Storytelling an eco-Islamic future/past: Oral tradition(s), environmentalism and personal responsibility in the Omani public sphere

Abstract

During the global COVID-19 pandemic, the Omani government relied heavily on circulating information and entertainment through multiple forms of social media to keep citizens informed and to promote social distancing. This study explores the 2021 Ramadan Instagram campaign created by Be’ah, the Oman Environmental Services Holding Company, which blended performance genres and Omani traditional storytelling. This case study examines ‘multiplex’ hybrid styles of verbal art that mirrored governmental policy and practice across social media and created a forum where citizens discussed identity, national heritage and what it means to be eco-conscious. A central question in this research concerns the possibilities for social media as a space to communicate, preserve and archive local linguistic diversity and vernacular performative genres.