How real is virtual?

Conference “How real is virtual? Being human in and with digital worlds”

On October 30, 2024, the Goethe University Frankfurt hosted the interreligious conference “How real is virtual? Being human in and with digital worlds” took place. The conference, which was supported by the Hessian Ministry of Culture, Education and Opportunities, was organized by the Zentrum Oekumene of the Protestant Church in Hesse and Nassau, the Centre for Islamic Studies Frankfurt/Gießen (ZEFIS) and the Catholic Adult Education of the Diocese of Limburg. In addition to theoretical impulses and discussion spaces, the conference offered practice-oriented workshops.

Our project “Islam and Digitality” was represented at the conference by Prof. Armina Omerika and Lale Diklitas. In her presentation, Prof. Omerika addressed how the digital transformation challenges Islamic ethics, for example in topics such as privacy, ritual purity or the perception of sacredness and authenticity. In a workshop, Lale Diklitaş presented how Muslim content creators reconstruct historical narratives on Instagram and make marginalized actors in Islamic history visible.

A panel discussion on spirituality and practice concluded the event and underlined the opportunities and challenges of the digital world, also with regard to interreligious encounters.