DIGITISLAM. Digital Islam across Europe: Understanding Muslims' Participation in Online Islamic Environments

European Muslim communities (and indeed all communities) have been transformed by the digital revolution and new processes of knowledge creation, acquisition and dissemination that undermine traditional structures of authority. While many Muslims remain marginalized from European knowledge structures, digital platforms facilitate new ways of creating and sharing information about themselves and their role in pluralistic European society. These platforms have intensified diaspora ties, as well as connections between diverse European Muslim communities. This, in turn, has widened intergenerational gaps within Muslim populations across Europe. For example, European Muslims socialized in the digital world are more likely to value YouTube as a source of Islamic knowledge than the local mosque or other traditional places of religious learning.

However, our understanding of the creation, use and influence of Online Islamic Environments (OIEs) in European contexts is limited. This project investigates the characteristics of contemporary OIEs and their consequences for the social and religious practices of different Muslim populations within and across different European contexts. Focusing on the interactions between OIE producers and users, we investigate how, when and why individuals and groups seek advice online on a variety of social and religious issues, and how online and offline experiences and practices are disseminated and impacted in diverse contexts.

The project is based on in-depth research in five European countries: Lithuania, Poland, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Primarily, the project examines how diverse Muslim populations interact with the online ecosystem, seeking and providing formal or informal advice on Islam-related issues. The project aims to show how these interactions shape and are shaped by specific online producers. It also aims to analyse how the use of OIEs influences individual behaviours and beliefs in different national settings. The project combines qualitative and quantitative methods such as semi-structured interviews with OIE producers and users, a netographic monitoring of online habits and a transnational survey of online Islamic advice producers and their followers. The research will advance concise explanations of the dynamics and social implications of OIEs for various actors such as Muslim organisations and networks, policy makers and third sector and civil society organisations.

Project Details

“Digital Islam across Europe: Understanding Muslims' Participation in Online Islamic Environments (DIGITISLAM).” 2022-2025. Collaboration with Humanities and Social Sciences in Europe. Ministry of Science and Innovation, State Research Agency. Ref.: PCI2022-134988-2.

IP: Avi Astor