Political Blogging and (Re) Envisioning the Virtual Public Sphere: Muslim— Christian Discourses in Two Egyptian Blogs

Abstract

This study utilizes the Habermasian public sphere as a theoretical framework to analyze the discussions and deliberations surrounding the Muslim—Christian discourses in Egypt as they were portrayed in two of the most popular Egyptian political blogs launched by a prominent male and a female political blogger in Egypt, namely, Wael Abbas and Nawara Negm, respectively. The study focused on the portrayal of Muslim—Christian tensions, in particular, as an especially sensitive and controversial issue to explore the extent to which the postings on these blogs reflect a new form of vibrant and dynamic virtual public sphere, and the degree to which this newly constructed virtual public sphere conforms to, or deviates from, the idealized Habermasian public sphere. Our analysis showed that although there was a genuine Habermasian public sphere reflected in some of the threads on the two blogs, there was a general lack of rational— critical debates, reciprocal deliberations, and communicative action as envisioned by Habermas. It also showed that this newly (re)envisioned virtual public sphere aimed to revitalize civil society, through broadening the base of popular participation, which in turn led to boosting and expanding the concept of citizen journalism, beyond the official sphere of mainstream media.