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Digital Da’wah as Soft Power: A Conceptual Review of Islamic Communication in Contemporary Global Politics Khairiyah, Nanda; Uyuni, Badrah; Syukur, Yanuardi
ISTIFHAM Vol 3 No 3 (2025)
Publisher : Seutia Hukamaa Cendekia

Show Abstract | Download Original | Original Source | Check in Google Scholar | DOI: 10.71039/istifham.v3i3.120

Abstract

Digital technologies have transformed Islamic communication by expanding da’wah beyond localised religious preaching into transnational digital spaces where religious narratives intersect with global cultural and political perceptions. While existing studies have examined digital da’wah primarily as a pedagogical, sociological, or media phenomenon, its potential role as a source of attraction-based influence remains underexplored. This study addresses this gap by conceptualising digital da’wah as a form of Islamic soft power operating within contemporary digital environments. Using a qualitative literature review and conceptual synthesis, the article integrates soft power theory with scholarship on digital Islamic communication, religious moderation, and platform governance. The analysis develops a conceptual model that illustrates how platform dynamics mediate digital da’wah narratives, as interpreted through audience reception and translated into soft power outcomes such as cultural attractiveness, moral legitimacy, and narrative influence. The findings demonstrate that moderation-oriented digital da’wah, when supported by ethical credibility and algorithmic visibility, contributes to shaping global perceptions of Islam through non-coercive means. This study advances theoretical discussions by positioning digital religious communication as a legitimate domain of soft power analysis and offers a framework for examining religion’s role in global symbolic politics.
Agency as Cosmology: Rethinking Structure, Belief, and Action through Buddhist and Christian Worlds Syukur, Yanuardi
Buletin Antropologi Indonesia Vol. 3 No. 1 (2026): January
Publisher : Indonesian Journal Publisher

Show Abstract | Download Original | Original Source | Check in Google Scholar | DOI: 10.47134/bai.v3i1.5522

Abstract

This study critically examines Juliana Cassaniti's ethnographic work on Buddhist and Christian communities in Northern Thailand to explore agency cross-culturally. The research objective is to analyze how divergent religious ontologies shape contrasting understandings of human action and challenge universalist models of agency rooted in Western categories. Methodologically, the study employs comparative ethnographic analysis, drawing on Cassaniti's fieldwork alongside theoretical contributions from Archer, Sewell, Ahearn, and Ortner. Results reveal significant contrasts: Christians conceptualize agency as relational and mediated through belief in a divine Other, while Buddhists ground agency in the natural self, governed by karma and personal practice. These findings demonstrate that religious ontologies constitute rather than merely mediate action. The analysis challenges existing frameworks by showing how local epistemologies fundamentally shape agency. The paper raises questions about internal diversity within these traditions and calls for further comparative approaches integrating non-Western frameworks into theoretical discourse. Ultimately, this study contributes to the anthropology of religion by demonstrating the cosmological foundations of human action and enriches understandings of agency as culturally and ontologically situated.