Ma`rifat Farhangi Ejtemaei

In addition to the leading role played by the media within social forms in culture-making and socialization, the media is regarded as a medium of many social interactions. So, what kind of relationship is there between the mass media and the principle of "commanding the good" as the most important modus operand of socialization in Islam? Can the facilities of mass media be used to for applying the principle of "commanding the good" and "forbidding the bad? Referring to the verse 104 of Chapter three of the Quran and the "constant asymmetrical comparative method", the present paper concludes that the activity of mass media, especially visual media, is intermingled with the principle of "commanding the good" and "forbidding the bad" and that this principle, as the normative theory of Islam, has a high capacity to contest with the prevalent normative theories. If media is viewed as an organization which is responsible for commanding the good and forbidding the bad, then its type of activities will be subject to some requirements such as: recognizing the position of the media in Islamic system, which has the duty of bearing the bearer of divine trust (responsibility), offering proper context for conveying the message, harmony between theory and practice, media convergence, an Islamic study about audience and the like.