini and Hisham, Umi Khadijah Hambali and Abah Lukman. Dr Rebecca O’Rourke, I thank you for having turned me into a better writer. Kruakae, Mandy, Yi, Anna, Jennifer and Ummi Hani, I thank you for our fun intellectual banter. Lily, I thank you for your shelter and prayers as I raced toward my finish line. To my family in Kuwait, Haji Salama Hajjaj, Hajjah Wajeeha, Nezar, Ghassan, Sanaa’, Asma’, Rami, Luda and Lama, as well as to my family in Malaysia, Hajjah Salmah, Zaki, Nur Salina, Dr Rusna, Siti Nordina, Mohd Kavi and my beloved cousins, nieces and nephews, thank you for always remembering me in your prayers. This thesis is a special gift to my parents, Haji Abd. Karim and Hajjah Rela. Thank you for always believing in my potential. I thank my siblings, Nur Krismarina, Abd. Hadi, and Nur Azlita, for loving my boys just like their own. To my little men, Faris and Nabeil, I thank you for your understanding and for patiently awaiting my return. Finally, Sami Salama Hajjaj, thank you for your patience throughout these laborious years of juggling PhD tasks, work and domestic chores. Sami remains my rock, my soul mate, and my life coach, and for those things, I also dedicate this thesis to him. - vi - Table of Contents Declaration of Authorship ............................................................................... ii Abstract ........................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgements ......................................................................................... iv Table of Contents ............................................................................................ vi List of Tables ..................................................................................................... x List of Figures .................................................................................................. xi Chapter 1 Introduction ..................................................................................... 1 1.1 The Research Project ................................................................... 2 1.1.1 The Islam Channel as a Research Site ......................................... 2 1.1.2 The Magazine Talk Show ....................................................... 5 1.2 Research Questions and Thesis Structure ........................................... 6 1.2.1 Conceptual Framework ......................................................... 7 1.2.2 Empirical Study ................................................................... 8 1.2.3 Research Findings ................................................................ 9 Chapter 2 Context for the Study ..................................................................... 12 2.1 Islam and Muslims in the United Kingdom ......................................... 12 2.2 The Clash between the West and the Muslim Cultures. ......................... 16 2.3 Tensions within Muslim Communities .............................................. 19 2.3.1 Religious Identity ................................................................ 21 2.2.2 Music and Youth ................................................................. 24 2.2.3 Gender and Female Subjects .................................................. 30 2.4 Concluding Remarks ................................................................... 35 Chapter 3 Conceptual Framework .................................................................. 37 3.1 Combining Media Sociology with Cultural Studies Approaches to Media Production ............................................................................... 37 3.1.1 Television Talk Show Studies ................................................