Martin Slama

Martin Slama is a senior researcher at the Institute for Social Anthropology (ISA) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna, Austria. His work bridges anthropological theory with empirical studies of Islamic communities in Southeast Asia, focusing on digital transformations and diaspora dynamics. He maintains active collaborations with Indonesian institutions including State Islamic University Sunan Kalijaga and has held visiting positions at Australian National University and Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies.

Slama earned his PhD in Anthropology from the University of Vienna, followed by habilitation research funded by the prestigious APART grant of the Austrian Academy of Sciences. His academic trajectory demonstrates deepening engagement with Southeast Asian Islamic communities, evolving from initial studies of Indonesian youth internet culture to complex analyses of Hadhrami diaspora networks and digital religiosity.

His research centers on the anthropology of Islam in Southeast Asia, with particular emphasis on digital anthropology and new media's impact on religious practices. Slama investigates how social media transforms Islamic charity (zakat/sedekah), reconfigures preacher economies, and creates new forms of digital piety while examining intersecting themes of socio-economic inequality, gender dynamics, and Southeast Asian power concepts. His work consistently explores temporalities within religious practices and the political dimensions of space in Muslim communities.

Analysis of his publication record reveals a clear intellectual arc: early work established foundations in Indonesian youth digital culture and Hadhrami community structures, while recent scholarship pioneers the study of 'digital Islam' in Southeast Asia. His articles demonstrate methodological innovation in tracing online-offline religious intersections, with growing attention to pandemic-era transformations of Islamic piety and the material dimensions of religiosity in housing and urban space.

His scientific recognition includes:

• APART grant of the Austrian Academy of Sciences

Slama leads major research projects including 'Social Media and Islamic Practice: Consequences of Being Digitally Pious in Indonesia' and 'Diasporic Hadhrami (Re-)Positioning in Indonesia’s Changing Religious and Political Fields', while supervising 'Mobilities and socio-environmental frictions' and 'TRANSCAMUS'. His grant portfolio reflects sustained institutional support for investigating the nexus of digital technology, Islamic practice, and socio-spatial inequality in Southeast Asia. He actively mentors junior researchers through project supervision and international collaborations.

As a core member of ISA's research team, Slama contributes to the institute's Southeast Asia focus through collaborative projects examining religiosity, inequality, and digital transformations. His current work integrates pandemic-era fieldwork with longitudinal studies of Islamic communities, positioning him at the forefront of anthropological research on digital religiosity in Muslim Southeast Asia.