March 2023 – Page 4 – Virtually Islamic News

Mon 28 Shaban 1444AH 20-3-2023AD
Human Rights, Iran, Iran Protests 2023, Podcasts

Podcast: The News Agents: Anoosheh Ashoori

The News Agents, Global, 20 March 2023 – this is a powerful and important interview by Emily Maitlis and Jon Sopel with Anoosheh Ashoori and his daughter Elika –...

Mon 28 Shaban 1444AH 20-3-2023AD
Apps, Dating, Gender, Instagram, Relationships, Research

Research Articles: Muslim Instagram + Smartphones and Muslim ‘Dating’

A couple of related articles: Farah Hasan, 2022. “Muslim Instagram: Eternal Youthfulness and Cultivating Deen” Religions 13, no. 7: 658. “This article argues that Muslims have created a specific...

Mon 28 Shaban 1444AH 20-3-2023AD
Qur'an, Religious Authority, Research

‘Islamic Authority and Centres of Knowledge Production in Europe’

Masooda Bano, Journal of Muslims in Europe, 11:1, Islamic Authority and Centres of Knowledge Production in Europe, 2022 Another one for my reading list. “The centrality of the Qurʾan...

Mon 28 Shaban 1444AH 20-3-2023AD
Bahrain, Gulf Region, Influencers, MENA, Religious Authority, Research, Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabia Internet, UAE

‘Digital Islam and Muslim Millennials’

Zaid, Bouziane, Jana Fedtke, Don Donghee Shin, Abdelmalek El Kadoussi, and Mohammed Ibahrine. 2022. “Digital Islam and Muslim Millennials: How Social Media Influencers Reimagine Religious Authority and Islamic Practices”...

Sun 27 Shaban 1444AH 19-3-2023AD
Addiction, British Muslims, Counselling, Gambling

Gambling

Ramazani Mwamba, Manchester Evening News, ‘I knew it was haram but I couldn’t stop’: The addiction ‘suffocating’ young Muslim men, 19 March 2023 Online gambling is a component of...

Sun 27 Shaban 1444AH 19-3-2023AD
Iranian internet, Music

Iran: Arrest of Dancers

Indy100, Selena Gomez praises ‘courageous’ Iranian girls ‘detained’ by police for dancing to her track ‘Calm Down’, 19 March 2023. “The video is understood to have been filmed near...

Sat 26 Shaban 1444AH 18-3-2023AD
Music, Rap, Tunisia

Tunisia – Rap Battle

AFP/Arab News, Rap battle — young Tunisians fight stigma with the arts, 17 March 2023 “People … experience violence on a daily basis — some practice it and others...

Sat 26 Shaban 1444AH 18-3-2023AD
Lebanon, Music, Rap, Syria, Syria Internet

Syria, Lebanon and Rap

Houda Fansa Jawadi, gal-dem, How protest and resistance in Syria and Lebanon shaped a progressive rap scene, 15 March 2023. Interesting long-read. “… rap has become one of the...

Sat 26 Shaban 1444AH 18-3-2023AD
Alaa Abdel-Fattah, Egypt Internet

Alaa Abdel-Fattah

Deutesche Welle, Egypt: New push to free activist Alaa Abdel-Fattah, 18 March 2023. “The activist and blogger is Egypt’s most prominent political prisoner. Despite a dramatic hunger strike late...

Sat 26 Shaban 1444AH 18-3-2023AD
Hajj, Mecca, Saudi Arabia Internet

Motawiff

Samir Jeraj, Hyphen, Pilgrims are still fighting for compensation from ill-fated Hajj platform Motawiff, 17 March 2023 “One year after the introduction of the Saudi Arabian government’s chaotic online...

Islamic Algorithms – book cover

Gary R. Bunt, Islamic Algorithms: Online Influence in the Muslim Metaverse (London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2024)

Explore the book

Paperback, hardback and ebook editions are available now.

