Browsing by Author "Bhirawa Anoraga"

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    A Decade of Charitable Crowdfunding and Its Impacts on the Social Justice Trajectory of Islamic Philanthropy in Indonesia
    (Society for South-East Asian Studies, 2023-12-31) Bhirawa Anoraga
    This article aims to investigate the development of charitable crowdfunding and its impacts on Islamic philanthropy and its social justice trajectory in Indonesia. As the largest Muslim country in the world, Indonesia has thrived and undergone some legal and programmatic revolutions to promote social justice through Islamic philanthropy. However, this study demonstrates that the rapid growth of charitable crowdfunding in the last decade has some impacts on the social justice trajectory of Islamic philanthropy, particularly in the areas of inclusivity, sustainability, and governance. This study draws from the case of Kitabisa, the largest crowdfunding platform in Indonesia, by conduct-ing interviews with the founders and users and observing their online interactions on the platform and social media. This study also collects data on Muslim philanthropic Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) that actively used Kitabisa to raise funds, with special attention to Aksi Cepat Tanggap (ACT), one of Indonesia's largest Muslim philanthropic NGOs. This study found that the trend of crowdfunding has amplified the inclusive space in Indonesian philanthropy where Muslim NGOs actively provide social services and enact collaborations with non-Muslims. However, through crowdfunding, Muslim NGOs have become more accommodating toward short-term social programs or ‘charity’. The crowdfunding trend has also raised accountability and transparency issues in Indonesian philanthropy. This study argues that the broader involvement of grassroots actors, either individuals or informal communities, through crowdfunding explains its impacts on Indonesian Islamic philanthropy’s trajectory for social justice.
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    Building religious algorithmic authority through different religious community : new preacher and interfaith podcast in digitalizing Indonesia
    (Universitas Islam Internasional Indonesia, 2024) Moch Dimas Maulana; Bhirawa Anoraga
    Existing studies on religious authority often focus on the construction of Islamic religious authority within the Muslim community. The present study seeks to provide a distinct and contrasting perspective by arguing that Islamic religious authority can be built within a network of communities of different religions, which has been made possible through what Clay Shirky calls algorithmic authority. In contrast to conventional approaches to authority, algorithmic authority is grounded on individuals based on their influence and digital footprint determined by the number of followers, likes, shares, and comments generated by their content. This qualitative study employs digital ethnography to observe Ustadz Dennis Lim, a casino-boss-turned preacher, as its case study. My observations indicate that despite being initially unknown to the public, Dennis gained immense popularity following his appearance on a YouTube podcast with a non-Muslim influencer, Sumargo. Dennis’ popularity is evidenced by Google Trends data showing a significant increase in searches for his name. Within three months since then, he has appeared on some YouTube podcasts of four non-Muslim influencer channels, producing nine podcast videos and gaining more than 20 million views. This shows Dennis’ consistent efforts to build authority through interfaith podcasts with non-Muslim influencers on YouTube. Conversely, a notable decline occurred when Dennis do not appear in a podcast with these influencers for a long period. However, there was a remarkable increase in online searches for Dennis when he recommenced creating podcasts with them, creating a Ramadan podcast series that generated over 30 videos with more than 20 million views. The findings were generated from my Zoom online interviews with Ustadz Dennis Lim, his scheduling manager, and the media team. I also interviewed some of his offline congregants to understand their perspectives on Dennis’ podcasts with non-Muslim figures. The interviews reveal that such interfaith podcasts do not always denote the pluralist orientation of Indonesian Muslim netizens, as they hope that these non-Muslim podcasters will convert to Islam. Nevertheless, these interfaith podcasts have boosted Dennis’ popularity on social media, which in return has also constructed his authority among Muslim netizens in Indonesia.
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    Contested views on Islamic dress in contemporary Morocco : balancing Islam, modernity, and cultural identity
    (Universitas Islam Internasional Indonesia, 2024) Bouchouk, Oumaima; Bhirawa Anoraga
    This thesis explores the complex interplay between clothing, culture, and religion in Morocco, with an emphasis on the hijab and its evolving role and perception. Throughout history, clothing has served as a key indicator of social status, cultural identity, and personal expression, and its evolution reflects broader societal changes. This study traces the historical development of the hijab from its origins to contemporary manifestations, through analyzing its role as a symbol of identity, empowerment, and political expression. The research highlights the impact of colonialism and globalization on Moroccan dress, leading to a unique Moroccan-European hybrid fashion that mixes traditional and modern styles. The study also examines current debates and media representations surrounding the hijab in Moroccan society, while highlighting the diverse perspectives of supporters and opponents. This thesis is achieved through the use of a qualitative research approach, which includes historical analysis, case studies, and content analysis of media representations. It provides a comprehensive understanding of the hijab's role and significance in Morocco.
