2025 – Page 2 – Virtually Islamic News

Thu 27 Jumada Al Akhira 1447AH 18-12-2025AD
Books

Digital Humanities

Forthcoming Maxim Romanov, Digital Humanities for Arabic and Islamic Studies, (Brill, 2026). €139.00. Publication date: 28 May 2026. Like many academic books (including mine), this is expensive, but hopefully...

Thu 27 Jumada Al Akhira 1447AH 18-12-2025AD
Artificial Intelligence, Qatar, Qatar digital

Powering Up To Speed

Meanwhile, in Qatar:...

Thu 27 Jumada Al Akhira 1447AH 18-12-2025AD
Artificial Intelligence, UAE, UAE Digital

UAE GPT

So, what is the potential influence of this?...

Thu 27 Jumada Al Akhira 1447AH 18-12-2025AD
UAE Digital

UAE ‘Digital Gambling‘

This is open to discussion, given perspectives on gambling:...

Thu 27 Jumada Al Akhira 1447AH 18-12-2025AD
Islamic finance, Islamic Fintech

Islamic Digital Banking

digital Islamic banking...

Wed 26 Jumada Al Akhira 1447AH 17-12-2025AD
Artificial Intelligence

AI Phone Banks

Social media companies attempt to detect and remove this type of astroturfing for violating their inauthentic behavior policies, which is why Doublespeed uses a bank of phones to emulate...

Tue 25 Jumada Al Akhira 1447AH 16-12-2025AD
Research

‘One Wife Two Husbands’

Unsurprisingly, this story went viral, and it introduces complex issues and gaps in legal processes: Iman Muttaqin Yusof, SCMP, Malaysian religious authorities probe viral claim of woman having ‘2...

Thu 20 Jumada Al Akhira 1447AH 11-12-2025AD
Pakistan Internet,

Pakistan Social Media Issues

"Pakistan on Thursday urged major social media platforms to crack down on accounts linked to militant groups, warning that failure to act could lead to stricter government measures or...

Thu 20 Jumada Al Akhira 1447AH 11-12-2025AD
chatbots

Chatbots and Faith

Simon Kuper, Financial Times, Who needs a priest when you have a chatbot?, 11 Dec 2025. “As technology acquires quasi-religious qualities, traditional faiths could be moving in a more...

Mon 17 Jumada Al Akhira 1447AH 8-12-2025AD
Artificial Intelligence, Disinformation, Egypt Internet, Egypt,, Research

Egypt, AI and ‘fake news‘

"Egypt's government has unveiled a new artificial intelligence-based platform to verify the accuracy of news and identify what officials describe as “false or misleading” reports concerning the state, society...

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.

Jumada Al Akhira 1447
S	M	T	W	T	F	S
« Jm1				Raj »
						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