Digital Patriarchy: How Indonesian Islamic Preachers Construct Gender Asymmetry through YouTube Fatwas
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14421/ahwal.2025.18106Keywords:
Fatwa, gender bias, spousal relation, marital authority, family law, Islamic preacherAbstract
Social media has emerged as a new platform for religious figures to disseminate fatwas (Islamic legal opinions). These platforms undoubtedly facilitate public access to pragmatic answers regarding Islamic legal issues. However, the credibility of fatwas issued on social media is frequently contested, particularly concerning gender bias. This study examines religious figures’ fatwas on YouTube about spousal relations through the lens of feminist theory. Employing a qualitative empirical approach, the research utilizes netnography as its data collection method. The findings reveal that most religious figures’ fatwas on position the wife in a state of economic dependence on her husband, while relegating her to domestic roles with obligations centered on fulfilling spousal domestic needs, particularly sexual demands. Such narratives starkly contradict principles of gender equality and perpetuate bias by potentially disregarding wives’ sexual agency. These fatwas stem from conservative interpretations of Q.S 4:34 by religious figures.
[Media sosial muncul sebagai platform baru bagi tokoh agama untuk menyebarkan fatwa (pendapat hukum Islam). Platform ini memudahkan akses publik terhadap jawaban-jawaban praktis terkait persoalan hukum Islam. Namun, kredibilitas fatwa yang dikeluarkan di media sosial sering kali diperdebatkan, terutama terkait dengan bias gender. Penelitian ini mengkaji fatwa para tokoh agama di YouTube mengenai relasi suami-istri melalui perspektif teori feminis. Dengan menggunakan pendekatan kualitatif, dalam beberapa hal penelitian ini menerapkan bagian dari kerja netnography sebagai teknik pengumpulan data. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa sebagian besar fatwa yang disampaikan oleh para tokoh agama menempatkan istri dalam posisi ketergantungan ekonomi terhadap suaminya, sekaligus membatasi perannya pada ranah domestik dengan kewajiban yang berfokus pada pemenuhan kebutuhan rumah tangga suami, khususnya kebutuhan seksual. Narasi semacam ini secara jelas bertentangan dengan prinsip kesetaraan gender dan memperkuat bias dengan berpotensi mengabaikan agensi seksual istri. Fatwa-fatwa tersebut berakar pada tafsir konservatif terhadap Q.S. 4:34 oleh para tokoh agama.]
References
Aeni, Azmi Ro’yal, and Maulana Ni’ma Alhizbi. “Hak Istri dalam Hubungan Seksual menurut Hukum Keluarga Islam.” Usroh: Jurnal Hukum Keluarga Islam 7, no. 1 (June 30, 2023): 27–40. https://doi.org/10.19109/ujhki.v7i1.17743.
Akmaliah, Wahyudi. “The Demise of Moderate Islam: New Media, Contestation, and Reclaiming Religious Authorities.” Indonesian Journal of Islam and Muslim Societies 10, no. 1 (May 29, 2020): 1–24. https://doi.org/10.18326/ijims.v10i1.1-24.
Al-Bukhari, Abu Abdillah Muhammad ibn Ismail. Shahih Al-Bukhari. Jilid 1. Damaskus: Dar Ibnu Katsir, n.d.
Al-Mahalli, Jalaluddin. Tafsir Al-Jalalain. Surabaya: Nurul Huda, n.d.
Andi Muh. Taqiyuddin BN, and Abdul Syatar. “Perbedaan Fatwa dan Qada serta Implementasinya di Indonesia.” Comparativa: Jurnal Ilmiah Perbandingan Mazhab Dan Hukum 3, no. 1 (October 23, 2022): 1–23. https://doi.org/10.24239/comparativa.v3i1.23.
Andjariah, Sri. “Kebahagiaan Perkawinan Ditinjau Dari Faktor Komunikasi Pada Pasangan Suami Istri.” Jurnal Psikologi 1, no. 1 (2016). https://ejournal.up45.ac.id/index.php/psikologi/article/view/42.
Ansori, Ansori, and Muhammad Iqbal Juliansyahzen. “The Contestation of the Family Law Discourse in the Digital Age: Islam, State, and Gender.” Samarah: Jurnal Hukum Keluarga Dan Hukum Islam 6, no. 1 (2022): 244–72. https://doi.org/10.22373/sjhk.v6i1.9128.
Aulia, Rahma, and Nani Solihati. “Ketidakadilan Gender Terhadap Tokoh Perempuan Dalam Kumpulan Cerpen Perempuan Yang Memesan Takdir Karya W. Sanavero.” Diglosia: Jurnal Pendidikan, Kebahasaan, Dan Kesusastraan Indonesia 6, no. 2 (2022).
Azra, Azyumardi. Konteks Berteologi Di Indonesia: Pengalaman Islam. Jakarta: Paramadina, 1999.
Barlas, Asma. Believing Women in Islam: Unreading Patriarchal Interpretations of The. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2002.
