Major Project: Part One

For my major project I am researching the way the Internet fosters or changes our perceptions of certain societal groups. Specifically,  I want to get a first-hand perspective of young Islamic people living in Australia and report on how they believe the Internet and social media has changed the way the mass media reports on Islam. It will focus on stereotypes and changes to the perpetuation of Islam and the roots of this media image (i.e. September 11, Iraq War etc.)  The contextual backdrop for the feature will be the growth of Twitter as a tool for political protest in Iran in 2009. The focus will be on young people (particularly uni students) because these people will have a greater understanding and awareness of the way the Internet is shaping perceptions of Islam.

I have already interviewed 20-year-old Australian Muslim Faheem Khan about his thoughts on the topic. I also plan to speak with Ashkan Lohrasby, a 29-year old Iranian citizen living in Australia. I have also made contact to speak with members of Newcastle University's Islamic Society.

At the moment it is fair to say that this more of an unfinished idea that a decisive question being posed. It is quite broad, and I haven't fully formulated the specific question I wish to ask. One particular obstacle I feel I may have reached is the lack of prior research on this topic. This lack of secondary research will mean I will have to heavily rely on information gathered from interviewees. One way to do this will be to monitor Twitter accounts of young Muslims and report upon their tweets.

Over the next few days I plan to narrow the scope of my feature to address a more specific question.