When the story acquired a new medium through which to be narrated—Instagram—it entered a world shaped by content restrictions, as well as algorithms that influence how a post is distributed and how widely it reaches its audience.
There is an important distinction between the two. Content restrictions can sometimes limit a user’s ability to use certain terms or publish certain materials directly. Algorithms, on the other hand, influence the visibility and reach of content, determining how widely it is distributed and which audiences are more likely to encounter it.
During our interview, media professional Batoul Abdelsater explained: “I feel that all the restrictions imposed on us by algorithms can become a gateway to creativity and thinking outside the box. When I am limited to a certain amount of time, I can look at it positively. Instead of thinking about content that needs five minutes, I think about content that can deliver the message in one minute. It is more difficult because I have to find a way to communicate the content in one minute, but it is also more beautiful because it presents me with a new challenge. It allows me to condense the message—and that is what is required in the first place.”
Batoul also points out that today’s audiences tend to consume content at a faster pace. This places a greater responsibility on content creators: they must communicate their ideas in less time without losing the essence of the message.
Sheikh Abbas Kourani reinforces this point during the interview: “Content on social media is like sandwiches. The viewer takes a small detail, but we can condense the content in a way that gives the viewer a general idea and brings them to us. Of course, there is still no substitute for rich, detailed, substantial religious discourse. But what is beautiful about this development is that it can reach the widest possible audience and makes communication easier.”
Music also plays a significant role in shaping the audience’s emotional response. It can move a person to tears—or leave them completely unaffected—depending on the type of music and the way it is incorporated into the content.
The caption is equally important. It gives the post an identity and, at times, condenses the idea or message that the creator wants the audience to receive even further.
Then comes framing, one of the most sensitive and significant elements in content creation.
Batoul defines framing as: “When we talk about media framing, we are talking about a lens that I place over the viewer. I am essentially narrowing the scene down to the particular part that I want the viewer to see.”
At its core, the creator of a message directs the viewer toward a particular angle of an event.
Batoul explains: “When we talk about social media and Karbala, when we simply narrate a historical event, we give the audience room to project whatever angle they want onto that event. The same events can appear divine in one context and become something completely different in another when we frame them incorrectly.”
Consider, for example, the story of Imam Zayn al-Abidin (peace be upon him). Why did he not go into battle alongside his father, Imam Hussein (peace be upon him)?If the viewer is presented only with the fact that he did not participate in the battle, without the surrounding context, the event can be understood from an entirely different perspective.
However, when the reason is explained—as Sheikh Abbas Kourani describes, that Imam Zayn al-Abidin was ill and that divine wisdom intervened to preserve the lineage of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him and his family)—along with the circumstances surrounding him, the meaning of the موقف changes.
This is where the importance of framing becomes clear:The information itself may be accurate, but the decision about which part of it to present—and which part to leave outside the frame—can fundamentally change the image that reaches the audience.
Yet framing does not guarantee that everyone will understand the same message.
A content creator can frame a story in a particular way, but cannot fully control how people interpret it. At this point, the viewer’s own memory becomes part of the process of decoding the content.
For example, if someone repeatedly hears the phrase “I saw nothing but beauty” and has already associated it with Lady Zaynab (peace be upon her) and Karbala, the phrase immediately recalls all of these images, stories, and meanings at once.
Someone who has never encountered that context, however, may understand the same sentence simply as an expression of patience in the face of hardship.
This means that symbolism does not operate independently. It also depends on the viewer’s memory, which helps decode symbols according to the associations they already carry.
Here, the importance of heritage becomes visible: meanings passed from one generation to another through religious gatherings, sermons, and narratives provide audiences with a reservoir of images, words, and meanings that they already recognize.
The viewer does not approach the content as a blank slate. They arrive carrying memories.
Framing gives the viewer an angle—but interpretation also depends on the viewer’s own background.
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Media professional Fatima Al-Sayed
Media professional Fatima Al-Sayed
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Sheikh Abbas Kourani
Watch the clip before reading the analysis.
الاسم: السعيد الحاج حسن أسعد حمّود
(شمران)
مكان وتاريخ الاستشهاد: السلطانية - ١٤-٤-٢٠٢٦
مكان الدّفن: روضة الشهداء تبنين
“A lens that I place over the viewer…”
This can be seen in one of the Reels produced as part of “The Lovers’ Compass,” which tells the story of martyr Hajj Hassan Asaad Hammoud, known as “Shamran.”
The Reel begins with an image of the martyr standing before the compass.
Rather than immediately presenting factual information about his name, or the date and place of his martyrdom, the video enters the story through a narrator speaking directly to the camera.
In the background, religious imagery and expressions associated with pilgrimage can be seen before the visual setting transitions to the image of the compass, which remains present throughout the rest of the narration.
Here, the choice of the opening shot is not merely a visual detail. It places the viewer within a particular atmosphere before they hear the rest of the story.
The text appearing on screen also helps the viewer follow the narrative quickly, while the narrator’s delivery and gestures make the story feel more like a personal tale being told to someone in front of us than a piece of news being read.
The Ashura-inspired music further reinforces the religious and emotional frame of the scene, contributing to the way the viewer is guided toward a particular understanding of the story.
As the video progresses, it does not present every detail of the martyr’s life. Instead, it selects a specific moment and narrates it in approximately one minute, incorporating additional visuals within the frame to bring the events of the story closer to the viewer.
This reflects what Batoul described as framing.
The content does not change the story itself. Instead, it determines where the viewer enters the story, which details they encounter, and in what order.
If, for example, the video had begun with the martyr’s name, followed by the date and place of his martyrdom, the viewer’s point of entry would have been entirely different.
Instead, beginning with a particular moment and story places the person and the human experience at the center of the narrative, while other information remains outside the frame—or within the accompanying caption.
Beyond the Image, a Human Being →
