New Media Narratives and Cultural Influence in Malaysia The Strategic Construction of Blog Rhetoric by An Apostate Radzuwan Ab Rashid

New Media Narratives and Cultural
Influence in Malaysia The Strategic

Construction of Blog Rhetoric by an
Apostate Radzuwan Ab Rashid
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SPRINGER BRIEFS IN RELIGIOUS STUDIES
Radzuwan Ab Rashid
Azweed Mohamad
New Media Narratives

and Cultural Influence
in Malaysia
The Strategic
Construction of Blog
Rhetoric by an Apostate
SpringerBriefs in Religious Studies
Springer Briefs in Religious Studies Series is designed to accommodate the
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Radzuwan Ab Rashid Azweed Mohamad
•
New Media Narratives

and Cultural Influence
in Malaysia
The Strategic Construction of Blog Rhetoric
by an Apostate
123
Radzuwan Ab Rashid Azweed Mohamad
Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin
Terengganu, Malaysia Terengganu, Malaysia
ISSN 2510-5035 ISSN 2510-5043 (electronic)

SpringerBriefs in Religious Studies
ISBN 978-981-13-9984-8 ISBN 978-981-13-9985-5 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-9985-5
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2019
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Preface
This book is part of a larger study investigating the radicalization of apostates on

social networking sites, which is a two-year research project funded by the Ministry
of Higher Education under the Fundamental Research Grant Scheme no
FRGS/1/2016/SSI03/UniSZA/02/5. This book explores how an apostate named Juli
Jalaludin strategically uses her blog to reach out to the public, to gain support,
motivation and followers. In doing so, she vents her feeling, promotes her newly
found faith and beliefs, and create networking with the readers of her blog.
Juli Sumardiati binti Mohd Jalaludin, also known as Juli Jalaludin, Emilie de
Strange or Celestial Eve gave her consent to take part in this study and for the
authors to use her real name instead of pseudonym. Juli was born in 1972, in the
Islamic state of Kelantan, Malaysia. Juli came to the center of public attention when
she created a Facebook Page called ‘Murtads di Pantai Timur’ (Apostates in the
East Coast) in 2014. The Facebook Page provoked rage in Malaysians, especially
the Muslim community because she used it as a medium to condemn and insult
Islam. The Page was then blocked by the Malaysian government due to the con-
troversy surrounding it. However, her blog which she started in 2011 still remains.
The blog, which is one of the platforms that she uses to reach out to the public, is
analysed in this book in providing insights into the emerging phenomenon of
apostates reaching to the public via social media.
The analysis was carried out through the perspective of digital storytelling,
discursive identity construction, and rhetorical strategies. In terms of identity
construction, two main identities are constructed by Juli which are anti-religion
identity and casual blogger identity. Storytelling strategies are employed to make
the blog entries alive and encourage readers to read and respond to the entries.
Rhetorical strategies—Ethos, Pathos, and Logos—are the integral parts in the blog
to convince readers into believing the stories constructed.
Terengganu, Malaysia Radzuwan Ab Rashid

Azweed Mohamad
v
Acknowledgement
This book is an output of the research supported by the Malaysia Ministry of

Education under the Fundamental Research Grant Scheme no FRGS/1/2016/SSI03/
UniSZA/02/5.
We thank our research team members—Prof. Dr. Kamarul Shukri Mat Teh
(UniSZA), Assoc. Prof. Dr. Kamariah Yunus (UniSZA), Assoc. Prof. Dr. Shireena
Basree Abdul Rahman (UiTM), Assoc. Prof. Dr. Saadiyah Darus (UKM) and
Dr. Razali Musa (UniSZA)—for the insights and expertise that greatly assisted the
research.
We thank Prof. Greg Myers from the Lancaster University, United Kingdom for
comments that greatly improved the manuscript.
We are also immensely grateful to Doreen du Boulay for her comments on an
earlier version of the manuscript. Last but not least, we thank Juli Jalaludin for the
consent given for us to research her blog.
vii
Contents
1 Apostasy and Blogs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Apostasy and Apostates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Apostates and Blogging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
The Blogger—Juli Jalaludin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Blog Presentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
2 Theories and Concepts Related to Blogging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Discursive Identity in Blogs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Digital Storytelling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Functions and Elements of Storytelling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Rhetorical Strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Logos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Ethos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Pathos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
3 Identity Construction in Blog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Anti-religion Identity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Casual Blogger Identity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
4 Storytelling in Blog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
The Beginning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
The Middle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
The Ending . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
5 Rhetorical Strategies in Blog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Use of Ethos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Use of Pathos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
ix
x Contents
Use of Logos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
6 Recapitulation of Discursive Behaviour in Blog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Readers’ Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Juli’s Responses to the Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Appendix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Chapter 1
Apostasy and Blogs
Apostasy and Apostates
Apostasy, from an Islamic point of view, is a person’s abandonment or renunciation

of the religion of Islam. Similarly, from the Christian point of view, it is the falling
away from the truth. As pointed by Hays (2010), apostasy can occur within every
religion, cult, or ideology. Recently, apostasy has become a trending issue within
the Muslim community across the world, including Malaysia where Juli was born
and grown up. It has become a hot topic in daily conversations and religious discus-
sions, and headlines in newspapers and magazines. Malaysia is well known globally
as a country with multiple religions. Malaysians can be seen practicing different
kinds of religion, such as Islam, Hinduism, Christianity, and Buddhism. 61.3% of
the populations in Malaysia are followers of Islam. Within that number, ethnic Malay
citizens are the majority (50.1%) of those embracing Islam (Department of Statistics
Malaysia, 2016). Malay and Islam are two elements that come in a package. As stated
in the constitution of Malaysia, the meaning of a Malay is someone who professes
the religion of Islam, habitually speaks the Malay language and conforms to Malay
customs (Article 160, Constitution of Malaysia). This means that the moment Malay
citizens become apostates, or renounce Islam, they are no longer Malay according
to the constitution, and can be stripped of any state privileges, such as schooling,
government job opportunities and special discounts for property purchase. Article
153 of the constitution of Malaysia specifically and intentionally refers to “the spe-
cial position of the Malays” as opposed to other citizens of Malaysia with different
ethnicity, for instance, of Chinese or Indian origin. The main purpose for including
Article 153 in the constitution was to rectify the perceived weakness of the Malay
community in the economic field, the public service sector and the problem of ethnic
Malay poverty at the time of Independence (Constitution of Malaysia, 1972). As
for non-ethnic Malay citizens who convert to Islam, they are entitled to the privi-
leges stated above, provided that they fulfil other requirements of being Bumiputera
(Malays and other indigenous peoples), like speaking Malay. Becoming an apostate
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2019 1
R. Ab Rashid and A. Mohamad, New Media Narratives and Cultural
Influence in Malaysia, SpringerBriefs in Religious Studies,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-9985-5_1
2 1 Apostasy and Blogs
has material consequences, like loss of access to schooling and financial privileges,
as well as leading to divisions within the family and social circle, so becoming an
apostate would seem a decision not lightly taken. These legal and cultural practices
serve as a contextual framework in understanding apostasy phenomenon scrutinized
in this book.
The aim of this book is to provide insights into how an apostate uses blogs to
reach the public. Of particular interest is to examine how readers respond to blog
entries. The focus is solely on Juli Jalaludin as she is the only Malay apostate who
maintains a blog narrating her life experiences and opinions of Islam. There are a
few other Malay apostates who use microblog such as Facebook and Twitter as a
platform to reach the public, but they do not agree to take part in the study. Unlike
Juli, these apostates do not show their real photos on the site. Their refusal to take
part in this study is perhaps caused by the fear that their real identity will leak.
Even though the entire book solely focuses on Juli’s blog, it provides rich insights
into the phenomenon being investigated since Juli constructs the entries strategically
and manages to attract many comments from readers. We argue that the apostate’s
blog postings were more than just the sharing of mundane experiences, rather, the
postings were used as a mechanism to obtain support from readers and to construct
acceptable identities that could change the public’s perception of apostates in general,
and herself in particular.
Apostates and Blogging
Namazie (2012) divides apostate into two categories. The first type of apostate are
those who never reveal their apostasy except to their family and close friends. No one
will notice the change of faith in them as they keep the practices of their new belief
hidden. They unwillingly practice Islam in front of other people, just for the sake of
conformity. They are not willing to bear the consequences of revealing their new faith
and belief. The second type of apostate reveals their apostasy. They let people know
that they have renounced Islam using whatever means they can, including print and
electronic media, internet, text messages, and e-mails. As pointed out by Namazie
(2012), this public renunciation helps to break down taboos and provides hope for
those who are desperate and alone in their apostasy. Those who publicly declare
their apostasy are prepared for any reaction and judgment from the public. However,
this second group of apostates not only share their apostasy stories, but in doing so,
attack Islam by the means they adopt—orally, in writing, and by seeking help from
other apostates or non-Muslims (Mohamad et al., 2017a).
Juli belongs to the second category. This is where the blog and the internet come
into the picture, playing an important role as an intermediary between an apostate
and the public. Juli has made full use of the affordance of internet to reach the public
and promote her ideas.
Based on the Internet User Survey conducted by Malaysian Communications and
Multimedia Commission (MCMC) in 2014, 66.6% of Malaysia’s population, which
Apostates and Blogging 3
amounts to 2/3 of the population, are internet users. This provides an opportunity
for apostates to reach large numbers of the public. As mentioned above, the second
type of apostates use online media to express their feelings and thoughts. They use
the internet to share their beliefs, to explain their faith, and in certain cases, to attack
Islam and the Muslim community as a whole. The internet creates a world without
boundaries. The moment something is posted online, the whole world can read it.
The apostates use this facility to reach an audience, to gain support, motivation and
followers. This is an emerging phenomenon whereby apostates let people know their
feeling, their newly found faith and belief, and most importantly, connect with other
apostates in type one category. It is highly likely that apostates will acquire a lot
more followers because they can now communicate directly with each other as well
as with the public, without interference, for advice and support regarding apostasy.
Since reaching out to the public via online platforms is a new trend among apos-
tates, little is known about this phenomenon. How far is apostasy propagated through
social media and what is its influence on the general public? How does this new trend
affect the online community? How significant is the apostasy blog to internet users?
How do the public react to this new phenomenon? All these questions are yet to be
answered, as the studies on this new phenomenon are very limited and still in their
infancy.
The Blogger—Juli Jalaludin
Her real name is Juli Sumardiati binti Mohd Jalaludin, also known as Juli Jalaludin,
Emilie de Strange or Celestial Eve. She was born in 1972, in the Islamic state of
Kelantan, Ketereh, to be specific. In Malaysia, Kelantan is well known as the ‘porch
of Mecca’ due to the Islamic culture practiced in daily life. Islamic education is
treated as important as academic education, hence is taught to children at a very
early age. Juli went to Mara Junior Science College (MRSM) Kuala Terengganu for
her secondary education. MRSM is an education system with specific and systematic
ways of teaching, sponsored by the Malaysian government, with schools scattered
across the country, and selects bright, and clever students. Juli was among the class
of 1989 for her Malaysian Certificate of Education (SPM) when she was awarded
top marks as the best student in that examination. With that title, she then furthered
her study at the Colorado School of Mines, United States of America, in 1995. She
used to work for the giant Oil and Gas Company, ExxonMobil, and Schlumberger
Limited.
In addition, Juli was also a member of a heavy metal bands going by the name of
‘Halun’ and ‘Shadowed Grace’ in 2005. She used her nickname, Celestial Eve, as a
vocalist and guitarist. Both ‘Halun’ and ‘Shadowed Grace’ were underground bands,
symbolically represent darkness and the myth. The scripts, appearances, symbols,
music, and purposes have darkness and mythical elements represented. Juli started
to come out as an apostate when she created a Facebook Page called ‘Murtads di
Pantai Timur’ (Apostates in the East Coast), as Kelantan is in the east coast region of
Malaysia. The Facebook page provoked rage in Malaysians, especially the Muslim
community because she used it as a medium to condemn and insult Islam. The page
was then blocked by the Malaysian government due to the controversy surrounding
it. She then created another Facebook Page under the name of ‘Murtads di Kelantan’
(Apostates in Kelantan). Again, the Page was later blocked by the government for the
same reason, as she kept provoking and belittling the Muslim community in Malaysia,
for example, calling the prophet Muhammad a paedophile, and challenging god to
punish her (Mohamad et al., 2017b). Given that apostasy is a sensitive issue in the
country, she can be considered as very brave in doing what is considered insulting in
Malaysia by questioning Islamic teaching, creating disturbing ideas and provoking
a response from the government.
In one of her blog entries, Juli shared a story about when she was molested by a
number of men, including her own relatives, at a young age, on several occasions.
She gradually lost her faith in Islam. She first rejected Hadith (a major reference in
Islam containing the Prophet Muhammad’s saying and action) while still believing in
the Quran and God. Later on, she started to lose faith in the Quran before completely
losing faith in the existence of god. During the course of this study, she was living
and working in Norway as a Consultant in an oil and gas industry.
Juli is a very significant character/blogger, as a Malay, raised by a Muslim family,
in the Islamic state of Kelantan, having gone through the Malaysian education system
and then going on to become an apostate who currently reaches out to the public via
social networking sites. As mentioned before, it is a new trend for an apostate to post
stories regarding his/her apostasy in a blog. Juli is the only candidate available who
ticks all the boxes (above) and who can provide insights into the phenomenon being
investigated.
Blog Presentation
Juli’s first entry in the blog was posted on 24th of August 2011 and her last entry
was posted on 22nd of April 2015. There were no new posts in the blog during the
course of the data generation, which took place from October 2016 to March 2017.
Throughout the five years of managing the blog, Juli did not have a fixed pattern in
the frequency of posting. For instance, there were months with several entries and
others with no entries at all. This inconsistency in frequency suggests that Juli did
not consider blog posting as a routine activity, but rather, as a social activity. In other
words, she wrote her blogs whenever she felt like it, depending on whatever else
occurred in her daily life. Some events might have triggered memories, which she
deems significant to write and share on her blog.
We argue that presenting the blog posting as a social activity rather than a routine
activity was Juli’s strategic action to attract readers to visit her blog because bloggers
who routinely post about almost everything they do on the blog, including the ordi-
nary happenings in their daily lives, such as what they cook and what they wear to the
office, will not be able to hold their readers’ interest. In contrast, Juli mostly revolves
Blog Presentation 5
Table 1 List of entries in Juli

