2025 – Page 8 – Virtually Islamic News

Sat 3 Jumada Al Oula 1447AH 25-10-2025AD
Research, UAE, UAE Digital

UAE AI

Cody Combs, The National, AI use and enthusiasm for tech in UAE higher than global average, report finds, 24 Oct 2025“Accounting and consultancy firm KPMG, which collaborated with the University...

Sat 3 Jumada Al Oula 1447AH 25-10-2025AD
Palestine, robotics

Palestine Robotics

Ben Dowsett, Wired, Meet the Palestinian Teens Trying to Win Robotics Gold, 24 Oct 2025 “Next week, five teens from Palestine will head to Panama to compete in one...

Sat 3 Jumada Al Oula 1447AH 25-10-2025AD
Digital MENA, KSA, Saudi Arabia, Technology

HP KSA PC

Matthew Martin, Semafor, HP plans to build millions of computers in Saudi, 24 Oct 2025 “HP is set to build millions of devices in Saudi Arabia with the majority...

Fri 2 Jumada Al Oula 1447AH 24-10-2025AD
Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabia Internet

Sheikh Saleh bin Fawzan al-Fawzan

John Gambrell, AP, Saudi Arabia appoints Sheikh Saleh bin Fawzan al-Fawzan as kingdom’s new grand mufti, 23 Oct 2025 “Sheikh Saleh bin Fawzan al-Fawzan, 90, took over the position,...

Fri 2 Jumada Al Oula 1447AH 24-10-2025AD
‘influencers', Influencers, UAE, UAE Digital

The National, UAE influencers have three months to sign up to mandatory licensing scheme, 23 Oct 2025 “The deadline for social media content creators, or influencers, in the UAE to obtain advertiser...

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

Adaptive Faith Conference

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

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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