Leiden University Libraries participates in international research project Mediating Islam in the Digital Age

Published on 16 July 2018

An international consortium of research institutes, universities and non-academic partners in six European countries, including Leiden University, has been awarded with a research grant from ERC Marie Curie ITN for the project Mediating Islam in the Digital Age (MIDA). On behalf of Leiden University Petra de Bruijn of Middle Eastern Studies and Laurents Sesink and Fieke Schoots of the Centre for Digital Scholarship at Leiden University Libraries participate in the project.

Digitisation and technological innovation
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.

Research questions
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?

Open Science and transferable skills
ITN programs are designed to combine scientific research with an intensive training trajectory for young scholars in order to equip them with the necessary comprehensive knowledge and skills. For MIDA, these knowledge and skills relate to digitisation and technological innovation and the implications for Islam as a religious practice and a field of study. ITN researchers work in an inter-sectoral, interdisciplinary and international environment to deepen their knowledge and to find answers to pressing contemporary societal issues.

Centre for Digital Scholarship
The Centre for Digital Scholarship will supervise two internships and will provide workshops on FAIR Data, Text & Datamining, Open Science and Scholarly Communication in the Digital Age.

Additional information can be obtained by contacting:

• Petra de Bruijn (Middle Eastern Studies): [e-mail], tel: [phone]
• Laurents Sesink and Fieke Schoots (Centre for Digital Scholarschip): [e-mail],  tel: [phone]