Entry Number Title
Jalaludin’s blog
Entry 1 Pendedahan Ekslusif (English: Exclusive
Revelation)
Entry 2 Witch Hunt
Entry 3 My First Hate Mail
Entry 4 So I Google Searched Myself …. Part 1
Entry 5 My 2 Cents in the Obedient Wives Club
Entry 6 Pleasure Seekers
Entry 7 A Poem
Entry 8 Beauty In Trivialities …
Entry 9 1984
Entry 10 Ask Why …
Entry 11 Emilie’s Diary: How It All Started
Entry 12 Emilie’s Diary: Left Out …
Entry 13 Emilie’s Diary: Post Mortem
Entry 14 Emilie’s Diary: Memory Trigger
Entry 15 I Had A Puppy Once :’[
Entry 16 Interview With The Murtad (unedited)
Entry 17 A Poem about me, for me
Entry 18 Let’s Talk About Sex
Entry 19 Cadbury
Entry 20 Museum Hopping in Oslo: Nasjonalgalleriet
Entry 21 Alvin Tan is a Brilliant Troll
her blog entries around interesting subjects, such as religion, politics, philosophy,
psychology, sex, and society. By not frequently posting on the blog and by being
selective in the topics she presented, Juli created the notion of ‘worthiness’ so that
her entries deserved the readers’ attention. Most of her blog posts can be associated
with Georgakopoulou’s (2007) concept of ‘breaking news’ that they had the ability to
attract readers. Table 1 below presents the title of her entries in chronological order.
References
Constitution of Malaysia. (1972). Federal constitution. Retrieved from http://www.jac.gov.my/

images/stories/akta/federalconstitution.pdf.
Department of Statistics Malaysia. (2016). Current population estimates,
Malaysia. Retrieved from https://www.dosm.gov.my/v1/index.php?r=column/
cthemeByCat&cat=155&bul_id=a1d1UTFZazd5ajJiRWFHNDduOXFFQT09&menu_id=
L0pheU43NWJwRWVSZklWdzQ4TlhUUT09.
Georgakopoulou, A. (2007). Small stories, interaction and identities. London, UK: John Benjamins
Publishing.
Hays, S. (2010). Apostasy and perseverance. Retrieved from https://calvindude.org/ebooks/
stevehays/Apostasy-and-Perseverance.pdf.
Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission, (2014). Internet Users Survey. Retrieved
from https://www.skmm.gov.my/skmmgovmy/media/General/pdf/Internet-Users-Survey-2014.
pdf.
Mohamad, A., Rashid, R. A., Yunus, K., Musa, R., Darus, S., Rahman, S. B. A., et al. (2017a). A
review of apostasy cases in Malaysia. Man in India, 97(16), 297–301.
Mohamad, A., Ab Rashid, R., Yunus, K., Rahman, S. B. A., Darus, S., Musa, R., et al. (2017b).
Discourse analysis on newspaper reports of apostasy cases. J. Study. Relig. Ideologies, 16(48),
96–111.
Namazie, M. (2012). I’m the other type of apostate. Retrieved from http://maryamnamazie.com/
im-the-other-type-of-apostate/.
Chapter 2
Theories and Concepts Related
to Blogging
Discursive Identity in Blogs
Identity is associated with discourse. Identity is constructed together with discourse,

