Prayer, Dreams, and Sex: A Showcase of an AI‐Augmented Distant Reading of 20 Thousand E‐Fatwas

This article provides a methodologically oriented case study of the application of Large Language Models (LLMs) in Islamic studies. Its empirical focus is on 20 thousand e‐fatwas from the website askimam.org. The study demonstrates how LLMs, here represented by the open‐source tool BERTopic, can sig...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:CyberOrient Vol. 18; no. 1; pp. 4 - 39
Main Author: Svensson, Jonas
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: 01.06.2024
Subjects:
BERTopic
distant reading
E‐fatwa
Fatwa
Islam
Islamic Studies
Large Language Models
Large Language Models (LLMs)
Religionsvetenskap
Study of Religions
Topic Modelling
ISSN:1804-3194, 1804-3194
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:This article provides a methodologically oriented case study of the application of Large Language Models (LLMs) in Islamic studies. Its empirical focus is on 20 thousand e‐fatwas from the website askimam.org. The study demonstrates how LLMs, here represented by the open‐source tool BERTopic, can significantly augment a process of distant reading. The research focuses on a topic modelling revealing insights into recurring concerns evident from the questions posed by believers in fatwas. It also provides an example of further, post‐topic modelling and analysis focusing on thematic variations across questions from different geographical regions. The article argues for the potential of LLMs to reshape research methodologies, offering faster, more comprehensive, and nuanced analyses of large datasets.
ISSN:1804-3194
1804-3194
DOI:10.1002/cyo2.44