Mediating Islam in the Digital Age. Present issues and past experiences of technological revolutions

Project Information

MIDA

Grant agreement ID: 813547

DOI

10.3030/813547

Project closed

EC signature date 31 August 2018

Start date 1 March 2019

End date 28 February 2023

Funded under

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Total cost

€ 3 874 112,28

EU contribution

€ 3 874 112,28

Coordinated by

CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE CNRS
France

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - MIDA (Mediating Islam in the Digital Age. Present issues and past experiences of technological revolutions)

Reporting period: 2021-03-01 to 2023-02-28

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The MIDA-project aimed at exploring and mapping developments by bringing together researchers from different disciplinary backgrounds. Not only had digitisation seriously impacted Islam as a research field and the issues raised, but the effect and implications of the subsequent processes also required capacity building and the training of a new generation of professionals able to work in settings where the digitisation of Islam was particularly pertinent. MIDA considered the cooperation with non-academic partners crucial to achieve these goals. They have provided technical, and communicative trainings, in order to produce new and relevant skills that combine scientific insight with the effective application of expert-knowledge in order to be able to tackle complex societal issues.
After 4 years of the project, in fact, the 15 ESRs have followed the training courses offered by MIDA and have gained a great deal of general satisfaction, new skills and some of them have completely reoriented their research themes. Some of them have produced documentaries for television, which was not at all foreseen in their career plan, others have already published numerous scientific articles, all of them have acquired a new way of working and have the impression of being part of a network made up of research and innovation in the humanities and social sciences, in contact with the society, with scientific and professional collaborations with academic and non-academic partners.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

As of March 2021, MIDA's activities were able to gradually return to normal after the interruption and changes caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Research
The 15 ESRs have generally made good progress in their individual research work and have participated in collective actions: training, conferences, workshops, secondments, outreach activities…
The mass of individual scientific productions is impressive: more than thirty articles or book chapters have been written, submitted to a scientific editor, and/or published in this period, which is more than expected. But in addition to this success of a scientific production that can be considered as "classic", what is remarkable, and this is one of the great successes of MIDA, is the number of publications for the general public through new media: blogs, vlogs, youtube videos, documentaries.
These productions were only made possible by the training provided through the MIDA network.

ESR’s Output
The MIDA website is a crucial tool to find this out. The website has been adapted continuously in order optimize effective output (www.itn-mida.org).
MIDA was an interdisciplinary project. The team members and ESR’s came from diverse academic backgrounds. The training and internship program was developed to provide the ESR’s with both generic and specific knowledge and skills. Thus, they were trained in shooting, editing and storytelling activities. The results of which can been seen on the website. Also training about the use of data sources, data analysis and the use of specific media were designed for all ESR’s and if some regret not having had more trainings in this field, all were very happy with the trainings received. These trainings were developed in close connection with the secondments and despite the covid crisis, each ESR was able to complete his/her secondment plan at the end of the project.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The MIDA-project rests on the premise that digitisation has a tremendous impact on Islam, the effects of which are diverse and ubiquitous. Established and often taken-for-granted epistemologies, concepts, features, appearances, structures and routines become adrift, and this necessitates a rethinking of agendas and strategies. We assess these developments by formulating three major questions: How does digitisation (1) shape Islam (beliefs, practices, societies, political organizations, social institutions, and outlooks); (2) modify the relation Muslims have with their past; (3) modify and reorganise scholarship and research on Islam?
It is too early to present results or to draw conclusions about each individual project as the PhDs are not yet defended. At a ‘higher’ level we can, however, discern some general tentative lines (so in no way definite or conclusive), and we clearly see the positive effect of the way we organised the whole project.
Unexpected collaborations between different ESRs were established, scientific and media productions not foreseen at the beginning of the project were achieved and, above all, the will to preserve or reinforce the existing network was strongly expressed during MIDA Final conference at Leuven (February 2023),
With Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions’ help, an emerging international network took shape and will surely become an essential actor in European innovative research in the field of Islamic studies.

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