as the discourse expands. Discourse as a whole also represents the identity of the
self. In other words, identity is both ‘constructed’ and ‘represented’ through dis-
course (Van der Bom, 2015). ‘Discourse’ can be generally defined as a conversation,
communication and interaction either spoken or written. This relates to the perspec-
tive underlying discursive approaches more generally, in which “‘the real world’ is
not ‘real’ beyond the social practices that construct and maintain it as such” (Ben-
well & Stokoe, 2006, p. 12). In other words, there is nothing beyond the discourse.
Juli’s blog entries are based on her own experiences. The stories in the entries are
way beyond the face value of the discourse and require further analysis and inter-
pretation. An understanding of identity as not fixed, but constructed in discourse is
consistent with the sociocultural perspective, which conceptualizes identity as ‘dis-
cursively constructed’, and ‘conceptually represented’ in text-worlds. Approaching
identity from a discursive perspective enables the exploration of how an apostate’s
identity frameworks are negotiated through discourse, including the previous his-
tories, assumptions, and cultural knowledge rooted in any interactional exchange
(Brown, Reveles, & Kelly, 2005). This is the best workable definition of discursive
identity in synthesizing theories of cultural and language use.
Gee views identity as the “kind of person one is recognized as being, at a given
time and place” (2001, p. 99). He conceives of identity as a dynamic entity that
“can change from moment to moment in the interaction, can change from context
to context, and of course, can be ambiguous or unstable” (Gee, 2001, p. 99). Within
this definition, Brown (2004) points out the need for individuals to understand the
interpretive processes that serve as the subtext of identity. People implicitly assist
others in determining a particular person’s identity in the process of establishing a
mutual interpretation. For example, consider a particular individual who is catego-
rized as an ‘intellectually astute person’. This individual must participate in activities,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-9985-5_2
8 2 Theories and Concepts Related to Blogging
either actively or passively, which people interpret as being ‘intellectual’. In this case,
identity prospectively can lay out “a broad set of domains that may be evoked and
socially constructed in the moment, yet depend on shared assumptions, sociocultural
categories, and knowledge” (Brown et al., 2005, p. 783). From the aspect of speaker
and audience, a speaker may want to present herself as ‘intellectually astute’ for a
given audience. Therefore, the sending of these messages by the speaker and how
they are interpreted by listeners contributes to how the identity of an individual is
constructed (Fishman, 1989; Gumperz, 1982).
Language has the power to determine group association and membership (Fish-
man, 1989). The cultural background that a person attaches to conversations has
the power to supply them with the resources necessary to interpret genres of dis-
course and their associated signals of identity (Gumperz, 1982). Thus, language can
be theorized as an active resource for identity generation, as the speaker and hearer
interject layers of co-constructed meaning (Gee, 2001; Gumperz, 1982). Identity
is thus displayed within social interaction. Consequently, the process of identity
generation in social media does not operate independent of socio-historical con-
text (Greeno, 1997; Lemke, 1997; Wertsch, 1998). For example, Wortham (2003)
believes that, as researchers analyze the structures that influence writing, including
those created through language, individual identities can be identified which carry
the influence of socio-historical patterns as they are interactionally constructed at
the micro-level. Even the core purpose of writing, such as the author’s experiences,
can be in the service of promoting social identity, hence underlining the need in this
context to understand the link between apostate identity and the author’s experiences.
As emphasized by Lemke (2000), the noteworthiness of studying blogger identity in
blog entries, the formation of identity, or even significant changes in attitude or habits
in blog posts, does not have to be abrupt between entries. Even small events can lead
to changes and contribute to an author’s writing development but subsequent events
will not reverse changes that are already there. The process is long term, “including
the effects of subsequent events, that determines for us the reality of basic human
social development” (Lemke, 2000, p. 282).
Thus, the study of language in blogs needs to explore identity development, story
writing and affiliation across multiple blog entries. Through an apostate’s experi-
ences in several cultural situations or contexts, such as the home, social groups and
religious affiliations, an apostate is able to develop ways of negotiating their iden-
tity development. As an apostate experiences different cultures in life, he/she learns
to get a hold on multiple cultural spaces before revealing and constructing his/her
self-identity in unique ways. From this point of view, identity construction through
discursive interaction provides the basis for what constitutes a discursive identity
(Brown et al., 2005). Furthermore, discursive identity gives the idea that the blogger
has selected particular genres of discourse with the knowledge (tacit or implicit) that
readers will use it to interpret the blogger’s discourse as a signal of their cultural affil-
iation (Brown, 2004). The discursive identity constructed by Juli in her blog entries
may vary from one to another, depending on the events, experiences and cultures
involved in her stories.
Discursive Identity in Blogs 9
When analysing the discursive identities, we focused on the discourse in its broad-
est sense and Edwards and Potter’s (1992) discursive psychology. As pointed out by
Trester (2007), a discursive analytical approach provides the researcher with ‘more
satisfying ways of uncovering and interpreting the connections between language
and social meaning’ (p.2) through the close examination of discourse level features,
discourse analysis frameworks, and the accomplishment of the interaction.
We use the term ‘discourse analysis in its broadest sense’ or ‘broad discourse
analysis’ to differentiate it from Foucauldian discourse analysis and critical dis-
course analysis, which are two recent conceptualizations of discourse. As Atkinson,
Okada and Talmy (2011) point out, Foucauldian discourse analysis originates from
neo-Marxist understandings of social inequality, hence focuses on how language
functions to maintain and foster such inequality, whereas critical discourse analysis,
which is associated with Fairclough (1995), examines how social group members
reproduce or resist power, dominance and inequality through text and talk. Since
inequality, power and dominance are not the primary constructs being studied in
this research, Foucauldian discourse analysis and critical discourse analysis were
deemed inappropriate. Even though some elements of power emerged in this study,
such as in relation to the threats faced by Juli, the focus is on how language was used
to reach the public rather than how language was used to foster social inequality and
reproduce or resist power.
Broad discourse analysis provides a framework for understanding general com-
municative behaviour within which syntax, semantics and pragmatics can be situated
(Miller, 2004). When analysing the blog entries and Comments using this broad dis-
course analysis approach, we focused on traditional theoretical linguistics, such as
choice of syntactic construction, choice and structure of referring expression/noun
phrases, choice of tense and aspect and choice of word order.
Edwards and Potter’s (1992) discursive psychology is also employed as an analyt-
ical approach in this study, especially in examining how Juli constructs her desired
identities through the blog entries and Comments. As pointed out by Edwards and
Potter, identity is one of the psychological themes in addition to motives, attitudes,
and morals that underpin conversations and interactions. The underlying principle of
discursive psychology is that texts and talks are oriented towards action (Edwards &
Potter, 1992; Edwards, 2005; Te Molder & Potter, 2005); that is, talk is not merely
a reflection of mental events, but a means to achieve goals in a socially meaning-
ful world. Employing discursive psychology enabled us to explore how identities
are handled and managed in discourse by focusing on the elements suggested by
Edwards and Potter (2005), such as those involving blame, justification and defence.
To support our interpretation of the data, we also had informal chats with the blogger,
especially when there is not enough contextual information available on the site.
Digital Storytelling
Personal stories bring to life “memories, journeys or experiences that can now be
shared and preserved in a digital form” (Sussex, 2012, p. 4). Such uses are related to
both the inner spiritual journeys associated with traditional diary-keeping and more
modern psycho-therapeutic practices where clients are encouraged to write down
their experiences in order to explore them in depth (Burnett, Pedersen, & Smith,
2011). Writing about personal experiences can help someone understand themselves
and mitigate major problems and conflicts (Miura & Yamashita, 2007). Most personal
stories involve emotions which can sometimes be related to the traumatic or stressful
events that occurred, and may also affect writer’s physical and mental condition.
Although the participants can find the experience upsetting, they can also find it
valuable and meaningful (Baikie & Wilhelm, 2005). In addition, the writer needs to
make the story real by giving details of any traumatic events, including describing
the emotions involved, to make the story more meaningful to the reader. However,
there is a possibility that the stories in blogs could be used by the readers against the
blogger, or in the manner that the writer did not intend, in the future, in which case,
the writer might change the story to avoid this and make it, suitable for blog purposes
(Couldry, 2009). At the end of the day, only the part of a person’s narrative suitable
for public viewing can be accessed by reading the stories in blogs, not a complete
portrait.
Blogs can be an ideal place to uncover an author’s inner conflict. Not only that,
blogs can be a platform for the author to communicate his/her experiences and jour-
neys, to gain external support and advice through comments, usually from concerned
readers. Gumbrecht (2004) points out that the limited interactivity of blogs means
that bloggers can post sensitive matters while being protected from immediate social
reactions and readers can choose whether or not to respond to a post.
Storytelling offers a positive connection between the author and the readers
through social media. It allows the readers to feel part of the writer’s life, “only
in engaging in story do we discover the fictional freedom to walk a mile or two in
another’s moccasins” (Hilder, 2005, p. 170). People seem to have an innate ability
to represent their experiences in a natural way in the form of stories (Ong, 2002) as
telling stories is like having a conversation or communicating with other people in a
way that everybody knows. It requires less effort compared to other formal methods,
especially when the story involves heavy content and rich contexts. Stories are the
means by which human beings give meaning to their experience of temporality and
personal actions (Polkinghorne, 1988).
Functions and Elements of Storytelling
We argue that stories told by Juli in her blog entries are not agenda-less. The stories
serve as a strategy for interactional accomplishment thus giving her the opportunity
to further explain her ideologies and engage with the readers. Norrick’s (2000) theo-
retical perspective on the functions of storytelling is useful in understanding the roles
of stories told in the blog. Among the functions of storytelling are to secure listener
interest, gain control of the floor and ensure understanding of the message that the
blogger attempts to convey. Stories that receive listener interest will receive feedback
Digital Storytelling 11
from the listeners who may seek to redirect the story line, reformulate the points or
even to become full-fledged co-tellers of the story (Norrick, 2000). We will show
in the remaining chapters how Juli has successfully engaged in storytelling to reach
the public and how the readers of the blog have been attracted to engage in some
sort of conversation with Juli through the comment function thus giving the sense
of interactional accomplishment. This interactional accomplishment is an important
evidence to support our claim that Juli’s blog posts are more than just the recount of
her personal/mundane experience, rather, the postings are used as a mechanism to
change the public’s perception of apostates in general, and herself in particular.
Stories basically comprise four main elements: a message, a conflict, characters,
and a plot and Juli has carefully constructed these four elements to ensure she achieve
her intended purpose. The message of the story needs to come across as clearly as
possible, otherwise, the storytelling becomes meaningless with no strategic purpose.
For Labov and Waletzky, the ‘ultimate aim’ for a person in writing stories is to forge
a “close correlations of the narrator’s social characteristics with the structure of their
narratives” (1967, p. 13). Usually, the messages that can be extracted from stories are
in the form of ideologies or moral statements. It is advisable to pursue one message
in each story (Fog, Budtz, Munch, & Blanchette, 2001, p. 34). As we will show in
this book, the main message conveyed by Juli is for the Muslim to re-evaluate their
acceptance of Islamic teaching and to accept apostasy as a freedom of choice.
Conflict, the second element in storytelling, is generally defined as the driving
force for a better story. Conflict is referred to as ‘complicating action’ by Labov
and Waletzky (1967). Story is organized so as to change and disturb harmony and
balance by adding a problem (Fog et al., 2001). Conflict is never a negative thing
in storytelling. Conflict is part of the battle between good and evil, and this is the
point where the author interprets his/her perception of right and wrong. Conflicts can
either be settled or may need the readers to resolve the conflict on their own (Fog
et al., 2001).
The third element is the characters. Characterization in storytelling can be associ-
ated with the construction of identity. The fourth element is the plot: the beginning,
the middle and the ending. The process of storytelling is actually a journey, which
many believe is the construction of a connection between the writer and the reader
through the story. In fact, the process is quite a difficult journey since the writer needs
to deal with the emotion attached to the narrated story.
Therefore, the writer has to be courageous and strong enough to handle the situ-
ation pre and post storytelling. In the process of writing a story, the writer assumes
the role of an inside person, not an outside person. The writer imagines the character
as a witness, not a judge or jury. So, as a witness, the writer is able to seek the truth
from the collected memories on the inside. The reader then, can judge the approach
taken by the writer in building the story, and whether or not the story makes sense
or can be trusted. If the reader is already familiar with the writer’s background, the
judgment will tend to be more sensitive and appropriate.
Rhetorical Strategies
Pragmatically, the narratives constructed by an apostate in blogs have certain aims,

