Bibliographic Analysis of Research on the Religious Identity of Muslim Women on Social Media

Raushan Umbet; Sholpan Jamanbalayeva; Elena Burova; Moldir Akmadi

doi:10.32350/jitc.162.10

Authors

Raushan Umbet Al-Farabi Kazakh National University , Kazakhstan https://orcid.org/0009-0006-4201-543X
Sholpan Jamanbalayeva Al-Farabi Kazakh National University , Kazakhstan https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0310-529X
Elena Burova Institute of Philosophy , Kazakhstan https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9404-6066
Moldir Akmadi Kazakh National Women's Teacher Training University , Kazakhstan https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0789-3684

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.32350/jitc.162.10

Keywords:

bibliographic analysis, digital ethnography, digital religion, Muslim women, religious identity, social networks

Abstract

This study presents a bibliometric analysis of scholarly research on the religious identity of Muslim women on social media from 2005 to 2024. Drawing on 269 publications indexed in Scopus and organized using the PRISMA protocol, the study employs bibliometric and visualization tools, including VOSviewer and Bibliometrix in RStudio, to identify major thematic clusters, regional trends, and gaps in the existing research. The analysis revealed three dominant thematic clusters: platform-oriented digital self-presentation and Islamic feminism; politicized and critical interpretations of religious identity, including Islamophobia and post-colonial criticism; and methodological formalization with intersectional approaches in empirical studies. The results demonstrated a steady increase in the number of publications, a dominance of English-speaking countries, limited coverage of Central Asia and post-Soviet space, and a concentration of research on Instagram and YouTube, with comparatively limited attention to TikTok, Facebook, and Telegram. Thematic mapping highlighted three clusters, encompassing digital self-presentation and Islamic feminism, criticism of dominant discourses, and standardized empirical approaches. The findings systematize existing knowledge, identify gaps, and suggest directions for future research, including expansion of geographical and cross-platform coverage as well as integration of quantitative and mixed methods in the study of religious identity in a digital environment.

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