February 2025 – Page 3 – Virtually Islamic News

Wed 20 Shaban 1446AH 19-2-2025AD
Artificial Intelligence, ChatGPT, Google, Research

AI (in-)Accuracy

BBC Media Centre, Groundbreaking BBC research shows issues with over half the answers from Artificial Intelligence (AI) assistants, 11 Feb 2025. “New BBC research published today provides a warning...

Tue 19 Shaban 1446AH 18-2-2025AD
Iran

Iran Arrests

Sky News, British couple detained in Iran charged with espionage, 18 Feb 2025 “Iran has accused Craig and Lindsay Foreman of entering the country “under the guise of tourists”...

Tue 19 Shaban 1446AH 18-2-2025AD
Artificial Intelligence, Israel, Israel-Hamas Conflict 2025

Israel and AI

Sam Mednick, Garance Burke, Michael Biesecker, Independent, How US tech giants supplied Israel with AI models, raising questions about tech’s role in warfare, 18 February 2025 “U.S. tech giants...

Tue 19 Shaban 1446AH 18-2-2025AD
Apps, Dating, Relationships

Dated Apps

I’m curious to know how this impacts Muslim dating and relationship apps (discussed in my books and at the recent Digital British Islam Conference). www.bbc.co.uk/news/article… the future of apps?...

Tue 19 Shaban 1446AH 18-2-2025AD
'Islamic State'

Islamic State – Analysis

Update/analysis...

Mon 18 Shaban 1446AH 17-2-2025AD
Austria, Radicalisation

Austria Attack

Online radicalisation issues here in this case: Reuters, Austria says stabbing attack suspect swore allegiance to Islamic State, 17 Feb 2025 “The Syrian asylum seeker suspected of carrying out...

Mon 18 Shaban 1446AH 17-2-2025AD
Conferences, Digital British Islam

Digital British Islam Conference

Here’s a link to the Digital British Islam Conference report and photo gallery.

Sat 16 Shaban 1446AH 15-2-2025AD
Gaza, Hamas, Human Rights, Israel-Gaza Conflict 2023, Israel-Gaza Conflict 2024, Israel-Hamas Conflict 2023, Israel-Hamas Conflict 2024, Politics

Gaza releases

Palestinian prisoner releases were blocked at the time of posting. Militants have handed over the bodies of four hostages taken into Gaza during their October 2023 attack, with Hamas...

Sat 16 Shaban 1446AH 15-2-2025AD
Qur'an, Turkey

Qur’an Burning – London Arrests

LBC News, Two charged by police after shock footage shows man kicked and spat at by knifeman after ‘burning Koran’ in London, 15 Feb 2025. “Social media footage showed...

Sat 16 Shaban 1446AH 15-2-2025AD
Music, Pakistan, Pakistan Internet, Rap

Pakistan Rap

Headphones on … Really interesting on Pakistani rap music – could do with a playlist right now … www.rollingstone.co.uk/culture/a-lo…...

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.

Shaban 1446
S	M	T	W	T	F	S
« Raj				Ram »
					1	2
3	4	5	6	7	8	9
10	11	12	13	14	15	16
17	18	19	20	21	22	23
24	25	26	27	28	29