The Marie Curie ITN proposal ‘Mediating Islam in the Digital Age’ (MIDA) has been awarded
An international consortium of research institutes, universities and non-academic partners in six European countries has been awarded with a research grant from the Department for Research and Innovation of the European Commission in June 2018. MIDA is coordinated by the ‘Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique’ (CNRS) in Paris.
The consortium includes twelve beneficiaries and thirteen partner organisations. Four participating universities of NISIS are amongst them:
- Leiden University/Faculty of Humanities, dept. of Middle Eastern Studies (Dr Petra de Bruijn)
- Universiteit van Amsterdam/Faculty of Humanities, Capacity group Religious Studies (Prof Dr Gerard Wiegers)
- Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen/Faculty of Philosophy, Theology and Religious Studies (Prof Dr Karin van Nieuwkerk)
- Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam/ Faculty of Social Sciences, dept. of Social and Cultural Anthropology (Prof Dr Thijl Sunier)
The MIDA-project rests on the premise that digitisation and technological innovation do have a tremendous impact on Islam, the effects of which are diverse and ubiquitous, and they are reminiscent of technical revolutions in the past such as print technology. The rapid changes that are already occurring are generating a sense of loss of control and instability among the general public, politicians, journalists, academics, and, not least, among Muslims themselves. The spread of modern digital media and new technologies of communication, production and dissemination, prompts researchers and social actors, Muslims and non-Muslims alike, to make sense of and understand these developments.
MIDA assesses these developments in all their dimensions by formulating three major questions: How does digitisation (1) shape Islam (i.e. beliefs, practices, societies, political organizations, social institutions, and outlooks); (2) modify the relations Muslims have with their past; (3) modify and reorganize scholarship and research on Islam?
Additional information can be obtained by contacting NISIS: NISIS@hum.leidenuniv.nl; 071 527 2592.