While social media offer users a platform for self-expression,identity exploration,and community management,among other functions,they also offer space for religious practice and expression. In this paper,we explore social media spaces as they subtend new forms of religious experiences and rituals. We present a mixed-method study to understand the practice of sharing Quran verses on Arabic Twitter in their cultural context by combining a quantitative analysis of the most shared Quran verses,the topics covered by these verses,and the modalities of sharing,with a qualitative study of users' goals. This analysis of a set of 2.6 million tweets containing Quran verses demonstrates that online religious expression in the form of sharing Quran verses both extends offline religious life and supports new forms of religious expression including goals such as doing good deeds,giving charity,holding memorials,and showing solidarity.
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