Section "Islam on Virtual Platforms" at the XVI Congress of Anthropologists and Ethnologists of Russia 2025: Research Issues and Work Results

The subject of the study is the work of the scientific section "Islam on Virtual Platforms," held at the XVI Congress of Anthropologists and Ethnologists of Russia (KAER) in Perm (July 1–6, 2025). Since 2021, the organization of a scientific platform at the congress on the issues of the digitalization of Islam has received positive expert evaluations from the program committee (see: XIV KAER in Tomsk, 2021; XV KAER in St. Petersburg, 2023), indicating the relevance of the topic. The meeting was initiated by the R.G. Kuzeev Ethnological Research Institute of the Ufa Federal Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the State Museum of the History of Religion. The focus of the research is the problems of digitalization of Islam in contemporary society, as well as the use of information and digital technologies in anthropology and Islamic studies. The article discusses in detail the relevance of research on the digitalization of Islam and methods for studying new processes in the context of presentations by scholars from Russia and abroad. Special attention is given to studies of contemporary trends related to the digitalization of religion and the application of digital methods in studying Islamic communities. The research methodology includes an analysis of the presented reports, discussion of results during the session, and conducting a general discussion, which allows for the identification of key problems and trends in the field of digitalization of Islam. The scientific novelty of the work lies in the systematization of the results of discussions held at the XVI Congress of Anthropologists and Ethnologists of Russia, which allows for the assessment of current trends and prospects in the field of digitalization of Islam. The conclusions show that this topic generates significant interest among both experienced researchers and young scholars, indicating the growing significance of digital methods in anthropology and Islamic studies. The discussions at the meeting contribute importantly to the analysis of pressing issues of contemporary society and will foster the expansion of scientific dialogue about the role of Islam in the digital age. It is also noted that there is a need for the creation of new scientific platforms for further discussion and publication of research results, which could promote the development of this direction in Russian science.

KAER, Perm, scientific section, Islam, virtual platforms, digital technologies, digitalization of religion, identity, virtualization, cyber Islam