Journal of Asian Wisdom and Islamic Behavior
Vol. 3 No. 1 (2025)

Shaping Virtual Religious Authority: The Power of Digital Media on Micro-Celebrity Da’i

Baidawi, Baidawi (Unknown)



Article Info

Publish Date
27 Mar 2025

Abstract

Micro-celebrities preachers have taken an important part in educating the ummah through Islamic messages while establishing virtual religious authority. Celeb da’i gain strategic space and recognition from the community through religious studies and have the potential to become a reference for religious knowledge. The contestation of virtual religious authority with traditional religious authority as an authoritative source is dynamic, and at the same time fragmentation occurs. This research concentrates on da’i micro-celebrities including Ustadzah Oki Setiana Dewi, Ustad Syam, and Aa Gym. This research is focused on three digital platforms including YouTube, TikTok and Instagram. The time span of this research starts from February to July 2024. The research method uses descriptive qualitative through netnography studies. The finding is that virtual religious authority is illustrated through the digital platform micro-celebrities da’i, which offers a new face of entertainment, adapts to the latest trends, and is solutive in carrying out religious missions.  The power of digital media catapults the popularity and religious influence of celeb da’i in the Islamic cyber environment, further perpetuating virtual religious authority as a source of religious information for the ummah.

Copyrights © 2025






Journal Info

Abbrev

JAWAB

Publisher

Subject

Religion Humanities Languange, Linguistic, Communication & Media Social Sciences Other

Description

Journal of Asian Wisdom and Islamic Behavior with ISSN number: 2987-6915 is a double-blind review method international journal that publishes authentic scientific articles relating to valuable ideas that contain findings of various local wisdom in the field of Islamic studies in Asia. The journal is ...