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    Crowdfunding for inter-faith peace : youth, networked social movement, and muslim philanthropy NGOs in contemporary Indonesia
    (State Institute of IslAccepted Manuscriptic Studies (IAIN) Salatiga, 2023) Bhirawa Anoraga
    This study exAccepted Manuscriptines the involvement of Indonesian youth and Muslimphilanthropy NGOs in the promotion of inter-faith harmony throughcrowdfunding. Crowdfunding or online fundraising has been rapidly growing inIndonesia. It has been used to respond to various issues, Accepted Manuscriptong which is religiousviolence. Oftentimes, when radical acts happened in Indonesia, people turnedto crowdfunding to express inter-faith solidarity and support. This study drawsfrom the concept of networked social movement to explain the characteristicsof crowdfunding cAccepted Manuscriptpaigns for inter-faith harmony. This concept highlightscontemporary online movements that are spontaneous, leaderless, and temporalin nature which is distinct from the well-organized movements commonly studiedby scholars. This study employs digital ethnography on cAccepted Manuscriptpaigns that respondedto religious violence in the largest crowdfunding platform in Indonesia, Kitabisa,which is complemented by interviews with the cAccepted Manuscriptpaign initiators and Muslimphilanthropy NGOs. This article argues that the characteristics of network social movement fit with the current youth generation that is assumed to be sociallyapathetic and more immersed in developing themselves and consuming media.Nevertheless, despite the spontaneous and temporal tenets, the youth’s inter-faithmovements were able to mobilize a significant number of donations and attractMuslim NGOs that were often perceived to be sectarian to support the inter-faithcAccepted Manuscriptpaigns. The findings of this study contribute to the studies on Indonesianyouth, IslAccepted Manuscriptic philanthropy, and the state of inter-faith relations in Indonesia,which was argued to be experiencing a conservative turn.
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    Islamic animation in Indonesia : navigating the tension between Da'wa and religious commodification
    (Universitas Islam Internasional Indonesia, 2023) Muhammad Wahyudi; Bhirawa Anoraga
    This thesis delves into the intricate interplay between da'wa and religious commodification within the realm of Indonesia's Islamic Animation. Coinciding with the rise of new media technologies, Muslims have diversified their da'wa approaches by leveraging various media channels, notably Islamic Animation
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    The future of artificial intelligence in/and of Islam : a view from muslim Southeast Asia
    (Indiana University Press, 2024-10-09) Bhirawa Anoraga
    The conference on “The Future of Artificial Intelligence in/and of Islam: A View from Muslim Southeast Asia” was held on July 2-4, 2024, at Universitas Islam Internasional Indonesia (UIII). The conference was initiated by the Faculty of Islamic Studies UIII in collaboration with Project 0100 led by Bart Barendregt (Leiden University, the Netherlands). The conference aims to “explore the dynamic intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and Islam … [and] discuss the profound implications arising from the co-production of digital and religious futures.” Barendregt also asserted that Southeast Asia was selected as the conference’s focus since “Southeast Asia [does] not only [have] a significant Muslim population … it is also very much at the forefront of digital technologies interacting with them in everyday practices.” The conference covered three main programs: Keynote Speeches, Panel Sessions, and Masterclasses. This writing focuses on the discussions in the keynote speeches and exclusive panel sessions, with more detailed explanations dedicated to the keynote speeches. Masterclasses focused primarily on technical and practical engagement directly with the audience.
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    The negotitation between piety and fun : the islamization of online game in contemporary Indonesia
    (Universitas Islam Internasional Indonesia, 2023) Rizal Fadlillah Nurhida; Bhirawa Anoraga
    Scholars on Muslim societies often highlight the use of new media by radical groups, while broadly, the internet is used more for accessing entertaintment and playing games. This study aims to investigate this often-overlooked use of the internet which i argue has been more significant as a strategy to propagate islam. Even Muslims who utilize this new media not only share Islamic da'wah content such as preaching videos, but they also participate in games, particularly online games. Even though it is widely accepted that games are against Islam, a decent Muslim will not engage in them since they will cause him to be inconsistent and ambivalent towards his Islamic rules, according to well-known scholarly views. However, it turns out that Muslims can negotiate while having fun; for example, in Indonesia, there are already social media influencers who play games while preaching. An example of how fun and piety are not as completely understood as they formerly were. With the continuing development of new media, particularly online games, which are becoming increasingly popular, it has been discovered that the impact of games is no longer limited to entertainment. Therefore, games, and particularly online games, can no longer be ignored, as in earlier studies that mostly only covered new media and fun piety in general, without mentioning online games specifically.