Muslim ‘Lay’ Preachers
YAGI Kumiko

In Islam, Ulama is the group of men with religious education and religiously related
professions. But in reality, they are not the only people who are active in ‘religious’ activities.
Throughout the history, Muslim preachers are various in their educational backgrounds: some
are formally educated and others are self-educated or totally not. Concerning today’s Islam, the
ones worth mentioning are so-called ‘lay’ preachers. Their success is remarkable.
Moez Masoud (1978-) is Egyptian and one of the most fashionable and youngest ‘lay’
preachers. We can safely say that he is the most promising star in today’s Islam. He regularly
appears on satellite TV programs and his name is often mentioned on Web sites related to Islam.
He is from a higher class family. His educational background is completely American in that he
was educated in an American school in Kuwait and graduated from American University in Cairo.
He is fashionable and nice-looking: he looks like a pop singer.
What distinguishes him from other preachers is that he never rejects Western culture
unconditionally. Furthermore, it is well known that he likes rock music and plays basket ball.
He never wears ‘Islamic’ dress. He speaks English fluently. He is the generation of New Media
such as Internet and satellite TV.
No wonder, his supporters are young, well-educated, and relatively rich. They are soaked
in Western/American culture. They are comfortable with New Media. More often than not,
they have been regarded as the social group least affected by the trend of Islamic resurgence.
However, the truth is not that they were away from Islam but that they did not have cultural
brokers who connect their culture and lifestyle with Islam. Moez Masoud is the person who
succeeds in this, by talking about his own conversion story and using narratives most
understandable to his listeners.