Billah, Mu’tashim, and Mu’tashim Billah. “Complete and Incomplete Calculation: Expert Systems Apps on the Special Cases of Islamic Inheritance Law.” Al-Ahwal: Jurnal Hukum Keluarga Islam 16, no. 2 (October 12, 2023): 180–210. https://doi.org/10.14421/ahwal.2023.16201.
Cheong, Pauline Hope. “The Vitality of New Media and Religion: Communicative Perspectives, Practices, and Changing Authority in Spiritual Organization.” New Media & Society 19, no. 1 (2017): 25–33. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444816649913.
Connolly, Peter. “Aneka Pendekatan Studi Agama, Terj.” Imam Khoiri. Yogyakarta: LKiS, 2011.
Esack, Farid. “Islam and Gender Justice: Beyond Simplistic Apologia.” In What Men Own to Women: Men’s Voices from World Religions, 187–210. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2001.
Hadi, Solikul. “Bias Gender Dalam KonstruKsi HuKum Islam Di Indonesia.” Palastren: Jurnal Studi Gender 7, no. 1 (2016): 25–46. https://doi.org/http://dx.doi.org/10.21043/palastren.v7i1.997.
Handayani, Yulmitra. “Hukum Perkawinan Islam di Ruang Digital: Bias Gender Dalam Wacana Hukum Perkawinan Di Instagram.” Al-Ahwal: Jurnal Hukum Keluarga Islam 14, no. 2 (February 18, 2022): 112. https://doi.org/10.14421/ahwal.2021.14201.
Hasyim, Syafiq. “Fatwas and Democracy: Majelis Ulama Indonesia (MUI, Indonesian Ulema Council) and Rising Conservatism in Indonesian Islam.” TRaNS: Trans -Regional and -National Studies of Southeast Asia 8, no. 1 (May 8, 2020): 21–35. https://doi.org/10.1017/trn.2019.13.
Hayat, Muhammad Jihadul. “Preaching Islamic Legal Rules on Screen: Conservatism on Islamic Family Law in Digital-Based Dakwah Program Mamah Dan Aa Beraksi.” Al-Jami’ah: Journal of Islamic Studies 60, no. 2 (2022): 427–66. https://doi.org/10.14421/ajis.2022.602.427-466.
Ilkham Maulidan Syah. “Kewajiban Suami Memberikan Nafkah terhadap Istri yang Nusyuz Menurut Imam Syafi’i dan Ibnu Hazm,” 2024. https://syekhnurjati.ac.id.
Jinan, Mutohharun. “New Media Dan Pergeseran Otoritas Keagamaan Islam Di Indonesia.” Jurnal Lektur Keagamaan 10, no. 1 (2012): 181–208, https://doi.org/10.31291/jlk.v10i1.178.
Kaptein, Nico J G. The Voice of Theulamâ’: Fatwas and Religious Authority in Indonesia. Éditions de l’École des hautes études en sciences sociales, 2004. https://doi.org/10.4000/assr.1038.
Lanson, Lucienne. Dari Wanita Untuk Wanita. Surabaya: Usaha Nasional, 1987.
Mandaville, Peter G. “Digital Islam: Changing the Boundaries of Religious Knowledge?” Isim Newsletter, no. 2 (1999).
Muttaqin, Ahmad. “Women’s Identity in the Digital Islam Age: Social Media, New Religious Authority, and Gender Bias.” QIJIS (Qudus International Journal of Islamic Studies) 8, no. 2 (2020): 253–388, http://dx.doi.org/10.21043/qijis.v8i2.7095.
Rahman, Fazlur. Islam. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1979.
Ramadhan, Rafiki. “Upaya Wanita Karir Menjalankan Peran Ganda dalam Mewujudkan Keluarga Sakinah Perspektif Hukum Islam (Studi Kasus Sekolah Dasar 04 An-Namiroh Pekanbaru).” Universitas Islam Negeri Sultan Syarif Kasim Riau, 2022.
Randall, Collins. Sociology of Marriage and the Family: Gender Love and Property. Chicago: Nelson Hall, 1987.
Raya, Moch Khafidz Fuad. “Digital Islam: New Space for Authority and Religious Commodification among Islamic Preachers in Contemporary Indonesia.” Contemporary Islam 19, no. 1 (April 1, 2025): 161–94. https://doi.org/10.1007/S11562-024-00570-Z/METRICS.
Rusydiana, Naili Rosa Urbah, and Hadiana Trendi Azami. “Interpretation QS. an-Nisa’: 34 Perspectives of Amina Wadud Muhsin and The Implication of Her Thinking In Indonesia.” Jurnal Ushuluddin 29, no. 1 (July 30, 2021): 87. https://doi.org/10.24014/jush.v29i1.11931.
Sahiron. Hermeneutika Dan Pengembangan Ulumul Quran. Yogyakarta: Nawasea Press, 2017.
Setia, Paelani. “Membumikan Khilafah Di Indonesia: Strategi Mobilisasi Opini Publik Oleh Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia (HTI) Di Media Sosial.” Journal of Society and Development 1, no. 2 (2021): 33–45, https://doi.org/10.57032/jsd.v1i2.40.
Wadud, Amina. Qur’an and Women: Rereading the Sacred Text from a Women’s Perspective. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.
