Sofia Tsourlaki, MA

Currently a PhD researcher at SOAS University of London, Department of Religions, Sofia holds an MA in Near and Middle Eastern Studies (SOAS University of London) and a BA (Hons) in Ancient and Modern History (The Open University).

Her PhD research topic focuses on the impact Progressive Muslim Scholars’ ideas have on young Muslims and the role that social media play in this. Reaching beyond the dry observation of religion as presented on the internet in general, and social media more specifically, she attempts to examine the impact of this in the young Muslims of the UK. Are young Muslims being affected by the presence of progressive ideas online? How do they react in unconventional hermeneutics of the Qur’an and Hadith?

On a wider aspect, Sofia is particularly interested in the many aspects of digitalization of religion, the role of social media in the shaping of religious identity and the ways of dissemination and impact of Progressive Islam. Sofia, wrote her dissertation in 2019 on the module Modern Trends in Islam, which she then published in 2020, in the journal Contemporary Islam. She participates in numerous conferences related to technology and Islam in Europe and the USA presenting her research. Her latest article (awaiting publication) examines the causes that allowed the employment of Artificial Intelligence in the issuance of fatwa, and the impact that this will have on Islam. She also maintains a YouTube channel of humanities, with the primary purpose to explain Islam to non-Muslim audiences and breach the gap between what is perceived to be the clash between Islam and “the West”. As a Greek, converted to Islam herself, she has an autobiographic perspective on this binary, which often incorporates in her academic endeavors.