which are to tell, persuade or highlight something. In the process of reaching their
intended objectives, writers often use the persuasive techniques appealing to ethical
issues, Pathos and logical reasoning. Aristotle was the first to discover the theory of
rhetoric, which he defines as the ability to see the available means of persuasion in
each individual case through the three main forms: Ethos, Pathos and Logos (Aristotle
& Roberts, 2004). These three rhetorical appeals are the main strategies used to
persuade audience and are also “important devices to understand when constructing
or deconstructing an argument” (Wright, 2012, para. 1). According to Stevanovich
(2012), the writer or orator has three ways of successfully delivering the rhetoric.
The power from demonstrating his personal character “will make his speech credible
(Ethos), his ability to stir emotions and get in the hearts of his listeners will allow
for a connection to be made (Pathos) and his power to prove truths or apparent truths
will create a persuasive argument (Logos)” (Stevanovich, 2012, p. 11).
The internet has witnessed all in the usage of these persuasive techniques in social
network communications. Blogs, in particular, are created for that particular purpose,
allowing the users to embrace these strategies. Aristotle’s theory only referred to
speakers/orators persuading their audiences with the spoken word, but “when it
comes to social media, these become relevant because it’s not just about a one time
performance on stage, instead, a virtual town hall meeting that is never ending”
(Stevanovich, 2012, p. 12). Since Logos, Pathos, and Ethos are well known rhetorical
ways to make arguments more convincing, it is highly likely that apostates will
employ these persuasive strategies in their narratives. In Juli’s blog, she applies these
rhetorical strategies to both the entries and comments. Ethos, Pathos and Logos
are used to help convince the readers to believe her stories. Using these strategies
appropriately and accordingly enables her to recruit more supporters and followers,
just by narrating stories in her blog.
Logos
Logos is the appeal to logic. When a writer employs Logos, “s/he might draw upon
statistics, credible sources, arguments premised on reason, and the inherent logic
of a situation” (Wright, 2012, para. 5). Any type of argument that triggers rational
argument using facts and logic, is appealing to Logos, as the strategy of reason.
Logos involves persuasion through sound reasoning and clarity of message, adding
consistency to the message and clarity to the rhetoric by appealing to the audience’s
sense of logic (Ramage & Bean, 1998). Through Logos, persuasion is achievable
from the good reasoning and logic within the discourse.
Narrative in social media—or in blogs specifically- appeals to humans’ view of
life as stories and relates stories with their particular set of values (Griffin, 2009).
Rhetorical Strategies 13
Stevanovich adds that the narrative’s rationality “has to do with coherence and fidelity,
meaning the story has to be consistent, make sense to the audience and hold elements
of truth” (2012, p. 15). People are more interested in the values of the story for
them to gain trust and with the consistency of the values added to each story the
author narrates. The readers will want to connect with the story, as if they are there,
witnessing or involved in that particular event.
It is common for apostates to point out the details in Quran, which they conclude
are false beliefs and wrong (Enstedt & Larsson, 2013). This is mainly judged by
using a logical and rational way of thinking. An apostate once said, religion is a
“fable invented by the ancients”, worthless except for those who exploit the credulous
masses (Ibn Warraq, 2003, p. 185).
Ethos
Ethos has to do with the ethical appeal of the rhetoric; it is easier to believe those that
are trusted and respected by the audience, i.e. who behave in a way that is acceptable
to the audience (Ramage & Bean, 1998; Wright, 2012). Behaving within the Ethos of
the group s/he is appealing to demonstrate the author’s trustworthiness, expertise and
honesty and is an attempt to put the author in a more positive light for the audience.
A sense of the “writer’s reputation outside of the particular rhetoric can also have an
effect on Ethos” (Stevanovich, 2012, p, 12). By using appeals to Ethos as rhetorical
strategy, the argument relies on the reputations or experiences of the author to prove
a point. One benefit of using blogs is that, blog affords the use of multimodal. The
blog owner can write information about themselves, use pictures, add links, and other
things to describe and introduce themselves, to gain credibility or prestige from the
readers. With good descriptions of the ‘self’, the number of followers will increase,
one of the aims of the blogger. Credibility is key to winning an audience’s belief and
support for one’s argument. More followers create better reputations in the world
of blogging. When it comes to social media discourse, however, weaving messages
into stories without action to back them up will discredit that story and tarnish the
reputation of the storyteller (Shandwick, 2012). Knowing what to say and how to
tell is one thing, but knowing how to say it or tell it the right way to a certain group
of people, is another thing.
As far as Ethos is concerned, apostates may try to convince the readers of the
arguments, by self-referring as a former Muslim. Their credibility as a former Muslim
is critical in persuading the readers into believing their stories. In the case of Juli,
she creates a very remarkable aura of credibility about herself in writing stories in
her blog. She was a brilliant student back then in her secondary school. She got the
best student award. In addition, she studied abroad in the United States of America,
which can be achieved only by an elite group of students. She then added to her
credibility by being an engineer in one of the top Oil and Gas Companies. On top of
that, her writing skill is very good with excellent English, as documented in her blog.
Last but not least, as mentioned before, she is a former Muslim. All these points are
useful for her in presenting credible stories of apostasy in her blog.
Pathos
Wright defines Pathos as a strategy of emotions and affect. Pathos appeals to an

audience’s “sense of anger, sorrow, or excitement” (2012, para. 4). Ramage and Bean
(1998) add to that point, by stating that Pathos has the ability to create emotional
feelings through words and appeal to the audience’s sense of identity and self-interest.
Emotion is a very powerful element within a person which the writer can use for
persuasive purposes, depending on how the emotion is being triggered. Communities
that have been able to prevail are ones that embrace the passions of their audience and
recognize their commonalities, thus appealing to their sense of Pathos (Del Monte,
2012). Blogs circulate around empathy and emotion and if the writer can touch or
trigger their readers’ emotions, most probably, the writer will successfully get his/her
message across with the story narrated. Through Pathos, stories in blogs can really
send a message to the readers and meet the purpose that the blogger aims for.
An apostate is able to express emotion and create feelings in the story by resting
their own experience of being a Muslim. Emotions are a very powerful tool, as
they can be very sensitive and very persuasive, once a person’s heart is touched. By
involving emotion and feeling in the narrative, an apostate is likely to gain support
from the readers regarding his/her decision to leave Islam. As for Juli, she obviously
is attempting to attract sympathy from the readers by portraying herself as a victim in
several molesting events in her life. She accuses Islam of not being able to help her at
the time she need it the most. She also gives several examples of Muslim behaviour
that can trigger a hate reaction from the readers towards Islam.
The focus of this book is Juli’s blog, concentrating on the issue of apostasy. The
blog is a platform for the sharing of experiences and stories, and that is exactly
what Juli is doing through her blog. She constructs stories in the blog to share her
experiences, express her feelings and state her beliefs, for the public to understand
her, accept her as she is, and follow her on the site. The stories consist of the rec-
ollection of her experiences and significant life events which include her emotions
and the traumatic events which come along the journey of her life before and after
her apostasy: the trajectory of her life. To make her story truthful, believable and
persuasive, she constructs acceptable self-identities within the story. How effective
her blog entries are in persuading the readers depends—to some extent—on how
she uses rhetorical strategies in her narratives (e.g. some readers view-points may be
fixed and so not open to change).
References 15
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Chapter 3
Identity Construction in Blog
Juli constructs several identities through the stories that she narrates, such as an anti-
religion person, intelligent, and brave enough to challenge the readers to question
her decision to become an Atheist. Even though she claims her stories were based
on her experiences, she still needs to convince the readers to accept the truthfulness
of her stories. She needs to construct identities that appeared to present “the truth,
the whole truth, and nothing but the truth” in her identity construction and narrative
life-story telling (Schachter, 2010, p. 3).
In challenging the readers to question her decision to become an Atheist, she
creates a platform for an intelligent discussion between the readers and herself. She
is brave in confronting her haters in spite of threats and insults from them. As a result,
she reduces the haters to those willing to argue intellectually.
Juli wrote her blog entries in English, however, several words and sentences are
written in Malay to maintain the meaning she meant to deliver. For example, she
responds to her reader in the Comment Section of Entry 1, “Why do you even want
to dakwah in the first place?”. ‘Dakwah’ is a Malay word for preach. Myslin and
Levy (2015) mention that the potential correlation with the information content of
meanings is the reason for an author to code-switch (i.e. switch from one language or
dialect to another). She strategically used code-switching to grab readers’ attention.
Code-switching does not at all reflect Juli’s proficiency in the English language;
rather, it increases her credibility as an excellent blog writer who is bilingual.
Juli strategically organized the content structure and the words used. She did
not present her past stories all at once. It portrays as if she does it occasionally to
carefully attract her readers’ interest in her stories and gain their trust. In the Comment
Section, 186 comments (43%) were written in Malay. Juli responded according to
the language of the comment, either English or Malay. This not only shows Juli’s
willingness to accept some comments from her readers, but also to portray herself
as a fluent and proficient bilingual author. She needed to be on the same wavelength
with the readers in order to convince them of the truth of her stories as she saw it. In
this book, we provide the English translation for any comments, terms or sentences
written in Malay to make the entries clear to readers.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-9985-5_3
18 3 Identity Construction in Blog
As an atheist, Juli favours reasoning and logical thinking and rejects the existence
of god. In line with her new belief, she constructs an anti-religion identity. On the
other hand, she still wants the readers to know her as an ordinary person with a normal
social life. Being labelled as an apostate does not prevent her from having a social
life and a lifestyle of her own. Some of everyday activities are mentioned in her blog
entries, such as having a pet, joining a reading club, listening to music, appreciating
the arts, and traveling. Presenting herself as someone who is anti-religious, but at the
same time living a normal life like other people was a clever strategy of Juli. She was
trying to convey the message that there is no harm in rejecting god and it is normal
for people to do so. In other words, she is not a psychopath who lives a strange life,
and that is why she refutes the existence of god. In addition, writing about her social
activities in the blog enabled her to construct the identity of a casual blogger and be
accepted into the community of bloggers.
Anti-religion Identity
Religious identity serves to support and consolidate many aspects of the identity
(Erikson, 1968). To commit to a religion is an important part of identity construction
for the majority of people because religion creates important ideologies for young
people to adopt. Erikson suggests that the construction of identity looks like a story
that contextualizes a life in time and culture, even though Erikson was never explicit
in the matter of identity’s fundamental structure and content (McAdams, 2011). In
analyzing the identities constructed in the blog entries, we focus on the narrated sto-
ries in each entry, examining the way Juli expressed her new beliefs from Edwards
and Potter’s (1992) perspective of discursive psychology and broad discourse anal-
ysis.
The anti-religion identity is obvious in Juli’s blog entries. It is commonly known
that Atheist believer supports reason and logical thinking, and rejects the existence
of god. Extract 3.1 below is an example of how this identity was constructed, from
Entry 1, ‘Pendedahan Ekslusif’ (English: Exclusive Revelation). This entry serves
as a platform for Juli to justify her action to her detractors who continued to criticize,
insult, accuse, and hate her. She invited them to an intellectual discussion, so that
they could channel their hate and passion towards something meaningful, such as
child abuse.
Extract 3.1
1 I have no way of knowing if god(s) exist

