Reception: 5 p.m.
Lecture: 5:30 p.m.

Art historian and University of Michigan Professor Christiane Gruber will discuss the latest digital turn in Islamic devotional practices, with virtual pilgrimages (or “v-hajj”) by Muslims active on the internet (or iMuslims), and the entanglements that such practices bring, from the technological to the interpersonal and political.

In February 2022, Turkey’s Directorate of Religious Affairs landed in the news when it announced that performing the pilgrimage to Mecca in the Metaverse does not count as a “real hajj.” The ministry’s head went on to specify that Muslims are free to visit Mecca in a virtual fashion; however, for real worship (ibadet) to take place, he opined that one’s feet must touch the soil around the Ka‘ba.  The decree raises questions about the place and future of Islamic piety in an increasingly digital world. Can we now speak of a “virtual Islam” (or v-Islam), and what are its defining contours, visual languages, and future potential?  

This event is made possible through the Art History Department and the Temple University General Activity Fund (GAF).
 

Image: Still from Muslim3D, published in 2022, showing the ritual circumambulation of the Ka'ba.