The Impact of Mobile Technology on Low‐Income Communities in Lebanon

This article attempts to study the impact of mobile technology, as represented by mobile phones, on low income communities, as represented by farmers in the Bekaa Valley, the largest farmland of Lebanon. It aims to identify areas where the mobile phone has a positive impact on farmers' lives, family, friends, work, finance, and health; and areas where the mobile phone has a negative impact on farmers' lives, in addition to identifying some important associations among the variables. The results show that more than 38 percent of farmers own a mobile phone. The benefits of having a mobile phone are improved work, better income, improved family and social ties, more freedom and independence, better health, and better finance. High cost and accessibility were the two major drawbacks. Owning a mobile phone is associated with education, better work, better income, better health, and better finance. It is independent of gender and income. The study recommends that telecommunication companies in the area should expand their services to low‐income communities, improve coverage, and reduce cost.     

Negotiating Difference in a Muslim Society: A Longitudinal Study of Islamic and Secular Discourses in Turkey

This article explores the changes in attitudes among Islamic and secular groups in Turkey through an analysis of their discourses regarding Islam, democracy, secularism, and dialogue. We present the findings of a longitudinal study (Q study) conducted in Turkey in 2002 and 2007. The time period under investigation marks the first uninterrupted five‐year‐long term of an Islamic‐leaning government, Adalet ve Kalk?nma Partisi (AKP, Justice and Development Party), in office since the inception of the Turkish Republic in 1923. We suggest that the continuous electoral success of the AKP has played an important role in shaping Islamic and secular discourses in the Turkish public sphere. In contrast with its predecessor, the AKP has employed a rights‐based paradigm when defining the place of Islam in a secular society. This, we suggest, has softened the divide between Islamic and secular discourses in Turkey. In this article, after defining the core characteristics of both discourses that remained the same in both 2002 and 2007, we focus on the major shifts in discourses that have occurred during these five years. Our research reveals that during this time, both Islamic and secular discourses underwent important shifts with respect to Islam's place in a democratic society. We interpret the AKP's discursive shift toward a rights‐based paradigm and the increasing emphasis on dialogue in both Islamist and secular discourses as promising signs for expanding the scope for democratic polity in Turkey.     

Socioeconomic Rights: A Dialogue With Islam

There are some who believe that there will be an inevitable “clash of civilizations” between the Muslim world and the West. By contrast, this article contends that there are many opportunities for constructive dialogue between the two that can bridge the cultural divide. Specifically, the article proposes a cross‐cultural dialogue on social justice as a promising starting point for productive intercultural engagement. The article discusses the rich tradition of social justice in the Muslim world, and the ways in which these Islamic tenets are implemented by a range of Islamist political parties, including Turkey's Justice and Development Party (AKP), Morocco's Justice and Development Party (PJD), and Tunisia's Ennahda Movement. Given the West's relative dearth of mainstream social justice parties, the article proposes that, on this count, it has much to learn from the Muslim world.