The algorithm as an archivist: Muslim digital artists and the spiritual work of AI

Abstract

This article examines how Muslim artists use artificial intelligence (AI) as both a speculative tool and a spiritual medium to reimagine religious memory, aesthetics, and cultural belonging. Grounded in the frameworks of digital religion, and Muslim Futurism, I analyse projects such as Khawab, ALHAMDU | Muslim Futurism, and Fanar to show how artists mobilise AI to preserve, remix, and animate Islamic traditions. I argue that this artistic practice fosters ‘digital spirituality’ a form of meaning-making and remembrance that transcends institutional boundaries and blends online and offline religious lives. This article contributes to emerging conversations about Muslim AI aesthetics and proposes that these creative interventions offer an alternative vision of technology one that is ethically rooted, spiritually resonant, and politically subversive in an era of digital surveillance and erasure.