2 but the one described based on ~ 2000 year old book(s) sounds way too human
for me
3 plus, I like to show off my hair
4 it’s a tropical country, too hot/sweaty to cover up
Anti-religion Identity 19
5 I’m just being practical
(E1)
She starts the paragraph with a declarative statement disputing the existence of god
and suggests the justification for the existence of god (line 1) is weak. Her stance that
she does not believe in god is made clear in the statement. Interestingly, she uses the
formulaic phrase ‘I have no way’ (line 1) suggesting that she has taken all the efforts
to find the way to get herself convinced of the existence of god, but she fails to find
one. From the perspective of discursive psychology, she is defending herself and her
action of renouncing the religion as it is the religion who fails to give convincing
accounts of the existence of god.
The justification and explanation of the existence of god(s) is embodied in the
scriptures of respective religions. In Islam, for instance, the book of Quran explains
this in detail for all Muslims to believe and hold on to. Juli rejects holy books as she
claims they were created by humans, rather than gods (line 2). The modifier ‘too’
in the phrase ‘too human’ (line 2) reflects that she has a high level of doubt that the
religious scriptures come from god. Interestingly, she does not point out specifically
which part of the scripture that she perceived as ‘way too human’. She basically
generalises that the whole content of religious scriptures are based on human’s mind
thus should not be followed blindly. The generalisation affirms the anti-religion
identity that she does not only reject Islam but also other religions.
By highlighting that the scripture was written 2000 years ago (line 2), she can
be seen to support her point that the scripture is no longer relevant to be referred to
as it is very old and outdated. In line 3, she narrows down her focus to Islam when
she says ‘I like to show off my hair’ as it is a sin for female Muslims to show their
hair to certain group of people. Note that she uses the conjunction ‘plus’ prior to this
I-statement (Gee, 2005) to suggest that this is only the secondary reason for her to
reject the scripture. By doing this, she reminds readers that the main reason for her
to reject the scripture is the problem with its man-made contents, not really about
her preference to show off the hair. In this sense, she conveys the message that her
rejection is not caused by the personal reason but because of the problem with the
religion which is created by human. When she says that it is uncomfortable for her
to cover the hair since Malaysia is a tropical country (line 4), she again suggests that
the content of the scripture should not be followed blindly as it is not created with a
careful consideration of its followers’ context. The claims that she made regarding
the scripture that she perceived as created by human and the failure of religion to
convince the existence of god serve as the justification for her apostasy. Scripture
and god are the basic elements in any religion’s faith, thus by rejecting these two
elements, she reaffirms her an anti-religion or atheist stance.
As a non-believer, Juli sees obligations - if they exist - need to be justified using
reason and logic. By implication, she strongly criticises people who blindly undertake
obligations without question just because they think that scripture includes such
obligation and scripture is the word of god. Juli questions the practicality of women
covering their hair in hot weather (line 4) as this can be very uncomfortable (line 5).
20 3 Identity Construction in Blog
She wants to balance the readers’ beliefs against practicality. People who have strong
faith and do not question what they believe their religion requires would not see this
issue as a problem, especially men, because they believe in their religion and believe
the interpretation of every word in the book of Quran that they have been presented
with. However, naive or more open-minded readers who do not have a strong grip
on their religion, may find her argument interesting and becoming a follower.
By creating a general anti-religion identity, she is quite open about declaring
herself to her readers regarding her apostasy. She wants the readers to know that she
used to embrace Islam, but now has a non-religious life. She uses reason and logic
to justify everything, including god’s existence, consequently, she reject all religions
associated with god.
Juli also shows her principles and beliefs and always stands firm no matter what
people said about herself or her belief. She is willing and ready to go against scripture,
regarded as the word of god. She knows the importance of Quran in Islam as she spent
half her life accepting that book, but points out holy books were created by human
beings, presenting herself in some eyes as very brave, intellectual and knowledgeable,
showing the readers that she is prepared to argue through knowledge, facts, logic,
and give answers.
Interestingly, this entry receives many comments from the readers. The majority
of them advise Juli to repent and to return to Islam, as shown in Extract 3.2 below.
Extract 3.2
1 Its your choice sis

2 I pray so Allah will give you light
3 I wouldn’t bother taking my time to write this if I don’t love you as a fellow Muslim
(Mira, E1C7)
Mira (above) points out that no one can be forced to choose her religion (line 1).
Nobody can force Juli into believing something that she does not believe in, she
has freedom of religion. The determiner your (line) emphasizes Juli’s agency in her
decision to leave the religion. To some extent, Mira blames Juli for making a wrong
decision for herself. However, Mira uses the word sis (line 1) to refer to Juli thus
establishing “the family power structure” (Tannen, 2014, p. 495). By referring to
her as a sister, Mira creates the idea of a close relationship with Juli to make her
comments seem informal and heart-felt. Women often practice this kind of ritual
during conversation to create and maintain the connection through talk (Tannen,
2014).
Interestingly, Mira indirectly argues with Juli that Allah does exist and Allah is
more powerful than Juli when she says she still prays to Allah to guide Juli in making
her choice (line 2). Mira uses the word light (line 2) with the idea of enlighten to
stress the dichotomy between light and dark, good and evil, right and wrong, Islam
and non-believers. Indirectly, Mira states her stance that she disapproves Juli’s anti-
religion identity by saying that Juli is now in the dark for renouncing the religion.
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"On each side of the body it has twenty-two feet, and moves equally
well either backwards or forwards."
With regard to its alleged habit of going into ears, the learned
Arabian has evidently made a false imputation on the character of
our animal, and has probably relied too much on the stories told him.
He has also exaggerated in stating that it goes equally well either
backwards or forwards. Some Centipedes can go backwards very
easily and well, though not so well as forwards. Perhaps he
preferred examining dead specimens, which afford an easy
opportunity of counting their legs, to experimenting with living
animals, which might have resented liberties taken with them.
The Persians have several words for them, less accurate than the
Arabs and more like our own terms. For instance, they call them
"Hazarpa," or thousand feet, like our Millepedes; also "Sadpa," or
hundred feet, equivalent to our Centipedes. Another term resembles
our common term before mentioned, "Chehlpa," forty feet. A more
figurative term is "tasbih dud," a worm resembling a rosary with a
hundred beads; this word is translated in Richardson's Persian
Dictionary as "a venomous insect having eight feet and a piked tail."
Classification of the Myriapoda.
Two of the principal writers on the classification of the Myriapods are

Koch and Latzel, both of whom have classified the whole group. I do
not wish for a moment to undervalue the many authors who have
done excellent work on the classification of different groups and
families, but I wish here to give an outline of a classification of the
whole class, and I naturally have recourse to the authors who have
treated the subject as a whole.
Koch's two works, the System der Myriapoden[13] and Die

Myriapoden,[14] cover the whole range of the class, and his divisions
are clearly marked out and are easily understood, but both works are
comparatively old. He does not include the Scolopendrellidae or the
Pauropidae, which are now included by all naturalists in the
Myriapoda. Latzel is a more recent writer, and though his work is
entitled The Myriapods of the Austro-Hungarian Empire,[15] he gives
much information about Myriapods not found in Europe, and his work
is fairly entitled to be considered as embracing the whole class. He
divides the Myriapods into four Orders, including the
Scolopendrellidae and Pauropidae. On the whole, I think it will be
better here to take the classification of Koch, and to add to it the two
Orders before mentioned, viz. Symphyla containing one family the
Scolopendrellidae, and Pauropoda with one family the Pauropidae.
The Orders are as follows:—
Order I. Chilognatha (= Diplopoda)
Antennae 7 joints, three anterior body rings with one pair of legs to
each ring. Posterior rings with two pairs of legs to each. Genital
organs opening ventrally on the anterior rings of the posterior part of
the body, i.e. on one of the anterior of the segments bearing two
pairs of legs; usually the 7th.
This Order is divided into eight families:—
Family 1. Polyxenidae.
Ten body rings, not counting the neck-plate. Thirteen pairs of limbs. Eyes hard to
find, on the lateral corner of the head (Fig. 18, p. 37).
Family 2. Glomeridae.
11 body rings. 17 pairs of legs. Eyes arranged in a row curved outwards.

