December 2023
In its 204th book, “Artificial Intelligence in the Religious Field and the Movement Sphere: Opportunities and Challenges,” published December 2023, the Al-Mesbar Center for Studies and Research explores how scientific advance has influenced the religious field and interacted with Islamism. The book examines the technical use of artificial intelligence in jurisprudence, its application in religious institutions, and its new uses aimed at the broader community of Muslim believers, focusing on experiences from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Ukraine, Morocco, and several African countries.
The book also analyzes the complex relationship between extremism and artificial intelligence, highlighting how extremist groups exploit AI in propaganda and misinformation efforts to magnify public discontent.
In the introduction, Shamil Hussein explains the concepts, characteristics, goals, types, fields, and applications of artificial intelligence. He discusses the challenges AI presents and clarifies the relationship between the independent variable (artificial intelligence) and the dependent variable (its useful products in various fields).
El-Sayyid Muhammad Ali Al-Husseini examines the use of artificial intelligence in jurisprudence, outlining its benefits and challenges. He redefines the role of human intelligence in deducing jurisprudence (Fiqh), the discipline of deriving religious rulings from Islamic texts.
He discusses the jurist’s (Faqih’s) role in this process and the potential of AI to facilitate jurisprudential derivations. He highlights AI applications such as the “Nuskh” and “Tawakeel” apps and the “guidance robot,” which employ AI techniques during the Islamic rites of Umrah and the Hajj. These technologies issue reliable fatwas and consultations, easing the performance of religious duties.
Jordanian researcher Muhammad Subhi Al-Aidi addresses the jurisprudential adaptation of AI. He analyzes robotic “perception,” noting its lack of comprehensiveness and empathetic imagination as compared to human spiritual and moral perception. He argues that jurisprudence requires moving beyond superficial causes to explore hidden reasons through the jurist’s deep understanding of Sharia’s universal meanings. Consequently, he contends that AI cannot fulfill requirements related to intention (Niyyah), psychological cognition, or human obligations, citing Al-Ghazali’s view that understanding obligation arises from human reasoning.
However, he acknowledges AI’s growing global authority and stresses the need for regulation, such as the Hiroshima process for AI, to protect moral values by respecting human dignity and privacy. He proposes limiting “Mufti Robots” to general fatwas and teaching rituals like Hajj, Umrah, and moon sighting.
Professor of International Communication Al-Khidr Abdel-Baqi Muhammad explores Islam’s stance on modern technology and its jurisprudential adaptation, focusing on the jurisprudence of interests (Masalih) and teleological objectives (Maqasid).
Jaber Benasser examines AI’s relevance to religious institutions, emphasizing its benefits in knowledge transfer, enhancing research, handling incomplete information, and facilitating learning and reasoning.
Muhammad Ramadan discusses AI’s development and influence in the religious field, especially its role in shaping thought by enabling intellectual customization. AI-powered software and applications provide personalized content, expanding access to information.He highlights AI’s potential impact on moral beliefs and the religious field’s role, questioning whether AI applications could replace religious leaders. He reviews various perspectives, noting efforts like the 2020 Rome Call for AI Ethics and the 2023 Abrahamic religions summit, which seek to ensure AI systems are interpretable, comprehensive, unbiased, and accountable to humans.
Moroccan researcher Mohamed Uday studies AI applications in managing the religious field. He defines “Digitization of Religion” and connects it to AI’s role in religion. His essay discusses the Moroccan Ministry of Endowments’s approach to using new technologies that promote coexistence, openness, and tolerance. These include educational games, text translation, religious education, and predictive analytics that detect warning signs of extremism, analyze content, and collaborate with social media platforms.
Muhammad Kamal Muhammad examines AI’s impact on all aspects of the religious field, including texts, worship, institutions, interfaith relations, and extremist organizations. He proposes preliminary measures to mitigate AI risks and maximize its benefits, focusing on Islam.
Imad Abu Al-Rub highlights AI’s use in religious issues and its potential for Muslim religious administrations worldwide to promote tolerance and cultural communication.
Egyptian researcher Ibrahim Negm investigates the link between extremism and AI, showing how terrorists use AI to spread extremist ideologies through propaganda and security vulnerabilities. He identifies key incitement models used by terrorist groups online.
The study discusses the dangers of extremism in the digital age, noting how AI algorithms produce and rapidly spread image- and video-based content, requiring careful analysis. Negm points out that AI-driven automation supports terrorist activity, citing evidence of ISIS-linked accounts, and calls for new counter-terrorism strategies.
Emirati researcher Mohammed Al-Beshari, Secretary-General of the World Council of Muslim Communities, explores the ethical dilemmas inherent in AI. He argues for balancing human dignity protection with technological adaptation, avoiding dehumanization. He advocates ongoing research and dialogue to shape AI’s ethical future, emphasizing privacy, data protection, human dignity, and human oversight.
Researcher Ahmed Al-Nahwi discusses AI and extremism in Africa, explaining how groups like ISIS, Al-Qaeda, and Boko Haram exploit AI advancements to promote cross-border terrorism. His essay is buttressed with interviews with experts in Niger, Morocco, Nigeria, Comoros, Mali, Mauritania, and Senegal.
Researcher Maher Farghali analyzes how ISIS uses media and social networks for recruitment, polarization, and spreading extremism. Over the past decade, ISIS employs psychological warfare and exploits doctrinal differences among extremist groups.
In conclusion, Al-Mesbar Center thanks the contributing researchers and those who facilitated the book’s publication, especially coordinator Maher Farghali. The Center hopes this book fills a gap in the Arab academic library.
