FROM MOSQUE TO MEGABYTE: THE FRAGMENTATION OF RELIGIOUS AUTHORITY IN THE DIGITAL AGE

Abstract

This study critically examines the reconfiguration of Islamic religious authority within contemporary digital ecosystems, investigating how algorithmic visibility, platform logic, and engagement metrics reshape religious legitimacy, interpretive agency, and communal belonging. Employing a qualitative thematic analysis of recent scholarly literature alongside selected cases from digital da'wah, online fatwa distribution, and algorithmic mediation, the study delineates four pivotal structural transformations: the ascendancy of micro celebrity preachers, the decentralization of juristic authority, the commodification of religious knowledge, and the algorithmic stratification of the ummah. The findings demonstrate that religious discourse is not merely transmitted through digital infrastructures but is actively constituted and transformed by them, engendering hybrid forms of authority that synthesize theological erudition with digital capital. The study concludes by advocating for a fundamental reconstruction of theories of religious authority to accommodate the contemporary negotiation of Islamic power at the nexus of knowledge production, algorithmic visibility, engagement metrics, and platform governance.