Human Rights – Page 2 – Virtually Islamic News

Sun 5 Dhul Hijjah 1446AH 1-6-2025AD
Gaza, Human Rights, Palestine, War crimes

Gaza Under Attack – Video

NEW: At least 26 killed, 150 wounded as Israeli tanks reportedly open fire on starving Palestinians gathered at an aid station. BBC has geo-located this video at Salah al-Din...

Mon 21 Dhul Qidah 1446AH 19-5-2025AD
Gaza, Human Rights

Gaza Issues

I continue to capture online content associated with the Gaza and Palestine crises, although not all of it is represented here. Gaza: "trickle of aid" anticipated [image or embed]...

Wed 16 Dhul Qidah 1446AH 14-5-2025AD
Bahrain, Bahrain Internet, Censorship, Cyber Security, Human Rights, prosecutions, Research, Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabia Internet, Surveillance, UAE, UAE Digital

Digital Research Methodology Issues

An important article by Marc Owen Jones for all those working in digital zones. Marc Owen Jones; Lessons from the Digital Coalface in the Post-Truth Age: Researching the Middle...

Tue 15 Dhul Qidah 1446AH 13-5-2025AD
Censorship, Elon Musk, Human Rights, Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabia Internet

KSA Musk

Oh. "Elon Musk's warm welcome by Saudi royals is at odds with his ownership of X, whose users are imprisoned for criticising Riyadh."...

Sun 8 Shawwal 1446AH 6-4-2025AD
Gaza, Human Rights, Israel, Media manipulation, News Media, War crimes

Gaza Medics ‘Executed‘

This episode is now under understandable further scrutiny (updated coverage below): Edith M. Lederer, Wafaa Shurafa, Lee Keath, AP News, Israel walks back its account of the killing of...

Mon 2 Shawwal 1446AH 31-3-2025AD
Human Rights, Palestine, West Bank

Eid and Gaza/West Bank

At this time of ‘celebration, tragedy continues in the West Bank (and beyond), making these articles poignant pieces of reporting: As Eid al-Fitr approaches, more than 4,000 families remain...

Mon 17 Ramadan 1446AH 17-3-2025AD
Human Rights, Journalism, Syria, Syria Internet, War crimes

Syria Violence

Essential viewing (click through for the video) This is from CNN on the Syria situation: "A masked fighter filmed himself parading around the ransacked home, singing “ethnic cleansing, ethnic...

Sun 9 Ramadan 1446AH 9-3-2025AD
Human Rights, Iran, Iran internet, Iranian internet

Iran – Recipes for Survival

Rachel Cooke, Observer, Crumble, cookies and madeleines – recipes of hope for Iran’s jailed women “Sepideh Gholian’s diary of prison life came out four years ago. Next month, she...

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...

Mon 6 Rajab 1446AH 6-1-2025AD
Gaza, Human Rights, Israel, Israel-Gaza Conflict 2024, Israel-Hamas Conflict 2024, Palestine, War crimes

Social Media and Online Coverage: Israel-Hamas Conflict (Month Fifteen) – updated

This is the fifteenth month since the current Israel-Hamas conflict commenced. I have been keeping copies of selected online content since 7 October 2023. Some of these posts feature...

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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