Digital Muslim Review
Vol. 3 No. 2 (2025): December

Digital Engagement Among the Jamaah Tabligh in Nigeria and Indonesia: A Comparative Analysis of Social Media Usage

Abdrahman Ismail, Abolaji (Unknown)



Article Info

Publish Date
03 Mar 2026

Abstract

The Jamā'ah Tablīgh, a transnational movement built on physical missionary work, increasingly navigates digital spaces in ways that challenge its traditional ethos. This article compares how the movement engages social media in Nigeria and Indonesia through a systematic review of ethnographic studies and media reports. Findings reveal significant divergence: Nigerian Tablīghīs employ closed platforms like WhatsApp and memory cards for internal coordination, prioritizing audio to minimize visual distraction and maintain the movement's oral tradition. Indonesian Tablīghīs cultivate public presences on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube for transnational coordination, community documentation, and strategic rebranding against negative stereotypes. Despite these differences, both communities share fundamental orientations—treating digital tools as instruments for da'wah rather than alternatives to embodied practice, maintaining wariness of fitna, and prioritizing internal community building. The article argues these patterns represent local adaptations of a shared transnational ethos, revealing digital engagement as active appropriation rather than passive adoption. The study contributes to digital religion scholarship by complicating secularization narratives and showing how conservative movements creatively integrate technology to preserve—rather than abandon—traditional commitments to khurūj (missionary journeys) and face-to-face preaching.

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Journal Info

Abbrev

dmr

Publisher

Subject

Religion Arts Humanities Social Sciences

Description

Digital Muslim Review focuses on a landscape view of Islam and Muslim societies in a digital world, paying attention to how its various approaces embody new ways of analysis and critical thinking. The journal discusses ongoing debates in digital Islam within the Muslim world, such as defining the ...