TEHRAN -- The Islamic Seminary in Iran has officially launched a new academic discipline focused on “Religion and Cyberspace Studies,” aiming to integrate modern technological advancements with traditional religious scholarship, IQNA reported.
During a press conference, Habib Dastani Benisi, head of the Center for Religion and Cyberspace Studies at the seminary, announced that the program was formally approved about six weeks ago.
“Around a year and a half ago, the seminary decided to introduce new academic fields related to cyberspace alongside traditional disciplines such as jurisprudence, principles of Islamic law, theology, and exegesis,” he said.
The newly introduced program, equivalent to a master’s degree, offers eight specialized tracks at the third level of seminary education and four at the doctoral equivalent level.
“We felt the need for a specialized center within the seminary to strongly pursue this field, and thus, the Center for Religion and Cyberspace Studies was established under the direction of the seminary’s leadership,” Dastani said. 
Enrollment for the inaugural semester began on December 22 and will remain open until January 4. Classes are currently planned to be held in Qom, with future expansion to other provinces and inclusion of female students under consideration. 
For the upcoming academic term starting in February, the program will initially focus on two key tracks: computer games and artificial intelligence.
Dastani emphasized the seminary’s approach to cyberspace and AI as “productive and skill-oriented, although theoretical depth remains a priority given the seminary’s academic tradition.”
He further revealed plans to introduce a “Governance of Cyberspace” track at the doctoral level, with the aim of keeping the program at the forefront of global academic developments in the field. 
Highlighting the caliber of instructors, Dastani noted that some of the country’s leading experts in artificial intelligence are affiliated with the seminary. He added, “Nearly 3,000 syllabus units have been developed, and some of our instructors specialize in the philosophy of artificial intelligence.”