Digital Crisis, Interpretive Change

The Transformation of Tafsir Tarbawi and the Search for Ethical Pedagogy in Indonesia’s Islamic Digital Sphere

Abstract

The accelerating digitalization of Islamic discourse in Indonesia has profoundly transformed the ways in which authority, pedagogy, and ethical reasoning are articulated and negotiated within Qur’anic interpretation. This study explores how online Muslim communities reinterpret tafsir tarbawi (educational exegesis) and reassess the moral foundations of fiqh-based authority within the dynamics of digital modernity. Focusing on the #BoikotTrans7 controversy, the research employs a qualitative digital ethnographic approach that analyzes approximately 1,078 YouTube comments and discussions collected from five major channels associated with the event. The data were examined using Creswell’s model of thematic analysis to identify recurring moral narratives and patterns of ethical engagement.The findings reveal that initial expressions of moral outrage gradually evolved into participatory acts of ethical reflection, transforming digital platforms into spaces for collective pedagogy and communal moral reasoning. Participants frequently referred to central Islamic virtues such as humility (tawāḍu‘), justice (‘adl), and forgiveness (maghfirah), forming what this study conceptualizes as a “digital fiqh of pedagogy.” Although traditional kyai–santri hierarchies remain symbolically influential, moral legitimacy now circulates through affective, dialogical, and network-based interactions. The study concludes that Indonesia’s digital Islamic public sphere functions as a contemporary majlis al-fiqh, serving as a participatory environment where education, law, and ethics converge. By integrating tafsir tarbawi with Islamic legal ethics, this research offers fresh insight into the evolving relationship between faith, justice, and moral education in the age of digital mediation.

Keywords: Digital fiqh pedagogy, Tafsir tarbawi, Islamic authority in digital media, Socio-legal ethnography of Islam, Ethical interpretation and moral justice