Fig. 19.—Glomeris marginata. (From C. L. Koch, Die Myriapoden.)
Family 3. Sphaerotheriidae.
12 body rings. 19 pairs of legs. Eyes crowded together in a cluster.
Fig. 20.—Sphaerotherium grossum. (From C. L. Koch, Die Myriapoden.)
Family 4. Julidae.
Body cylindrical. More than 30 body rings. Many eyes crowded together in a
cluster.
Fig. 21.—Julus nemorensis. (From C. L. Koch, Die Myriapoden.)
Family 5. Blanjulidae.
Thin cylindrical body with more than 30 body rings. Eyes either absent or in a
simple row beneath the edge of the forehead.
Fig. 22.—Blanjulus guttulatus. (From C. L. Koch, Die Myriapoden.)
Family 6. Chordeumidae.
Resemble the Polydesmidae (Fam. 7), but the head is longer and less rounded in
the forehead. The antennae are placed more at the side of the head. Eyes small
and numerous, in a cluster. Body rings always 30 (Fig. 16).
Family 7. Polydesmidae.
Body cylindrical, with a lobe or keel on the posterior part of the upper surface of
the body ring. Always 19 body rings. No eyes.
Fig. 23.—Polydesmus collaris. (From C. L. Koch, Die Myriapoden.)
Family 8. Polyzoniidae.
Body with varying number of rings arched transversely downwards and sharp at
the sides. The anterior part of the ring somewhat hidden. The eyes in a simple row.
The stigmata very small and placed near the lateral corner of the body ring. Head
small in proportion to the body.
Fig. 24.—Polyzonium germanicum. (From C. L. Koch, Die Myriapoden.)
Order II. Chilopoda (or Syngnatha).
Antennae with many joints, at least 14. Only one pair of legs to each
body ring. The genital opening on the last ring of the body. Bases of
the legs widely separate.
There are four families in this Order:—
Family 1. Lithobiidae.
Body with 9 principal and 6 subsidiary rings. On both principal and subsidiary rings
one pair of legs, except on the last ring of the body. Many eyes; the posterior ones
large and kidney-shaped. The antennae with many rings.
Fig. 25.—Lithobius erythrocephalus. (From C. L. Koch, Die Myriapoden.)
Family 2. Scolopendridae.
Body with 21 or 23 rings, no intermediate rings. Every ring with one pair of legs.
The last pair very long. Last pair at the point of the last ring. Four or no eyes.
Antennae with 17 or 20 joints. (Fig. 15, p. 31).
Family 3. Notophilidae.
Fig. 26.—Notophilus taeniatus. (From C. L. Koch, Die Myriapoden.)
Body very long, 200 to 350 rings; alternate principal and subsidiary rings. A pair of
legs to each principal ring. No eyes. Maxillary palps very thick. Compact or very
short limbs. The terminal point of the last limb without claws.
Family 4. Geophilidae.
Body long, 80 to 180 rings, principal and subsidiary. No eyes. The maxillary palps
not compact, and with first joint large. Last joint of the last pair of legs with a sharp
claw.
Fig. 27.—Geophilus longicornis. (From C. L. Koch, Die Myriapoden.)
Order III. Schizotarsia.
The tarsi of all the legs multiarticulate. The eyes facetted. Peculiar
sense organ beneath the head.
Family 1. Cermatiidae (Scutigeridae)
Antennae with unequal number of joints. Body rings, each with one pair of legs.
Dorsal scutes not so large as ventral. Limbs long and multiarticulate. (Fig. 17,
p. 35).
Order IV. Symphyla.
Myriapods resembling Thysanura. A pair of limbs to each segment.

The antennae are simple and multiarticulate with unequal joints.
Eyes few. Mandibles short. One pair of maxillae. No maxillipedes.
Genital orifice in the last segment of the body. A single pair of
tracheae. Two abdominal glands on the posterior part of the body.
Two caudal appendages. Free dorsal scutes. Ventral scutes often
with parapodia.
Family 1. Scolopendrellidae.
With the characters of the Order.
Order V. Pauropoda.
A pair of limbs to each segment. Antennae branched. Eyes few or
none. Labrum and labium indistinct. Genital orifice at the base of the
second pair of limbs. Free dorsal scutes. Nine pairs of feet
(always?). Some segments with sensitive hairs. Last segment the
smallest.
Family 1. Pauropidae.
Body slender. Dorsal scutes smooth. Limbs long and projecting from the lateral
margins of the body. Colour pale.
The Structure of the Myriapoda.
Having now given a short view of the classification of the Class, I will
proceed to give a general account of their structure, the variations in
which have led to the divisions into the various Orders and Families.
Their structure shows resemblances to several widely different
classes of animals. One cannot help being impressed with their
likeness to the Worms, at the same time they have affinities with the
Crustaceans, and still more with the Insects. In the latter class the
likeness of the Thysanuridae to Scolopendrella and Pauropus have
induced a celebrated Italian anatomist, Professor Grassi, to claim the
former as the ancestors of the Myriapoda.
Myriapods have a body which is segmented, as it is termed; that is,

composed of a number of more or less similar parts or segments
joined together.
One of the most important characteristics which distinguish

Myriapods from other Arthropoda is the fact that they possess on the
posterior segments of the body true legs which are jointed and take
part in locomotion. The head is in all cases quite distinct from the
body, and may be regarded as a number of segments fused together
into one mass. Their heads are always provided with a single pair of
antennae and mouth appendages, consisting of an upper lip, a pair
of mandibles or jaws, and one to two pairs of maxillae. The
mandibles resemble those of Insects, and are strongly toothed. In
the Chilognatha a pair of maxillae are fused so as to form a single
oval appendage. In the Chilopoda they each consist of a single blade
bearing a short palp or feeler. The mouth parts may have the forms
known as chewing, biting, or suctorial (Polyzonium) mouth
appendages.
With the exception of the terminal segment, and in many cases the
first or the seventh, each segment bears one or two pairs of limbs.
These may be very long, as in Scutigera, or very short, as in
Polyxenus. They may be attached close to one another near the
ventral middle line of the body, or may have their bases far apart
from each other, as in the Chilopoda. The exoskeleton or external
armour is composed of chitin (Chilopoda) or of chitin with calcareous
salts deposited in it (Chilognatha).
Their internal structure has a great likeness to that of Insects.
The general position of the internal organs may be seen from Fig.
28, which shows a Lithobius dissected so as to exhibit the digestive
and nervous systems.
The digestive canal, which is a straight tube, extends throughout the

whole length of the body, and terminates in the last segment of the
body. It may be divided into the following parts:—
1. A narrow oesophagus, beginning with the mouth or buccal cavity, and receiving
the contents of two or more salivary glands (d).
2. A wide mesenteron or mid-gut (n) extending throughout almost the whole length
of the body.
3. A rectum which at its junction with the mid-gut receives the contents of two or
four Malpighian tubes (g, h) which function as kidneys. Their function was for a
long time unknown, but the discovery of crystals of uric acid in them placed the
matter beyond doubt.
The heart has the form of a long pulsating dorsal vessel which
extends through the whole length of the animal. It is divided into a
number of chambers, which are attached to the dorsal wall of the
body, and are furnished with muscles of a wing-like shape, which are
known as the alary muscles, and which govern its pulsations. The
chambers are furnished with valves and arteries for the exit of the
blood, and slits known as ostia for the return of the blood to the
heart. The blood enters the chambers of the heart from the body
cavity through the ostia, and passes out through the arteries to
circulate through the organs of the body and to return by the ostia.
Fig. 28.—Lithobius dissected. (After Vogt and Yung.) a, antennae. b,

poison claws. c, brain. d, salivary glands. e, legs. f, nerve cord. g,
Malpighian tube. h, Malpighian tube. i, vesicula seminalis. j,
accessory gland. k, accessory gland. l, testis. m, thigh gland. n,
digestive tube.
The two figures below (Figs. 29 and 30) show the position of the
arteries and the ostia in a single segment of the body. The heart is
too small and delicate to be seen with the naked eye; it therefore
requires the aid of the microscope. A freshly-killed animal was
therefore taken and prepared in the manner known to all
microscopists, and extremely thin slices or sections cut horizontally
from its back. One of these sections cut the whole length of the heart
in one segment, which was accordingly drawn under the microscope
(Fig. 29), and shows a longitudinal horizontal section through the
whole length of the heart in a single segment, with the two ostia at
each end of the segment and the two arteries in the middle.
The arteries, when they leave the body, pass into masses of fatty
tissue on either side of the heart, and the other figure (Fig. 30) is
intended to show the artery leaving the heart and penetrating into the
fatty tissue. The figure is taken from the same section as the former
one, but is much more highly magnified, so as to show more detail.
The delicate coats of the heart are shown, the artery being covered
with a clothing of large cells.
Fig. 29.—Heart of Julus terrestris showing ostia (ost) and arteries (Art)
magnified.
Fig. 30.—Heart of Julus terrestris showing structure of artery (Art.) and