Amazon.com

Amazon.co.uk

Prof. Gary R. Bunt, 2026

Comments

“Gary Bunt’s Islamic Algorithms explores the dynamic relationship between technology shifts and the evolving engagement of Muslims online. Bunt emphasises the unchanging core of Islam, adapting its expression to developing technology. A testament to Bunt’s brilliance in the ever-changing Cyber Islamic Environments, this is a must-read for those interested in Islamic studies, digital Islam and Muslim metaverses.” ―Eva Nisa, Senior Lecturer of Anthropology, The Australian National University, Australia

“A timely and insightful exploration, the book offers a concise yet comprehensive glimpse into the evolving landscape of Cyber Islamic Environments. From the serene halls of Jakarta’s Istiqlal Mosque to the potential realms of Muslim metaverses, this book takes readers on a journey to unveil the dynamic relationship between Islam and technology. In a world where smartphones guide prayers and iPads connect elders in study groups, Bunt shares a compelling and timely perspective on the evolving relationship between Islam, technology and the digital age.” ―Umar Ryad, Professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies, University of Leuven, Belgium

Bibliography and Glossary

Review by Michael Dhanoya (University of Leicester) in LSE Blogs

“Islamic Algorithms is a great contribution to the topic of Digital Religion …”

Review in The Muslim World‘ by Dr Akif Tahiiev of Goethe-Universitat Frankfurt am Main

‘Gary R. Bunts Islamic Algorithms liefert detaillierte Einblicke in die digitalen Räume von AkteurInnen, die sich auf unterschiedliche Weise auf den Islam “

“Gary R. Bunt’s Islamic Algorithms provides detailed insights into the digital spaces of actors who relate to Islam in various ways.*

* Google Translation

Margareta Wetchy, Gary R. Bunts Islamic Algorithms unter der Lupe, Machine Against the Rage

“Overall, Islamic Algorithms: Online Influence in the Muslim Metaverse is crucial to contemporary Islamic studies. The book is highly recommended for researchers, academics, and practitioners interested in the interaction between
technology and religion.” Reza Adeputra Tohis and Zulkifli Mansyur, Religion & Theology, 32 (2025): Issue 1-2 (Jun 2025) [PDF]

” … Bunt’s volume is an important step forward in understanding the importance of digital discourse to contemporary Islamic traditions and Muslim communities.” James Riggan, Reading Religion (American Academy of Religion)

“Islamic Algorithms provides a timely and thoughtful examination of how Islam, algorithms, and digital culture intersect. It is a valuable resource for scholars and researchers interested in digital presence of Islam, and digital culture both in theory and practice.” Mohamed Taher, Middle Eastern Librarians Association

Book cover: Dijital Dünyada Müslüman Olmak: Mecra, Kimlik ve Otorite‘

Gary R. Bunt’s chapter ‘Şeyh Google’dan Yapay Zekâ İmama Mı?: Müslüman Dijital Mecralarda İslami Etki ve Otoritenin Dönüşümü‘?‘ (trans. Necmiye Durmuş) is available in ‘Dijital Dünyada Müslüman Olmak: Mecra, Kimlik ve Otorite‘ edited by Mehmet Ali Başak (Eskiyeni). The original version was in

Scharia im Wandel edited by Mahmud El-Wereny and Alexander-Kenneth Nagel. (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, 2024).

Available from:

AI ‘Fake Journalism‘ Fri 28 Rabi Al Thani 1448AH 9-10-2026AD

Starlink Test Implications Fri 28 Rabi Al Thani 1448AH 9-10-2026AD

Virtually Islamic on Substack Fri 28 Rabi Al Thani 1448AH 9-10-2026AD

Iran AI Fri 28 Rabi Al Thani 1448AH 9-10-2026AD

Indonesia Online Gambling Thu 27 Rabi Al Thani 1448AH 8-10-2026AD

Scharia im Wandel book cover. Showing figures reading, a stack of books, and the background of a minaret and mosque dome.

My chapter, “From Sheikh Google to ImamAI? Evolving Islamic Influence and Authority in Muslim Digital Worlds,” is published in “Scharia im Wandel. Beiträge zur Transformation islamischer Autorität im Spannungsfeld von Kodifikation, Migration und Digitalisierung,” edited by Mahmud El-Wereny and Alexander-Kenneth Nagel. (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, 2024). Studies on Islamic Cultural and Intellectual History, Noorhaidi Hasan et al.

The book is the result of a 2022 conference at Georg-August-Universität Göttingen.

A Turkish version of the chapter is in preparation for publication in 2026.

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