archives – Virtually Islamic News

Sun 2 Rabi Al Thani 1448AH 13-9-2026AD
Archives, Gaza, Maps, Palestine, Research

Mapping Palestine

This is an interesting thread on the mapping of historical Palestine and ‘missing’ villages and population zones, based around content in the Interactive Encyclopedia of the Palestine Question:

Tue 22 Muharram 1448AH 7-7-2026AD
Archives, Digital Archives, Gaza, Museums, Palestine, Research

Palestinian Digital Archive

Tamara Davison, Wired, How Palestinians Are Building a Digital Archive That Can’t Be Erased, 6 July 2026 Here’s an excellent article from Tamara Davison in Wired on the significance...

Tue 5 Shawwal 1447AH 24-3-2026AD
Archives, Digital Islam Across Europe, Research

Archiving Digital Islam

My colleague Dr Anna Grasso has had an article based on our archival work for the Digital Islam Across Europe project published in Digital Muslim Review, showing some initial...

screenshot: Digital British Islam archive-it page, showing various collections of content

Wed 22 Ramadan 1447AH 11-3-2026AD
Archives, Digital British Islam

The Digital British Islam project concluded in July 2025. The project’s monograph is currently in preparation. Open-access data are being prepared across the project’s different themes and data sources....

Wed 16 Dhul Qidah 1446AH 14-5-2025AD
Archives, Conferences, Digital Archives, Digital Islam Across Europe, Gary R. Bunt, Scotland

Digital Islam Across Europe Conference

Here are details of the Digital Islam Across Europe Conference (for which I am a Co-Investigator). The programme is diverse and offers a chance to learn more about the...

Wed 15 Rajab 1446AH 15-1-2025AD
Archives, Digital Archives, Gaza, Gaza Protests, Israel, Israel-Gaza Conflict 2023, Israel-Gaza Conflict 2024, Israel-Hamas Conflict 2023, Israel-Hamas Conflict 2024, Lebanon, Lebanon-Israel Crisis 2024, Palestine, West Bank

Archiving Crises

This looks like a significant project: Promising project to document and digitize genocide in Gaza and war on Lebanon www.archiveslab.org/projects/fig…...

Wed 17 Jumada Al Akhira 1446AH 18-12-2024AD
Archives, Digital Archives

The Importance of Archiving

This was a good piece in the Verge, providing a rationale for data preservation in general and archiving in particular. It was pertinent to me as archiving is central...

Wed 4 Jumada Al Oula 1446AH 6-11-2024AD
Archives, Eire, Journalism, Universities

Fisk Archive

Holly Evans, Independent, University to set up public archive on work of renowned Independent journalist Robert Fisk, 5 Nov 2024 “Funding of €200,000 (£167,800) has been given to Trinity College...

Prof. Gary R. Bunt at Recovira Conference, Manchester, Oct 2024

Tue 3 Jumada Al Oula 1446AH 5-11-2024AD
Digital British Islam, Digital Islam Across Europe, Gary R. Bunt

Religious Communities in the Virtual Age

I gave a presentation on CHANSE DigitIslam along with Dr Anna Grasso at Recovira’s Religious Communities in the Virtual Age conference in Manchester on 28 Oct 2024. I also...

Screenshot: AI generated by Copilot. Mosque in foreground against industrial landscape, circuit sky and purple clouds.

Tue 16 Safar 1446AH 20-8-2024AD
Archives, Digital Archives, Environment, Gary R. Bunt, Research

EASR 2024 Conference

I’m in Gothenburg, where I presented yesterday on ‘Digital Muslim Responses to Climate Change Issues’ at the EASR 2024 Conference. I’m interested in developing further work in this area...

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:

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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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