MIDA Project 2019-2023: A Journey of Research and Training

MIDA 2019-2023: A Journey of Research and Training

Explore the fascinating journey of MIDA (Mediating Islam in the Digital Age), a European research and training project that spanned from 2019 to 2023. This documentary captures the insights, challenges, and accomplishments of a collaborative network of scholars, students, and professionals from across Europe. MIDA focuses on studying the digital mediation of Islam in contemporary societies, tackling crucial questions about how digital platforms shape public perceptions of Islam and Muslim communities, and many diverse topics like the first moving pictures from the Hajj in Mecca, about Iranian war photography, new perspectives to Islamic scholars, Bosnian mosque architecture and Turkish Drama Series. This film documents the steps of 15 individual research projects and reflects the researcher's aims and developments.

From Mohamed El-Moursi’s work on the biography of Abd Allāh B. Buluggīn to Lena Richter's research on non-religious everyday activism in Morocco and the Moroccan diaspora in Europe, each scholar brought a unique perspective. Rayane Al-Rammal examined digital artivism in Lebanon, while Eleonora Landucci explored multilingualism and digitization in Moroccan Islamism through ethno-netnographies among politico-religious groups.

Elmozafar Abdelhafiz focused on Arab-Muslim encounters with Orientalism in the colonial age, and Mustafa Çolak analyzed Turkish historical drama series. Robin Cognée worked on mosque architecture and scripture in Bosnia and Herzegovina, offering insights into religious spaces.

Mahdieh Tavakol studied the history of a collection of manuscripts in the Astan-e Quds library in Iran, while Elaheh Habibi delved into war photography in Iran. Hayat Douhan focused on Islamic authority and knowledge transmission among the Moroccan diaspora in Europe, and Aleeha Ali contributed with her research on digital mourning through YouTube Majlis among Shi’a Muslims in Europe.

Justin Benavidez worked on an Andalusian Quran commentary and its relevance today, while Rukayyah Reichling explored how Mecca was captured in a darkroom, studying Muslim pilgrimage, photography, and the colonial gaze. Zeynep Aydin examined the role of Islamophobia in hashtag activism after terror attacks in Europe. Finally, Mounir Saifi’s work challenged the idealized vision of a utopian al-Andalus, providing a more nuanced understanding of its historical reality and its significance today.

What is MIDA?

Mediating Islam in the Digital Age (MIDA) is a EU funded program that contains 15 projects about digitisation and Islam, carried out by 15 researchers. MIDA is part of the "Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions" and EU "Horizon 2020 Research Program".

MIDA project’s hypothesis is that we are witnessing a radical change in Islam. Indeed, the MIDA project rests on the premise that digitisation and technological innovation are having a tremendous influence on Islam that deserves to be studied from a variety of perspectives: on modes of expression and communication of religious messages and traditions, and on modes of engagement with society.

More information: https://www.itn-mida.org

MIDA Youtube Channel:    / @mida-mediatingislaminthedi4564  

A Film by PS Stories
ps-stories.com

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