Digital Preachers and Authority: Reframing MUI’s Boycott Fatwa on YouTube

Rifqi Favian; Fahrizal Mahdi; Hanafi

doi:10.15408/ushuluna.v12i1.52980

Authors

Rifqi Favian Universitas Islam Internasional Indonesia
Fahrizal Mahdi UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta
Hanafi UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15408/ushuluna.v12i1.52980

Keywords:

Boycott, Indonesian Ulama Council, Religious digital authority, Buya Yahya, Guru Gembul

Abstract

This study analyzes how the 2023 fatwa issued by the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) on boycotting Israeli-affiliated products is reframed by digital religious authorities on YouTube, using Fairclough's three-level model of Critical Discourse Analysis. Data include the fatwa text, video narrations by Buya Yahya, Guru Gembul, and audience comments on their channels. At the micro level, MUI's cautious legal language is later sharpened into explicit moral condemnation of Israel, while Buya Yahya emphasizes conscience-based affective language and Guru Gembul adopts a rational-strategic register questioning the boycott's effectiveness. At the meso level, these differences stem from contrasting institutional positions: pesantren-based authority versus non-institutional commentary. At the macro level, this produces divergent audiences, homogeneous and affirmative for Buya Yahya, polarized and critical for Guru Gembul. The study shows how a single fatwa fractures into competing digital religious publics, with authority increasingly shaped by rhetorical strategy rather than credentials alone.

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