The Mediated Qur’an: Religious Education and Recitation via Online Distance Learning in the Sultanate of Oman

Authors

Lauren Osborne, Whitman CollegeFollow

Abstract

This article considers the role of media in relation to memorization and recitation of the Qur’an and modern religious education. Specifically, it considers the example of the online program of distance learning for recitation and memorization of the Qur’an as developed and maintained under the auspices of the Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs in the state of Oman in the Arab Gulf region. The online learning program presents an example of how religious education in Oman both has a long history at the same time that it draws on modern media practices. Even further, it does so in the context of the modern regulation of religion in relation to broader concerns of cultivation of Omani national identity and heritage.The system reflects the broader placement and shifting relationships of religion and secularity across modern development of structures of governance and education in Oman.

Author Biography

Lauren E. Osborne is Associate Professor of Religion at Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington. Her book in progress is on the recitation of the Qur'an, and the possibilities for understanding meaning across the sound and experience of the text. In this research, she employs both hermeneutic and ethnographic methods, drawing on her backgrounds in religious studies and music. More broadly, she is interested in the intersections of Islamic studies, Qur'anic studies, sound studies, sensory studies, and affect theory. When she is not writing or teaching, she can be found cooking, eating, hiking, or recovering from hiking.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Recommended Citation

Osborne, Lauren (2020) "The Mediated Qur’an: Religious Education and Recitation via Online Distance Learning in the Sultanate of Oman," Yale Journal of Music & Religion: Vol. 6: No. 2, Article 5.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17132/2377-231X.1170