Wahbah Zuhaili. At-Tafsir Al-Munir Fi Al-Aqidah Wa Al-Syariah Wa Al-Manhaj. Jilid 9. Damaskus: Dar al-Fikr, 2003.
Wahid, Soleh Hasan. “Research Insights on Online Fatwas. A Comprehensive Systematic Literature Review.” Journal of Fatwa Management and Research 29, no. 1 (January 15, 2024): 23–46. https://doi.org/10.33102/JFATWA.VOL29NO1.570.
Wibisono, Yusuf. “Konsep Kesetaraan Gender Dalam Perspektif Islam.” Al-Mabsut: Jurnal Studi Islam Dan Sosial 6, no. 1 (2013): 97–112. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.56997/almabsut.v6i1.61.
Yazid, Mhd. “NEGLECTING WOMEN’S RIGHTS: Indonesian YouTube Preachers’ Legal Opinion on Polygamy.” Al-Ahwal: Jurnal Hukum Keluarga Islam 16, no. 1 (April 25, 2023): 69. https://doi.org/10.14421/ahwal.2023.16104.
Yoyo, Yoyo. “Neo-Patriarchy and the Problem of the Arab Crisis: A Critical Study on Hisham Sharabi’s Works.” QIJIS (Qudus International Journal of Islamic Studies) 6, no. 2 (August 24, 2018): 251. https://doi.org/10.21043/qijis.v6i2.3808.
Zaid, Bouziane, Jana Fedtke, Don Donghee Shin, Abdelmalek El Kadoussi, and Mohammed Ibahrine. “Digital Islam and Muslim Millennials: How Social Media Influencers Reimagine Religious Authority and Islamic Practices.” Religions 13, no. 4 (April 8, 2022): 335. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel13040335.
Zayd, Nasr Hamid Abu. “The Status of Women between Qur’an and Fiqh.” In Gender Equality in Muslim Family Law: Justice and Ethics in Islamic Legal Tradition, 153–68. London: I.B. Tauris, 2017.
“(21) Menyikapi Suami Yang Sudah Lama Tidak Memberi Nafkah Batin - YouTube.” Accessed January 8, 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84f-OzSZjgM&t=280s.
“(25) Suami Menolak Ajakan Istri Berhubungan Suami-Istri, Apakah Dosa? - Buya Yahya Menjawab - YouTube.” Accessed January 9, 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAt4rV8GDCg.
“(297) Kewajiban Istri - Ustadz DR Syafiq Riza Basalamah MA - YouTube.” Accessed July 27, 2025. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nym08XDIAx4&t=2335s.
“(303) Apakah Malaikat Juga Melaknat Suami yang Menolak Ajakan Istri | Ustadz Dr. Khalid Basalamah MA - YouTube.” Accessed July 27, 2025. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aqm6ARQLF8.
“(6) Hak-Hak Suami Atas Istri - Hikmah Buya Yahya - YouTube.” Accessed January 8, 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aafQnAPpMcs.
“(6) Inilah Ciri-Ciri Istri Sholihah - Ustadz Adi Hidayat - YouTube.” Accessed January 8, 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSJqZV7WBCY.
“(6) Larangan Egois Saat Berhubungan Suami Istri | Buya Yahya - YouTube.” Accessed January 8, 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiDoRbejUko.
“(6) Memperlakukan Istri Yang Nusyuz Pada Suami - Ustadz Dr. Syafiq Riza Basalamah, M.A. - YouTube.” Accessed January 8, 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9jPqayNO10.
“(6) Menuju Rumah Tangga Bahagia #30 : Kewajiban Suami & Kewajiban Istri (Part 1) - Khalid Basalamah - YouTube.” Accessed January 8, 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5I3m5sTQyjY.
“10 Negara Asia Dengan Penduduk Terbanyak Oktober 2023, Indonesia Juara Tiga.” Accessed January 8, 2024. https://databoks.katadata.co.id/datapublish/2023/10/03/10-negara-asia-dengan-penduduk-terbanyak-oktober-2023-indonesia-juara-tiga.
“Indonesia Peringkat Keempat Pengguna YouTube Terbanyak Dunia.” Accessed January 8, 2024. https://databoks.katadata.co.id/datapublish/2023/11/24/indonesia-peringkat-keempat-pengguna-youtube-terbanyak-dunia.
“Menuju Rumah Tangga Bahagia #31 : Kewajiban Suami & Kewajiban Istri (Part 2) - Khalid Basalamah - YouTube.” Accessed January 8, 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46SZ5-nJd3A.
“Suami Idaman Dimata Allah -Ustadz Adi Hidayat - YouTube.” Accessed January 8, 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-O9NzKjot44.
“Survei: 68 Persen Wanita Melakukan Orgasme Palsu - Medcom.Id.” Accessed January 8, 2024. https://www.medcom.id/rona/kesehatan/5b2VvErb-survei-68-persen-wanita-melakukan-orgasme-palsu.
“YouTube, Twitch, Twitter, & Instagram Statistics - SocialBlade.Com.” Accessed January 8, 2024. https://socialblade.com/.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Mohammad Bachrul Falah, Riyanta
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication. The works are simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
