Social Media, Communities, & Networks Conference 2026: Semester 1 & SP1

Comments

3 responses to “From Scroll to Ummah: How TikTok and Discord Shape Transnational Muslim Communities — Asli Keskin”

1. 

   Bren

   01/05/2026

   Hello, first things first it as an interesting case study as I would never be allowed in such areas (really religious places don’t really let me through vetting). The questions… They will be longer forming questions, but relevant ones.
   I will cut to the chase as to not waste anyone’s time.

   Question 1: I am used to Discord, and I feel you have not mentioned something. So my first question is, what sort of entry requirements did you face? the affordances you have on the platform is as you said a limiting factor, but also you failed to cover how for something like discord the actual in group dynamic of things matters in who is allowed to enter, so how do you think that the entry requirements affects the user base of the users? and do you think that makes it more of a echo chamber than it otherwise would be due to the often-soft ban on atheists and ex Muslims?
   / (My rationality behind this is to assess the foundation of the community in what it has people agree to before entry, as that effectively determines the culture of the group and what is said and not said)

   Question 2: Do you think there is more acceptance of diversity on the Tik-Tok end or the Discord end. The question here is about the one thing I noticed in your case studies; I say that as you showed a stricter and more conservative discord group and a more progressive Muslim in Tik-Tok, so was that on purpose?
   / (My rationality is that I am curious what the actual dynamics is behind what is progressive and what is not. The affordances that things have will enable more or less true expression.)

   Question 3: Based on your research, what was the nationality and culture breakdown, and do you think that effects things regarding the Diaspora? This is a case of where this effects things as each sub culture has its own invisible enemies, take my usage of Mainland Chinese servers who act like a diaspora like this, they still have to deal with the 1450 army (Taiwan trolls who attack them), so does something like that impact these communities as well?
   / (My rationality is that the ethnic breakdown matters to the affordances, as the affordances can do certain things, but ethnic breakdown also impacts the affordances. The 1450 army is a mere example of how if you have a case of majority 1 nationality or set of nationalities it will incur its own hidden implications in the wars that happen behind the scenes.)

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2. 

   James Rodgers

   01/05/2026

   As a Christian, I found this interesting and informative. I had to Google “ummah” because in many Asian languages (umma or amma) means mum.

   Reply
3. 

   Tarion

   03/05/2026

   Hi Asli, I think it a good topic, is my first time to learn about this. You mentioned that TikTok and Discord support different types of interaction. Which platform do you think is more effective in building a strong sense of community, and why?

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