Rivaling states and political actors in the Middle East, as in other parts of the world, have used religious media in different ways and for various ends: to amass legitimacy, mobilise people and enhance their control of power. In recent years, however, this (mis)use of religious media has taken precarious manifestations. With intra-national and cross-national political and violent conflicts sweeping several countries, political actors resorted to religious and sectarian references to justify their claims and positions. Dangerous terrain as it has always been and falling in the trap of politicians, significant part of religious media started to re-frame the political conflicts between the Saudi Arabia-led and the Iran-led competing camps in religious Sunni/Shia terms. The following discussion attempts to conceptualise the formation of this new religious media/politics territory within the Sunni/Shia context, its manipulative nature and impact.
Middle East sectarian media, religious media, Islamic public sphere.