Platform-Mediated Devotion and Institutionalized Charisma: Digital Rituals of Majelis Rasulullah in Indonesia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22373/jsai.v7i2.9900Keywords:
Digital Religion, Institutionalized Charisma, Majelis Rasulullah, Religious Ritual, PlatformizationAbstract
Digital religion research has extensively examined online preaching, religious influencers, and changing religious authority, but less attention has been given to how digital platforms mediate collective ritual and reproduce the charisma of deceased religious leaders. This study examines how Majelis Rasulullah SAW uses digital platforms to mediate devotional performance, ritual participation, and the institutionalized charisma of its founder, Habib Munzir Al-Musawa. It employed a qualitative case study based on digital observation and limited offline participant observation conducted from February to May 2026. The digital dataset comprised approximately 130 Instagram posts, content from the organization’s official website, and the YouTube livestream and live-chat interactions associated with the Thirteenth Haul Akbar of Habib Munzir. The data were analyzed thematically using Weber’s concepts of charismatic authority and routinization, Joosse’s concept of charismatic aristocracy, and Campbell’s framework of networked religion. The findings show that the website primarily functions as an informational archive, whereas Instagram facilitates ritual mobilization, logistical coordination, and post-event circulation. YouTube enables geographically dispersed audiences to follow and respond to the ritual synchronously while making religious intermediaries and devotional performances publicly visible. However, engagement metrics and live-chat activity indicate visibility and participation rather than direct evidence of devotion or charismatic recognition. The study argues that Majelis Rasulullah’s digital presence represents selective platformization: official digital channels extend established offline rituals by selecting and circulating event information, ritual images, religious figures, and organizational messages while maintaining institutional control over communication. Platform-mediated charisma is therefore reproduced through commemorative ritual, visible intermediaries, organizational curation, and the convergence of online and offline participation.
References
Aida, Bakhita, Ilyas Supena, and Muhammad Sulthon. 2024. “The Latest Religious Practices of Da’i Influencer and Content Creator in Digital Da’wah.” Jurnal Ilmu Dakwah 44(2):427–456. https://doi.org/10.21580/jid.v44.2.23378.
Alrissa, Ratu Syifa, Yunus Winoto, and Ute Lies Siti Khadijah. 2025. “Digital Religion and Virtual Communities: A Bibliometric Review of Online Religious Practices.” Al-Balagh: Jurnal Dakwah dan Komunikasi 10(1):119–148. https://doi.org/10.22515/albalagh.v10i1.10436.
Berger, Andrea, and Oren Golan. 2024. “Online Religious Learning: Digital Epistemic Authority and Self-Socialization in Religious Communities.” Learning, Media and Technology 49(2):274–289. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439884.2023.2169833.
Campbell, Heidi A. 2007. “Who’s Got the Power? Religious Authority and the Internet.” Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 12(3):1043–1062. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1083-6101.2007.00362.x.
Campbell, Heidi A. 2012. “Understanding the Relationship between Religion Online and Offline in a Networked Society.” Journal of the American Academy of Religion 80(1):64–93. https://doi.org/10.1093/jaarel/lfr074.
Campbell, Heidi A., and Alessandra Vitullo. 2016. “Assessing Changes in the Study of Religious Communities in Digital Religion Studies.” Church, Communication and Culture 1(1):73–89. https://doi.org/10.1080/23753234.2016.1181301.
Castells, Manuel. 2004. “Informationalism, Networks, and the Network Society: A Theoretical Blueprint.” Pp. 3–45 in The Network Society: A Cross-Cultural Perspective, edited by Manuel Castells. Cheltenham, England: Edward Elgar.
Febrian, Harry. 2024. “Visualizing Authority: Rise of the Religious Influencers on the Instagram.” Social Media + Society 10(4). https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051241286850.
Golan, Oren, and Heidi A. Campbell. 2015. “Strategic Management of Religious Websites: The Case of Israel’s Orthodox Communities.” Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 20(4):467–486. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcc4.12118.
Golan, Oren, and Michele Martini. 2020. “The Making of Contemporary Papacy: Manufactured Charisma and Instagram.” Information, Communication & Society 23(9):1368–1385. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2019.1567803.
Helland, Christopher. 2005. “Online Religion as Lived Religion: Methodological Issues in the Study of Religious Participation on the Internet.” Heidelberg Journal of Religions on the Internet 1(1):1–16. https://doi.org/10.11588/rel.2005.1.380.
Ibrahim, Murtala. 2024. “Islam in the Digital Infrastructure: The Rise of Islamic Cyber Practices in Northern Nigeria.” Religion, State & Society 52(2–3):114–132. https://doi.org/10.1080/09637494.2024.2353956.
