<![CDATA[Character erosion among adolescents in the digital era has become a pressing concern for Islamic Religious Education (Pendidikan Agama Islam, hereafter PAI) in Indonesian senior high schools. Conventional PAI instruction, which often relies heavily on memorization and doctrinal transmission, tends to fall short of internalizing values into students' daily conduct. Meanwhile, the Kurikulum Merdeka's pedagogical concept of "deep learning" — built on the principles of mindful, meaningful, and joyful learning — offers a promising alternative for cultivating reflective and value-internalizing learning experiences. At the same time, Kepulauan Meranti Regency, situated in the Riau Archipelago and rooted in Malay cultural heritage, possesses a rich reservoir of local ethical wisdom (falsafah Melayu) that has historically shaped community character through concepts such as budi, adab, and the ethical teachings embedded in texts like the Gurindam Dua Belas. This mini research proposes the development of a PAI learning model that integrates deep learning pedagogy with Malay philosophical values as a contextualized strategy to strengthen the character of senior high school students in Kepulauan Meranti. Employing a research and development (R&D) approach informed by qualitative literature review and preliminary needs analysis, this study formulates a conceptual model consisting of four stages: contextual reflection (grounded in local Malay wisdom), meaningful value exploration (through Qur'anic and Hadith-based inquiry), joyful collaborative practice (through community and culture-based projects), and character actualization (through habituation and assessment). This study aims to develop an Islamic Religious Education learning model based on the deep learning approach, integrating Malay local wisdom values grounded in the philosophyThe study argues that anchoring deep learning principles in local Malay philosophy can bridge universal Islamic values with regional cultural identity, thereby producing a learning model that is both religiously grounded and culturally responsive.]]>
