October 2025 – Page 2 – Virtually Islamic News

Wed 30 Rabi Al Thani 1447AH 22-10-2025AD
Digital Islam Across Europe, Poland internet,

Cyfrowy Islam

Looking at this new book on Polish digital Islam from my Chanse DigitIslam colleagues… available here: tinyurl.com/PolishMuslim…...

Tue 22 Rabi Al Thani 1447AH 14-10-2025AD
Artificial Intelligence, Conferences, Religious Authority

Maybe I should be at this one: “Adaptive Faith: Technology and Religious Change in the Digital Age” Conference. “The Centre for Inter-Religious Studies at Al-Mahdi Institute, in collaboration with The...

Tue 22 Rabi Al Thani 1447AH 14-10-2025AD
Artificial Intelligence, Lebanon

AI Lebanon

Dana Alomar, The National, Governments can’t afford to be passive on AI, warns Lebanese minister at Gitex, 14 Oct 2025 “Lebanon’s Minister of Technology and AI said policymakers need to have...

Tue 22 Rabi Al Thani 1447AH 14-10-2025AD
Abu Dhabi, Relationships, Religious Authority, UAE, UAE Digital

Marriage by App

The National, Put a ring on it: Couples in Abu Dhabi can use their phones to get married for Dh800, 14 Oct 2025 “Couples enrolled on the Tamm app, which...

Tue 22 Rabi Al Thani 1447AH 14-10-2025AD
Artificial Intelligence, UAE, UAE Digital

AI UAE

The National, ChatGPT-designed part of Sheikh Tahnoon’s home hailed as AI becomes ‘new lifestyle’, 14 Oct 2025 This is a useful overview of AI in the UAE

Mon 21 Rabi Al Thani 1447AH 13-10-2025AD
Artificial Intelligence, Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabia Internet

AI Sudais

I thought I should drop this in as a representation (using AI) of Abdul-Rahman Al-Sudais – I reflect on these types of representations in some of my work:

Mon 21 Rabi Al Thani 1447AH 13-10-2025AD
Artificial Intelligence, Disinformation, Far-right

AI Dystopia

In an AI-generated, dystopian vision of the British capital, a video shows Big Ben smouldering above piles of rubbish and London crowds dressed in traditional Islamic garb. Far-right leaders...

Sun 20 Rabi Al Thani 1447AH 12-10-2025AD
Alaa Abdel-Fattah

Alla Abdel-Fattah Interview

I'm learning how to get back into life, freed British-Egyptian activist says www.bbc.com/news/article…...

Sun 20 Rabi Al Thani 1447AH 12-10-2025AD
Gaza

Gaza Drones‘ View

Drones capture staggering images of Gaza devastation – as people find nothing left...

Fri 18 Rabi Al Thani 1447AH 10-10-2025AD
Artificial Intelligence, Bangladesh, Bangladesh Internet, ChatGPT, India internet, Indonesia, Malaysia, Malaysia Internet, Pakistan, Pakistan Internet

Budget ChatGPT

Ernestine Sin, CNBC, OpenAI expands budget-friendly ChatGPT Go to 16 more countries in Asia, 9 October 2025. “The rollout brings OpenAI’s cheapest plan to users across a total of...

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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