Immergut, Matthew, and Mary Kosut. 2014. “Visualising Charisma: Representations of the Charismatic Touch.” Visual Studies 29(3):272–284. https://doi.org/10.1080/1472586X.2014.941561.
Joosse, Paul. 2014. “Becoming a God: Max Weber and the Social Construction of Charisma.” Journal of Classical Sociology 14(3):266–283. https://doi.org/10.1177/1468795X14536652.
Joosse, Paul. 2017. “Max Weber’s Disciples: Theorizing the Charismatic Aristocracy.” Sociological Theory 35(4):334–358. https://doi.org/10.1177/0735275117740402.
Kholili, Muhammad, Ahmad Izudin, and Muhammad Lutfi Hakim. 2024. “Islamic Proselytizing in Digital Religion in Indonesia: The Challenges of Broadcasting Regulation.” Cogent Social Sciences 10(1):2357460. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2024.2357460.
Mudhofi and Abdul Karim. 2024. “Transformation of New Media in Aswaja al-Nahdliyyah Da’wah: Strategies and Challenges in the Contestation of Religious Authority in Indonesia.” Islamic Communication Journal 9(1):133–146. https://doi.org/10.21580/icj.2024.9.1.22071.
Müller, Julia, and Thomas N. Friemel. 2024. “Dynamics of Digital Media Use in Religious Communities—A Theoretical Model.” Religions 15(7):762. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15070762.
Munawara, Andre N. Rahmanto, and Ign. Agung Satyawan. 2020. “Pemanfaatan Media Digital untuk Dakwah Pesantren Tebuireng: Studi pada Akun Media Sosial tebuireng.online.” KOMUNIKA: Jurnal Dakwah dan Komunikasi 14(1):29–45. https://doi.org/10.24090/komunika.v14i1.3226.
Mutamakin, Fahd Mohana S. Alahmadi, Aris Fauzan, and Bakhruddin Fannani. 2025. “From Pulpit to Digital Platform: The Routinization of Charisma Online among Indonesian Ulama.” Simulacra 8(2):317–331. https://doi.org/10.21107/sml.v8i2.31999.
Naamy, Nazar. 2023. “Da’wah on New Media and Religious Authorities in Indonesia.” Jurnal Ilmu Dakwah 43(1):268–280. https://doi.org/10.21580/jid.v43.1.18307.
Rizki, Ahmad, and Hasan Rusdi. 2024. “Digital Media Impact on Sufi Practices: Issuing Online Ijāzas for Dhikr Litanies.” Teosofia: Indonesian Journal of Islamic Mysticism 13(1):93–114. https://doi.org/10.21580/tos.v13i1.20860.
Shils, Edward. 1965. “Charisma, Order, and Status.” American Sociological Review 30(2):199–213. https://doi.org/10.2307/2091564.
Smith, David Norman. 1998. “Faith, Reason, and Charisma: Rudolf Sohm, Max Weber, and the Theology of Grace.” Sociological Inquiry 68(1):32–60. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-682X.1998.tb00454.x.
Stout, Daniel A., Judith M. Buddenbaum, Judith M. Mitchell, and Roger G. Tallman. 2008. “Approaches to the Study of Media and Religion: Notes from the Editors of the Journal of Media and Religion with Recommendations for Future Research.” Religion 38(3):226–232. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.religion.2008.05.011.
Syarif, Zainuddin, Abd Hannan, and Mubaidi Sulaeman. 2023. “New Media dan Representasi Budaya Islam Populer di Kalangan Pendakwah Muslim Milenial di Indonesia.” Jurnal Sosiologi Agama 17(2):257–276. https://doi.org/10.14421/jsa.2023.172-07.
Tee, Caroline. 2019. “Creating Charisma Online: The Role of Digital Presence in the Formation of Religious Identity.” Journal of Contemporary Religion 34(1):75–96. https://doi.org/10.1080/13537903.2019.1585104.
van Dijck, José. 2013. The Culture of Connectivity: A Critical History of Social Media. New York: Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199970773.001.0001.
Wahyudi, M. Agus, Sehat Ihsan Shadiqin, and Eka Srimulyani. 2025. “The Digital Transformation of Sufi Orders in Indonesia: A Typology of Cyber Sufism.” Teosofia: Indonesian Journal of Islamic Mysticism 14(2):273–300. https://doi.org/10.21580/tos.v14i2.28356.
Weber, Max. [1921] 1978. “The Nature of Charismatic Domination.” Pp. 226–235 in Max Weber: Selections in Translation, edited by W. G. Runciman, translated by Eric Matthews. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Fitria Zahrah Asyathri
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.
