Over and over again, there are warnings about the terror of the state and the situation of the end times. A tactic for mass recruitment of pilgrims. They are threatened with post-death punishment and luring pleasure in righteousness. Modernity brings people to the dream of progress and prosperity. However, modernity has not been able to answer future historical problems and religious challenges.
The digitalization of life forces people to give their time and thoughts to social media. Regarding economic income, fulfilling the latest information, political issues, and spiritual needs depend on the communication media system. Then it is used as an articulative means for someone to express himself, up to the surge of da’wah to market ideology to a broader market.
Da’wah contestation is not only about ideology but also about popularity and economic motives. The flood of information should be grateful for as a necessity of technological progress; on the contrary, it becomes anxiety when the media becomes the object of the loss of information expertise and intellectuality. People are fed hoaxes that easily ignite emotions and tend to sharpen conflict to anarchism behaviour.
There is no ideal standard of da’wah value for public consumption. The more real divisions occur when religion is increasingly fragmented. The media is the cause of the gap in the appearance of formality and the quality of da’wah. Plus, the fanaticism of the people who are low in literacy and lazy to think contextually. As a result, politics can easily manipulate religion to get votes in elections. Identity politics in the past few years is concrete evidence of the stuttering of people who are not ready for the rapid advancement of digital technology.
They idolised characters without knowing their real personality and believed and acknowledged the quality of one’s knowledge and faith from the manipulative media. Da’wah is designed in such a way as to influence people (doctrine) to be militant and brave against their enemies (at least those who have different ideologies). At least until now, religious conflicts are still the primary consumption in the digital world.
Narrative wars, arguments, and insults colour the social media noise because of their unwillingness to accept different views. Many preachers do not behave as spiritual figures emphasising unity rather than division. Provocative statements often spark conflict, which, if managed, can become a national debate. The media more or less removes the essence of da’wah, which calls for peace but is manipulated into an invitation to violence.
Artificial Intelligence’s Risk
Artificial Intelligence is a product of technology that can threaten humans themselves because of the inability to control them. User activities are recorded using a particular system whose data is processed by machines to influence ( and conquer) digital media consumers. Media capitalism has successfully mastered emotions to modern human behaviour by utilizing social media algorithms.
Social media provides personal satisfaction parameters for users through various features offered. Some thought that a figure’s value could be determined by the level of popularity on social media. Many of them actively indulge in sensations to be noticed by many people. They all become slaves of social media who always need recognition from others.
Social chaos often occurs when popularity is used as a parameter of one’s expertise. In the realm of religion, which is sensitive, it can change the paradigm of many people through da’wah without adequate competence. Everyone can claim to be a preacher. Everyone has the same potential to follow and be influenced by the “fake preacher” mindset.
Artificial Intelligence does not provide a place for people with a specific capacity to preach. However, all have the same role and function in the social media market. Those who offer interesting merchandise will quickly get the wider community’s attention, even if their knowledge level is unknown. That’s why many tend to pursue popularity first before improving quality.
When you already have influenced and can influence many people, do a procession to improve the quality of knowledge and faith as an essential requirement to become a preacher. Congregations or the public become victims of stuttering the da’wah‘s knowledge when explaining ambiguous and erroneous religions. Moreover, these mistakes are considered absolute truths, often contradictory and cause conflict.
In the digital era, Da’wah must consider a preacher’s knowledge. Distribute studies according to their knowledge capacity. It is not permissible to force it because of the status of popularity and the title of a cleric or cleric. Media is a tool that can help when used correctly; otherwise, it can cause havoc when misused.
Digital da’wah media began to spread on many social media platforms. Many figures appear without the standardization of competent preachers. Relying on visuals and the popularity achieved is not due to expertise but the influence of algorithms that make him an influential figure.
Nowadays, it is not only humans who are easily regulated and influenced by the media, religion and belief can also be controlled by the media. I don’t know if I want to make conflict or war. Humans already “hypnotized” will lose their minds because it is difficult to get out of it.
*translated by editor from Media Dakwah Digital – Dunia Santri.