Digital Religion and the Viral Spread of Religious Rhetoric: The Case of Mama Gufron on Indonesian Social Media
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26811/peuradeun.v14i3.2107Keywords:
Digital religion; Religious Rhetoric; Mama Gufron; Social MediaAbstract
Digital platforms are reshaping how religious authority is performed, circulated, and encountered, yet increased online visibility cannot be assumed to constitute religious legitimacy. This study examined how religious rhetoric and platform visibility intersected in the negotiation of religious authority through the case of Mama Gufron, a controversial Indonesian preacher whose sermons gained substantial social media attention. Using qualitative content analysis combined with rhetorical analysis, the study analyzed six purposively selected videos from the official Pondok Pesantren Uniq Nusantara YouTube channel, focusing on argumentative structures, speech acts, and metaphorical expressions. The findings revealed four interrelated rhetorical patterns: the invocation of lineage, sanad, and kiai status; performative use of distinctive linguistic expressions; claims of supernatural authority; and emotional dramatization. These patterns showed how established markers of Islamic authority were rearticulated through digitally mediated performance and intensified platform visibility. The study interpreted this process through performative-mediated authority and advances viral piety as an analytical proposition linking religious performance, digital circulation, and authority negotiation without equating visibility with legitimacy. The findings contribute to international digital religion scholarship by explaining how culturally embedded religious authority interacts with transnational infrastructures of digital visibility.
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