cover
Contact Name
Saiful Mustofa
Contact Email
episteme@uinsatu.ac.id
Phone
+62335321513
Journal Mail Official
episteme@uinsatu.ac.id
Editorial Address
Jl. Mayor Sujadi No.46, Kudusan, Plosokandang, Kec. Kedungwaru, Kabupaten Tulungagung, Jawa Timur 66221
Location
Kab. tulungagung,
Jawa timur
INDONESIA
Epistemé: Jurnal Pengembangan Ilmu Keislaman
FOCUS Epistemé: Jurnal Pengembangan Ilmu Keislaman aims to strengthen transdisciplinary perspective on issues related to Islam and Muslim societies. The journal is committed to publishing scholarly articles dealing with multiple facets of Islam and Muslim societies with a special aim to expand and to deepen a transdisciplinary approach in the study of Islam as tradition, culture, and practice. It focuses on topical issues which include scholarship on classical and contemporary studies on Islam and Muslim societies and takes a transdisciplinary approach that benefits from a cross-cultural perspective. SCOPE Epistemé: Jurnal Pengembangan Ilmu Keislaman specializes in the study of Islam and Muslim societies and aims to strengthen transdisciplinary studies on Islam and Muslim societies. The published articles will explore the discussions on classical and contemporary Islamic studies from different socio-scientific approaches, such as anthropology, sociology, politics, international relations, ethnomusicology, arts, film studies, economics, human rights, law, diaspora, minority studies, demography, ethics, communication, education, economics, philosophy, and philology. Studies grounded in empirical research and comparison of relevance to the understanding of broader intellectual, social, legal, and political developments in contemporary Muslim societies reserve as the crucial scope of the journal.
Arjuna Subject : Umum - Umum
Articles 202 Documents
NEGOTIATED ISLAMIC AUTHORITY AND RATIONAL VOTING: Religious Leadership, Voter Typologies, and Local Democracy in Madura Holilah, Holilah; Marijan, Kacung
Epistemé: Jurnal Pengembangan Ilmu Keislaman Vol. 20 No. 02 (2025)
Publisher : UIN Sayyid Ali Rahmatullah Tulungagung, Indonesia

Show Abstract | Download Original | Original Source | Check in Google Scholar | DOI: 10.21274/epis.2025.20.02.%p

Abstract

The enduring influence of Islamic religious authority on local elections raises important questions regarding voter behavior in democratizing Muslim societies. While direct local elections are often associated with the emergence of rational, performance-oriented voting, religious leaders continue to shape electoral outcomes in many regions of Indonesia. Existing studies on Madurese politics predominantly emphasize the consistent and dominant role of kiai and pesantren, yet the interaction between religious authority and rational voting considerations across diverse social groups and geographic contexts remains underexplored. This study addresses this gap through a qualitative case study of local elections in Madura, employing in-depth interviews and participant observation with santri, university students, and community residents across four districts. The findings reveal that Islamic authority continues to influence voting behavior, albeit in a conditional and negotiated manner. Electoral decisions vary across social groups and between rural and urban areas, producing distinct rationales for candidate selection. This article identifies four voter typologies—traditional, rational, critical, and skeptical—and proposes a rationalization process that operates without secularization, indicating that increasing electoral rationality does not necessarily reduce religious authority.
PLATFORMIZED RELIGIOUS AUTHORITY: Rethinking Legitimacy in the Age of Social Media Influencers Sulfikar, Achmad; Yasmine, Daisy Indira
Epistemé: Jurnal Pengembangan Ilmu Keislaman Vol. 20 No. 02 (2025)
Publisher : UIN Sayyid Ali Rahmatullah Tulungagung, Indonesia

Show Abstract | Download Original | Original Source | Check in Google Scholar | DOI: 10.21274/epis.2025.20.02.%p

Abstract

The proliferation of social media has fundamentally reshaped the landscape of religious authority in Muslim societies, shifting the locus of legitimacy from traditional ulama and institutions to a new class of digital actors known as “religious influencers.” While existing scholarship, grounded in Weberian typology or early digital religion theories, has extensively documented the fragmentation of authority, these frameworks remain insufficient to fully account for the emergence of authority structures shaped by algorithmic logics. This article addresses this theoretical gap by critically reviewing the literature and proposing a novel conceptual framework, “Platformized Religious Authority.” We argue that contemporary religious authority is not monolithic but a hybrid negotiation of three intersecting dimensions: knowledge-based authority (traditional scholarship), charisma-based authority (performative piety), and platform-based authority (algorithmic visibility and engagement metrics). In Indonesia, this framework reveals how platform logic acts as a new gatekeeper, favoring content that is visually performative and affectively resonant, thereby commodifying theology and forming algorithmic enclaves. By integrating the perspective of platform studies from communication science into the sociology of religion, this study offers a more robust model for understanding how religious legitimacy is produced, maintained, and contested in the attention economy.