Digital Religion: Knowledge, Politics, Practice

The unprecedented social and political transformations that recently occurred in the Middle East, North Africa, and Central and Southeast Asia were intrinsically linked to digital and social media. Cellphones, Facebook, Twitter feeds, and YouTube as well as local religious networks were instrumental forces in coordinating demonstrations and effectively implementing change. At the same time, the role of human agency and religious beliefs should not be discounted as equally instrumental. This series considers whether the popular speculation about the impact of social media on political and cultural life in the Middle East causes other important societal factors to be relegated to the background.

A series of lectures and debates on above themes are organised by New York University, Abu Dhabi. For further information see here. Events are broadcast and archived online.