Negotiating Eschatology Online: Netizens' Reception of Ustadz Zulkifli Muhammad Ali's Youtube Da'wah

Authors

  • Ivan Sunata Institut Agama Islam Negeri Kerinci, Indonesia
  • Irta Sulastri Universitas Islam Negeri Imam Bonjol Padang, Indonesia https://orcid.org/0009-0004-3481-3656
  • Bukhari Universitas Islam Negeri Imam Bonjol Padang, Indonesia
  • Nurus Shalihin Universitas Islam Negeri Imam Bonjol Padang, Indonesia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9728-0736
  • Wakidul Kohar Universitas Islam Negeri Imam Bonjol Padang, Indonesia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.30983/fuaduna.v9i2.10107

Keywords:

Digital Da'wah, Audience Reception, Encoding/Decoding Theory, YouTube, Islamic Eschatology

Abstract

This study examines how YouTube audiences interpret eschatological Islamic da‘wah messages delivered by Ustadz Zulkifli Muhammad Ali within the digital public sphere. Employing a qualitative reception analysis, the research draws on Stuart Hall’s encoding/decoding framework to categorize audience interpretations into preferred, negotiated, and oppositional readings. The data were collected from user comments posted on the YouTube video “The End of the Age is Very Near” and systematically analyzed using NVivo 12 Plus. The findings reveal that negotiated and oppositional readings are more prominent than preferred readings, indicating a critical and reflexive mode of audience engagement. Many responses articulate skepticism, satire, and selective acceptance of the eschatological message, as viewers attempt to contextualize the da‘wah within broader social realities, religious knowledge, and contemporary concerns. These patterns suggest that digital da‘wah audiences do not merely consume religious messages but actively interpret, contest, and reframe them. This study contributes to the growing scholarship on digital da‘wah and religion online by demonstrating that religious meaning on social media is produced through dialogic and contested processes, where religious authority and interpretation are continuously negotiated in platform-mediated environments.

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Published

2025-12-30

How to Cite

Sunata, I., Sulastri, I., Bukhari, Shalihin, N., & Kohar, W. (2025). Negotiating Eschatology Online: Netizens’ Reception of Ustadz Zulkifli Muhammad Ali’s Youtube Da’wah. Jurnal Fuaduna : Jurnal Kajian Keagamaan Dan Kemasyarakatan, 9(2), 137–152. https://doi.org/10.30983/fuaduna.v9i2.10107

Issue

Vol. 9 No. 2 (2025): Desember 2025

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Copyright (c) 2025 Ivan Sunata, Irta Sulastri, Bukhari, Nurus Shalihin, Wakidul Kohar

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