external coat of heart (ext.c), also fat body (Fb), highly magnified.
Ht, The cavity of the heart. The circular muscle fibres which
surrounds the heart are shown just below the external coat (ext.c).
ogl, Oil globules of the fat body.
Myriapods breathe by means of tracheae, with the exception of the
Scutigeridae, which have an elementary form of lung which
resembles that of spiders, and will be mentioned further on. These
tracheae, as in Insects, are tubes lined with chitin, which is arranged
in spiral bands. The tracheae open to the exterior by openings called
stigmata, through which they receive the external air, which passes
into the main tracheal tubes and into their ramifications, and thus
effects the aeration of the blood.
The nervous system of the Myriapods consists, as in Insects, of a

brain, which may be more or less developed, a circumoesophageal
ring embracing the oesophagus, and a ventral chain of ganglia, and
in some cases (Newport) of a system of visceral nerves. With the
nervous system we may mention the sense organs, the eyes, which
are present in most cases, though wanting, as has been already
stated, in many groups. They are usually present as clusters of ocelli
or eye spots closely packed together, or (in Scutigera) as peculiarly
formed facetted eyes. The sensory hairs on the antennae must be
reckoned as sense organs, as also the tufts of sense hairs on the
head of Polyxenus. Scutigera has also a peculiar sense organ
beneath the head, consisting of a sac opening on the under side of
the head full of slender hairs, each of which is connected at its base
with a nerve fibre. Except the eyes, the Myriapod sense organs have
usually the form of hairs or groups of hairs connected with nerve
fibres, which communicate with the central nervous system.
Fig. 31.—Under side of the head of Scutigera coleoptrata, with sense

organ. eo, Opening of sense organ to the exterior; o, sense organ
shown through the chitin; m, mouth; oc, eye; mxl, maxilla; f, furrow
in the chitin. (Heathcote, Sense organ in Scutigera coleoptrata.)
Fig. 32.—Highly magnified section through head of Polyxenus lagurus,
showing sense organ. ext.cut, external cuticle; t, tube surrounding
base of sense hair; gang.c, ganglion cell. (Heathcote, Anatomy of
Polyxenus lagurus.)
These two sense organs are shown in Figs. 31 and 32. Fig. 31
shows the under side of the head of Scutigera (Fig. 17), with the
position of the sense organ and its opening. Fig. 32 is part of a
section through the head of Polyxenus with two of the sense hairs.
Each spine or sense hair fits into a cup in the chitin of the head; and
the lower or internal part, which is divided from the upper or external
part by a rim, is joined to a ganglionic nerve cell (gang.c.).
The Myriapods are of separate sexes, and the generative organs in

both cases usually have the form of a long unpaired tube, which in
the male is connected with accessory glands, and in the female is
usually provided with double receptacula seminis. The generative
openings usually lie near the base of the second pair of legs
(Chilognatha), or at the posterior end of the body (Chilopoda). In the
Chilognatha there is usually in the male an external copulatory organ
at the base of the seventh pair of legs, remote from the genital
opening.
The preceding account of the anatomy of the Myriapods has shown

us the general characteristics of the whole group. I shall now take
each of the five Orders into which the class is divided in the
classification adopted in this account, and endeavour to explain the
differences in anatomy which have led to the establishment of the
Order. The first Order with which we have to do is that of the
Chilognatha, which includes a large number of Myriapods; no less
than eight families, some of them including a great number of forms.
Order I. Chilognatha.
The Chilognatha differ from other Orders in the shape of the body.
This is in almost all cases, cylindrical or sub-cylindrical, instead of
being more or less flattened as in the other Orders.
The body, as in all other Myriapods, is composed of segments, but in

the Chilognatha these segments are composed, in almost all cases,
of a complete ring of the substance of which the exoskeleton (as the
shell of the animal is called) is composed. This substance is in the
case of the Chilognatha chitin (a kind of horny substance,
resembling, for instance, the outer case of a beetle's wing),
containing a quantity of chalk salts and colouring matter; the
substance thus formed is hard and tough. In other Orders the chitin
of the exoskeleton is without chalky matter and is much more
flexible. The length of the body, as may be seen from the
classification, may be either very long, as in Julus, or very short, as
in Glomeris.
The next anatomical character distinctive of the Order is the form of

the appendages. First, the antennae. These are, as a general rule,
much shorter than in the Chilopods, never reaching the length of half
the body. They are, as a rule, club-shaped, the terminal half being
thicker than the half adjoining the body.
The next appendages to be mentioned are the mouth parts. These

differ in form from those of the other Orders, and their differences are
connected very largely with the fact that the Chilognatha live on
vegetable substances. Their mouth parts are adapted for chewing,
except in the case of the Polyzoniidae, the eighth family of the Order,
in which, according to Brandt, the mouth parts are adapted for
sucking, and are prolonged into a kind of proboscis. The mouth parts
of the Chilognatha consist of—
(1) An upper lip. A transversely-placed plate, which is fused with the rest of the
head.
(2) A pair of powerful mandibles or jaws adapted for mastication, and moved by
powerful muscles. f and g in Fig. 33 shows these mandibles, while the rest of the
figure constitutes the broad plate (No. 3).
(3) A broad plate covering the under part of the head and partially enclosing the
mouth. This structure, which, as we shall afterwards see, is formed by the fusion of
two appendages which are distinct in the animal when just hatched, has been
called the deutomalae, the jaws receiving the name of protomalae.
Fig. 33.—Mouth parts of Chilognatha. (From C. L. Koch, System der

Myriapoden.) f and g, The mandibles. The parts marked a, b, c, d,
e are firmly united and constitute the broad plate No. 3. They have
received the following names—a, b, Internal stipes; c, external
stipes; d, malellae; e, hypostoma.
After the mouth parts we come to the legs. We first notice the fact
that the bases of the legs in each pair are closely approached to one
another. They are so set into the body that the basal joints, or, as
they are called, the coxal joints, nearly touch. This is the case in
almost all Chilognatha, except in the Polyxenidae, and it is a fact
connected with some important features in the internal anatomy.
Then we have the peculiarity in the Chilognatha which has formed
the basis of most classifications which have placed these animals in
a group by themselves. This is the possession in most segments of
two pairs of legs. This characteristic has caused the group to be
called by some naturalists Diplopoda. As a general rule, the first four
segments have only three pairs of legs between them, one of them
being without a pair of legs. This legless or apodal segment is
usually the third. From the fifth segment to the end of the body all the
segments have two pairs of legs each. The legs are shorter than
those of the Chilopods, and are all nearly equal in size. This is not
the case in the other Orders. The legs are commonly wanting in the
seventh segment of the male, and are replaced by a copulatory
organ. This peculiarity is related to the different position of the
generative openings in the Chilognatha. Another anatomical feature
peculiar to the Chilognatha is the possession of the stink glands—
the glandulae odoriferae before mentioned. This, however, is a
character which does not hold for all the Chilognatha, since the
Polyxenidae have none of these glands. All the other families,
however, possess them, and they are present in none of the other
Orders.
As regards the internal anatomy of the Chilognatha, the digestive

canal differs mainly in the glands which supply it with secretions. It
receives the saliva from two long tubular salivary glands, which open
at the base of the four-lobed plate which has been mentioned as the
third of the mouth appendages. The secretion of these glands is
used, as has already been said, in the process of preparing the nest
for the eggs. We cannot fail to be reminded of a similar function of
salivary glands in those swallows, which prepare the nests of which
bird's-nest soup is made with the secretion of the salivary glands.
Another feature in the form of the digestive tube is that in many
cases, if not in all, it is marked with constrictions which correspond
with the segments of the body.
The heart in the Chilognatha is not such a highly developed organ as

in the other Orders. The muscles which have already been
mentioned as the alary muscles (or wing-shaped muscles) are not so
highly developed, and consist for the most part of a few muscular
fibres. The muscular walls of the heart, which consist of three layers,
have the muscles less strongly developed, and are in general
adapted for a less energetic circulation.
The tracheae, which open into the stigmata, as has already been
said, branch into tufts of fine tubes, but the ramifications of these
tufts never join (or anastomose, as it is called), and consequently we
never get, as in the other Orders, long tracheal trunks running along
the body.
The nervous system, in addition to the existence of the visceral

nerve system described by Newport, shows a marked peculiarity in
the form of the ventral ganglionic chain. As has already been said,
the nerve system consists of a brain or mass of ganglia fused
together and connected with the ventral nervous cord by a collar of
nervous substance surrounding the oesophagus, and generally
known as the circumoesophageal collar. The ventral nerve cord is a
stout cord of nervous substance passing along the whole length of
the animal, and situated below (or ventral to) the digestive tube and
the generative system. This cord is enlarged at certain points, and
these enlargements or swellings are called ganglia, while from the
ganglia pass off nerves which supply the different organs of the
body. In the Chilognatha the cord has a compressed appearance as
if the ganglia were pressed into one another in such a way that it is
very hard to distinguish any ganglia at all. If we use the microscope
and examine sections cut transversely through the cord, we see that
it is not a simple cord. Even if we examine the nerve cord with a
simple lens, we see that a furrow runs longitudinally down it, and the
use of the compound microscope shows us that this furrow
represents a division into two cords in such a way that the single
stout cord as it appeared to the naked eye is in reality two cords
running side by side, and so compressed together that the
substance is partly fused together. The ganglia too are double, being
swellings of the two cords and not a single enlargement on a single
cord. As we shall see in the other Orders, this arrangement
constitutes a characteristic distinction.
The generative organs consist of a long tubular ovary or testis lying

