Networking Workshop for Researchers: Ideological Influencing

In November, Jasmin Eder (Erfurt) and Lale Diklitaş (Frankfurt) participated in the interdisciplinary workshop on “Ideological Influencing” taking place at Bischöfliche Akademie des Bistums in Aachen. The workshop aimed to bring together researchers from varying disciplines such as theology, religious studies, Islamic studies or media studies and to foster exchange and collaboration between them. The researchers presented their current projects, addressing topics such as the relationship between religious fundamentalism and right-wing populism or forms of confessional expression on the internet. Jasmin Eder and Lale Diklitaş expanded the perspective to include Muslim content through their respective projects on audiovisual representations of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat on social networks and reconstructions of Islamic history on Instagram. During the discussion, a number of questions emerged which are relevant to all the projects – such as the transformation of identities, communities or religious authority through new media practices, as well as the growing significance of sociopolitical stances in religious debates. In addition, several similarities in the aesthetic and performative practices of influencing could be identified across religious borders.

Alongside the fruitful discussions on the interplay between religious and media logics, the networking meeting also included a hands-on session. In a workshop, the group of researchers explored how algorithms operate in different settings by creating TikTok accounts with diverging characteristics regarding gender or age.

To further this cooperation, another workshop is planned in the coming year.