Islamic Nationalism through the Airwaves: Taqī al-Dīn al-Hilālī's Encounter with Shortwave Radio, 1937-39

This article examines the connection between shortwave radio technology and the rise of "Islamic nationalism" through the experiences of Taqī al-Dīn al-Hilālī (1894-1987). A Moroccan exile in Nazi Germany, al-Hilālī wrote extensively about shortwave broadcasting in the Egyptian press and became one of the first Arab speakers on Radio Berlin. He left behind a body of evidence that provides a rare window into the political and religious thought of an avid radio listener turned on-air commentator. A close study of this material reveals that radio technology paved the way for al-Hilālī's articulation of Islamic nationalism, a concept that only came of age in the 1930s. Inspired by the new medium and its capacity to reach a mass audience in real time, al-Hilālī envisioned the umma as a modern "nation" that could be mobilized to defeat colonialism. The article thus argues that radio, like print, was an agent of ideological change.