Online Islamic Da'wah Narratives in the UK: The Case of iERA by MIRA A. BAZ A thesis submitted to the University of Birmingham for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of Religion and Theology College of Arts and Law University of Birmingham September 2016 University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. ABSTRACT This thesis is an in-depth study into two of the UK charity iERA's da'wah narratives: the Qura'nic embryology 'miracle' and the Kalam Cosmological Argument. While the embryo verses have received scholarly attention, there is little to no research in the da'wah context for both narratives. Berger and Luckmann's social constructionism was applied to both, which were problematic. It was found that iERA constructed its exegesis of the embryo verses by expanding on classical meanings to show harmony with modern science. Additionally, it developed the Cosmological Argument by adapting it to Salafi Islamic beliefs. The construction processes were found to be influenced by an online dialectic between iERA and its Muslim and atheist detractors, causing it to abandon the scientific miracles and modify the Cosmological Argument. Signs point to a weakening of faith among young people, including Muslims, as they have unprecedented access to unfiltered online information on religion and science. By employing the narratives, iERA aims to legitimate the fundamentals of Islam to Muslims and to attract converts by presenting it as a rational and modern faith. While iERA's da'wah template is practical, its errors are relevant to the wider discussions on Qur'anic exegesis and modern challenges to the religion. DEDICATION To my mother and father TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES, FIGURES, AND SCREENSHOTS ................................................................................................................ I A NOTE ON TRANSLITERATION AND STYLE .................................................................................................................... II GLOSSARY ............................................................................................................................................................................ III CHAPTER ONE ................................................................................................................................................. 1 THEORY AND APPLICATION ....................................................................................................................... 1 A da'wah dialogue in Birmingham City Centre ................................................................................................ 1 1.1 EXPLORING POTENTIAL SALAFI PARTICIPATION AND CHANGE OF FOCUS ........................................................ 3 1.1.1 Green Lane Mosque ............................................................................................................................................ 4 1.1.2 Salafi Bookstore ................................................................................................................................................... 7 1.1.3 Encountering iERA’s da'wah .......................................................................................................................... 8 1.2 RESEARCH QUESTIONS ............................................................................................................................................ 10 1.3 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK .................................................................................................................................. 11 1.3.1 Rationale: Why social constructionism? ................................................................................................ 11 1.3.2 On Social Constructionisms ......................................................................................................................... 13 1.3.3 Knowledge is socially constructed ............................................................................................................ 14 1.3.4 How reality is objectivated .......................................................................................................................... 15 1.3.5 Levels of legitimation ..................................................................................................................................... 18 1.3.6 Knowledge is culturally and historically contingent ........................................................................ 20 1.3.7 Critique of social constructionism ............................................................................................................ 21 1.3.8 Theological framework ................................................................................................................................. 25 1.3.9 Use of the term ‘Narrative’ ........................................................................................................................... 25 1.4 METHOD USED IN THIS STUDY ............................................................................................................................... 26 1.4.1 Data collection .................................................................................................................................................. 26 1.4.2 Data analysis ...................................................................................................................................................... 27 1.5 A SURVEY OF RESEARCH ON DA'WAH NARRATIVES ............................................................................................ 29 1.5.1 Da'wah .................................................................................................................................................................. 29 1.5.2 Scientific miracles in the Qur'an ................................................................................................................ 31 1.5.3 Kalam Cosmological Argument in Islamic da'wah ........................................................................... 39 1.6 NOTES ON SAHEEH INTERNATIONAL'S TRANSLATION OF THE QUR'AN ......................................................... 39 1.7 ON THE TERMINOLOGY 'CONVERT' VERSUS 'REVERT' AND FITRAH ................................................................ 40 1.8 STRUCTURE OF THE THESIS .................................................................................................................................... 41 1.9 FINDINGS .................................................................................................................................................................... 42 1.10 LIMITATIONS .......................................................................................................................................................... 43 1.11 CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................................................... 43 CHAPTER TWO .............................................................................................................................................. 45 INTRODUCING iERA ..................................................................................................................................... 45 2.1 WHO IS IERA? .......................................................................................................................................................... 45 2.1.1 Why research iERA? ........................................................................................................................................ 49 2.2 HOW GORAP WAS DEVELOPED ............................................................................................................................ 51 2.3 PROFILES .................................................................................................................................................................... 52 2.3.1 Abdurraheem (Anthony) Green ................................................................................................................. 53 2.3.2 Hamza (Andreas) Tzortzis ........................................................................................................................... 61 2.4 IS IERA SALAFI? ....................................................................................................................................................... 67 2.5 IERA’S INFLUENCE – DA'WAH AFFILIATIONS WORLDWIDE .............................................................................. 73 2.6 HOW IERA USES THE INTERNET ........................................................................................................................... 75 2.6.1 Accusations of plagiarism ............................................................................................................................ 80 2.7 IERA’S METHODOLOGY ..........................................................................................................................................