Alarama is all at once: preacher, media "savvy", and religious entrepreneur in Niamey
- Title
- Alarama is all at once: preacher, media "savvy", and religious entrepreneur in Niamey
- list of authors
-
Abdoulaye Sounaye
- Abstract
- In Niger, the role of the media in the re-islamization process that began two decades ago has remained understudied. This article seeks to remedy this gap and discusses a particular example of media usage and appropriation in the urban context of Niamey. It draws on a series of fieldwork studies undertaken in Niamey during the last two years. It focuses on Alarama, a young preacher and one of the most prominent media figures in Niamey. In addition to a series of TV and FM radio programmes he hosts, he has also developed recording and distribution practices that have resulted in the Islamic discotheque, a space that helps him popularize his CD and DVD sermons. I analyse how he has gathered around himself an expanding group of followers, many of whom have developed with him a fan–star relationship. Alarama's case exemplifies the way audiovisual media are constitutive of a new urban Islamic culture, which in return redefines media appropriation and religious imagination.
- volume
- 25
- issue
- 1
- page start
- 88
- page end
- 102
- Date
- 2013
- Language
- Anglais
- Type
- Article de revue
- Subject
- entrepreneur
- media
- preaching
- Niamey
- Spatial Coverage
-
Niger