along almost the whole length of the body and placed between the
digestive organ and the nervous system. Near its exit from the body
the long tube divides into two short tubes, the oviducts in the female
or the vasa deferentia in the male. These ducts open in the third
segment of the body, unlike those of Myriapods belonging to other
Orders. The accessory glands present in most other Myriapods are
not present in the Chilognatha.
The general arrangement of the organs of the Chilognatha may be

seen from Fig. 34, which represents a transverse section through the
body of Polyxenus (Fig. 18). A comparison of these two figures
(Figs. 34 and 18) will show the position of the organs mentioned in
this account. The heart is shown with the suspensory and alary
muscles attached.
Fig. 34.—Transverse section through Polyxenus lagurus: g.n.c, f.n.c,

ganglionic and fibrous parts of nerve cord; Rec.sen, receptaculum
seminis; ori.dct, oviduct; Spmzoa, spermatoza. (From Heathcote,
Anatomy of Polyxenus lagurus.)
Order II. Chilopoda.
The shape of the body differs from that of the Order which has been
just described (Chilognatha), inasmuch as it is not cylindrical but
flattened, the back, however, being more arched than the ventral
surface. In this respect, however, it cannot be said to differ from the
other Orders which we have yet to describe.
The segments are not formed by a single ring of the exoskeleton,

which in this Order is formed of chitin, and is tough and flexible
rather than hard and strong; but of two or three plates which form a
covering to the segment. The back is covered by a large plate known
as the tergum, the sides by two plates known as pleura, and the
ventral part by a plate called the sternum. The pleura and sternum
are, however, in most cases fused together or indistinguishable. In
this, as in most of the anatomical peculiarities, there is a much
greater difference between the two Orders Chilopoda and
Chilognatha than between the Chilopoda and the other three Orders
which have still to be described.
The Chilopoda have only one pair of appendages to each segment

of the body instead of two pairs like the Chilognatha.
The antennae of the Chilopoda are as a rule very long, and are
always longer than in the Chilognatha which we have just described.
They differ from those of the Schizotarsia (the third Order, which will
be the next to be described) in having the basal joints nearer
together; in other words, they are differently placed on the head.
They differ from those of the Pauropoda (the fifth Order) in being
straight and not branched. As a rule the antennae of the Chilopoda
taper towards the extremity.
Fig. 35.—Mouth parts of Lithobius (Latzel). A, Head of Lithobius seen

from the under surface after removal of poison claws; a, second
maxilla; b, c, the two shafts of the first maxilla. B, One of the
mandibles. C, The two poison claws.
The mouth parts are more numerous than in the Order we have just
described (the Chilognatha). They consist of—
1. An upper lip. This is a transverse plate as just described in the case of the
Chilognatha, but it is not always fused with the rest of the head. It is also usually
composed of three pieces, two lateral and a middle piece.
2. A pair of jaws or mandibles, which are not of so simple a form as those of the
Chilognatha, but rather resemble those of some of the Crustacea.
3 and 4. Two pairs of appendages called maxillae resembling feet, but used to aid
the act of eating instead of locomotion. They are very different in different
Chilopods, but are mostly slender and weak and usually provided with feelers (or
palps) growing out of the main stem.
5. The next pair of appendages are the first pair of the legs of the body, which are
also metamorphosed to serve a function different from the ambulatory function of
the other limbs. These are the poison claws, and the possession of these forms
another distinction between the Order we are now discussing and that of the
Chilognatha. At the same time the third Order, that of the Schizotarsia, has poison
claws, so that this feature does not separate the Chilopoda from all the other
Orders. These poison claws are large curved claws connected with poison glands,
the secretion of which flows through a canal which opens near the point.
The legs are longer than those of the Chilognatha, but not so long as
those in the next Order to be described (the Schizotarsia). Their
number is very various, from 15 pairs in Lithobius to 173 in the
Geophilidae. Latzel notes a curious point in the number of the legs in
this Order, namely, the number of pairs of legs is always an uneven
one. There are always one pair to each segment. The last pair of
legs is always longer than the other pairs, and this is a peculiarity of
the Order.
The digestive tube resembles that of the other Orders, but the
salivary glands are not long and tubular but short (Fig. 28, d). It is,
moreover, not marked with constrictions corresponding with the
segments of the body.
The tracheal system or the system of respiration may be said to be

more highly developed in this Order than in any other. The tracheal
branches anastomose with one another (that is, the branches join),
and in some cases form long tracheal stems running along the body
almost for its whole length. The number of the tracheal openings or
stigmata varies and does not correspond with the number of
segments.
The nervous system differs considerably from that in the Order

Chilognatha; it resembles that in the Schizotarsia, and differs again
from that in the other two Orders, Symphyla and Pauropoda. The
brain shows some differences from other Orders chiefly in the
development of the different lobes which are connected with the
sense organs, the eyes and antennae, for instance; but the most
marked difference is in the ventral ganglionic cord. First, the
ganglionic swellings are much more clearly marked than in the
Chilognatha. Secondly, the first three ganglia differ from the others in
being nearer to one another and forming a single mass when seen
by the naked eye, though when examined by the aid of a microscope
we can see all the different parts are there. Thirdly, the division into
two cords mentioned in the Chilognatha is carried to a much greater
extent. The ganglia in each segment can be seen plainly to be
double, and the cords connecting the ganglia are two in number. We
can plainly see that the ventral nervous system of the Chilopoda
consists of two cords lying parallel to one another, and each having a
ganglionic enlargement in every segment. Whether a visceral
nervous system is present in the group is doubtful.
The eighth family of the Chilognatha, the Polyxenidae, show an

approach to the Chilopod nervous system.
The generative system differs chiefly in the opening of the genital

apparatus at the end of the body instead of in the third segment;
though this difference only separates the Order from the Chilognatha
and not from the other Orders. They also have two pairs of large
accessory glands (as they are called) connected with the genital
openings.
Order III. Schizotarsia.
The third Order of Myriapods, the Schizotarsia, show a much greater

resemblance to the Chilopoda than to the first Order, the
Chilognatha. There are, however, important differences to distinguish
them from all the other Orders.

New Media Narratives and Cultural Influence in Malaysia The Strategic Construction of Blog Rhetoric by An Apostate Radzuwan Ab Rashid

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New Media Narratives and Cultural Influence in Malaysia The Strategic Construction of Blog Rhetoric by An Apostate Radzuwan Ab Rashid

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New Media Narratives and Cultural

Influence in Malaysia The Strategic

Geotechnics Fundamentals and Applications in

Body and Text Cultural Transformations in New Media

Transmedial Narration: Narratives and Stories in

The Professional's Guide to Sexuality Consultation : An

Digital Arts An Introduction to New Media Bloomsbury

The Cultural Influence on Mass Customization Carolin

China in Malaysia: State-Business Relations and the New

Interactive narratives and transmedia storytelling

New Media Narratives

More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/13200

New Media Narratives

ISSN 2510-5035 ISSN 2510-5043 (electronic)

This book is part of a larger study investigating the radicalization of apostates on

Terengganu, Malaysia Radzuwan Ab Rashid

This book is an output of the research supported by the Malaysia Ministry of

1 Apostasy and Blogs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Apostasy and Apostates

Apostasy, from an Islamic point of view, is a person’s abandonment or renunciation

Apostates and Blogging

The Blogger—Juli Jalaludin

Table 1 List of entries in Juli

Constitution of Malaysia. (1972). Federal constitution. Retrieved from http://www.jac.gov.my/

Discursive Identity in Blogs

Identity is associated with discourse. Identity is constructed together with discourse,

Functions and Elements of Storytelling

Pragmatically, the narratives constructed by an apostate in blogs have certain aims,

Wright defines Pathos as a strategy of emotions and affect. Pathos appeals to an

Aristotle, & Roberts, W. R. (2004). Rhetoric. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications.

1 I have no way of knowing if god(s) exist

5 I’m just being practical

1 Its your choice sis

Classification of the Myriapoda.

Two of the principal writers on the classification of the Myriapods are

Koch's two works, the System der Myriapoden[13] and Die

The Orders are as follows:—

Order I. Chilognatha (= Diplopoda)

This Order is divided into eight families:—

11 body rings. 17 pairs of legs. Eyes arranged in a row curved outwards.

12 body rings. 19 pairs of legs. Eyes crowded together in a cluster.

Fig. 20.—Sphaerotherium grossum. (From C. L. Koch, Die Myriapoden.)

Fig. 21.—Julus nemorensis. (From C. L. Koch, Die Myriapoden.)

Fig. 22.—Blanjulus guttulatus. (From C. L. Koch, Die Myriapoden.)

Fig. 23.—Polydesmus collaris. (From C. L. Koch, Die Myriapoden.)

Fig. 24.—Polyzonium germanicum. (From C. L. Koch, Die Myriapoden.)

Order II. Chilopoda (or Syngnatha).

There are four families in this Order:—

Fig. 26.—Notophilus taeniatus. (From C. L. Koch, Die Myriapoden.)

Order III. Schizotarsia.

Family 1. Cermatiidae (Scutigeridae)

Order IV. Symphyla.

Myriapods resembling Thysanura. A pair of limbs to each segment.

With the characters of the Order.

The Structure of the Myriapoda.

Myriapods have a body which is segmented, as it is termed; that is,

One of the most important characteristics which distinguish

Their internal structure has a great likeness to that of Insects.

The digestive canal, which is a straight tube, extends throughout the

Fig. 28.—Lithobius dissected. (After Vogt and Yung.) a, antennae. b,

Fig. 30.—Heart of Julus terrestris showing structure of artery (Art.) and

The nervous system of the Myriapods consists, as in Insects, of a

Fig. 31.—Under side of the head of Scutigera coleoptrata, with sense