Digital Fatwas and the Transformation of Religious Authority in Contemporary Muslim Societies

Abstract

This article examines how digital fatwas transform religious authority in contemporary Muslim societies. The study begins from the problem that Islamic legal guidance is increasingly accessed through websites, social media, question-and-answer portals, searchable archives, short videos, and algorithmically mediated platforms, yet existing scholarship often treats online fatwas mainly as instruments of dissemination rather than as mediated forms of authority. Using a qualitative digital religion design, the study combines digital content analysis, netnographic observation, and thematic analysis of publicly accessible digital fatwa materials from institutional and non-institutional platforms. The findings show that digital fatwas reconfigure Islamic authority in four major ways. First, formal fatwa institutions become platformized through online consultation systems, searchable archives, thematic classification, anonymity, and digital service infrastructures. Second, the classical relation between the mufti and the questioner is transformed into networked Muslim publics, where fatwas circulate, are interpreted, and gain authority through wider audience participation. Third, digital media reshape Islamic legal reasoning by translating complex juristic deliberation into media-friendly formats marked by brevity, clarity, visibility, and shareability. Fourth, digital fatwas point toward future challenges of ethics, governance, artificial intelligence, privacy, accountability, and public trust. The article contributes theoretically by integrating Islamic legal studies, digital religion, and mediatization theory, arguing that contemporary fatwa authority must be understood through both classical juristic categories and digital media infrastructures.