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All Journal Khazanah Theologia
Muhamad Hilmi Pauzian
UIN Sunan Gunung Djati Bandung

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Sympathetic Orientalism and the Mediation of Islamic Theology in the Film Kingdom of Heaven Muzaki Muzaki; Muhamad Hilmi Pauzian; Asniah Asniah
Khazanah Theologia Vol. 7 No. 1 (2025): Khazanah Theologia
Publisher : UIN Sunan Gunung Djati Bandung

Show Abstract | Download Original | Original Source | Check in Google Scholar | DOI: 10.15575/kt.v7i1.53644

Abstract

In the context of post-9/11 Islamophobia and rising global religious nationalism, Hollywood cinema has evolved from explicit orientalism toward subtle representational strategies that appear progressive while maintaining Western epistemological hegemony. Despite ostensibly positive portrayals, contemporary films may perpetuate cultural hierarchies through sophisticated soft power mechanisms. This study examines how Ridley Scott's Kingdom of Heaven (2005) employs sympathetic orientalism positive portrayals of Islam conditional upon conformity with Western secular values and analyzes implications for indigenous pluralism discourse in Indonesia as a Muslim-majority society. Using Postcolonial Critical Discourse Analysis (PCDA), we systematically analyzed 12 key Muslim-Christian interaction scenes (47 minutes total) and 87 visual sequences from the Director's Cut (194 minutes), examining dialogue patterns, character construction, cinematography, and mise-en-scène. Analysis integrated five Indonesian pluralism policy documents to explore intersections between global media narratives and local tolerance frameworks. The film constructs "acceptable Muslims" through three mechanisms: hierarchical character construction privileging secular rationality (83% of positive Muslim representations require Western values with zero Islamic theological references), visual semiotics that aestheticize yet distance Islamic civilization (Christian sites receive 57% more screen time with eye-level humanizing shots versus high-angle exotic framing for Islamic spaces), and conditional inclusion through mimicry requiring Muslims to adopt Western epistemological standards. Statistical analysis reveals rational characters receive significantly more stable cinematography than religious characters (χ² = 12.4, p < 0.01). Sympathetic orientalism operates as evolved hegemonic strategy more ideologically powerful than explicit stereotypes by concealing epistemological hierarchies behind progressive rhetoric. This potentially marginalizes Indonesia's indigenous pluralism models based on Bhinneka Tunggal Ika and Islamic principles, replacing them with Western liberal-secular frameworks. Contribution: This study advances sympathetic orientalism as a novel analytical framework for understanding contemporary soft power in global media, revealing how ostensibly progressive representations undermine authentic indigenous approaches to religious diversity management in Muslim-majority societies
Constructing Religious Tolerance in Indonesia’s Digital Public Sphere: A Critical Discourse Analysis of the Log In Interfaith Podcast on YouTube Muhamad Hilmi Pauzian
Khazanah Theologia Vol. 7 No. 3 (2025): Khazanah Theologia
Publisher : UIN Sunan Gunung Djati Bandung

Show Abstract | Download Original | Original Source | Check in Google Scholar | DOI: 10.15575/kt.v7i3.54331

Abstract

Purpose: This study investigates how religious tolerance is discursively constructed, mediated, and received in Log In, a prominent Indonesian interfaith podcast on YouTube. It examines the linguistic strategies through which tolerance is articulated, the representation of religious participants, and the ways audiences interpret interfaith narratives within Indonesia’s digital public sphere. Methodology: The study employs Fairclough’s three-dimensional Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), complemented by Social Media Critical Discourse Studies and the mediatization of religion perspective. An intensive single-case design integrates three sources of digital data: an 11,826-word full-episode transcript, YouTube platform metadata, and 1,236 relevance-ranked top-level audience comments. The analysis combines lexical-frequency analysis, thematic coding, qualitative discourse analysis, and descriptive analysis of audience engagement. Findings: Religious tolerance is constructed through inclusive pronominalization, affective vocabulary, modal expressions that frame tolerance simultaneously as an achievable possibility and a moral responsibility, and humor that facilitates the negotiation of religious difference. The predominance of the inclusive pronoun kita (“we”) constructs a collective interfaith subject, while uneven participant-reference frequencies reveal representational asymmetries beneath the podcast’s egalitarian framing, although these frequencies should not be interpreted as direct measures of speaking time. Audience reception further demonstrates that nationalist validation generated the strongest aggregate engagement within the sampled comments, indicating that interfaith harmony is frequently interpreted through national identity rather than exclusively through theological or religious categories. The episode’s closing multi-faith prayer also illustrates an emerging form of mediated interreligious practice conceptualized here as a digital interfaith ritual. Implications: The findings demonstrate that digital tolerance is not merely communicated through social media but co-produced through religious discourse, entertainment conventions, platform visibility, audience participation, and Indonesian nationalist narratives. They also highlight the need to consider representational inequality and platform-mediated visibility when evaluating apparently inclusive digital religious spaces. Originality: This study advances scholarship on digital religion, mediatization, and critical discourse by integrating transcript analysis, platform metadata, and audience reception into a single analytical framework. It provides evidence from a Muslim-majority, religiously plural society and shows how tolerance in the digital public sphere emerges through the intersection of linguistic inclusion, media logic, religious representation, and national belonging.