The Death of the Da ’ i : The Autonomization of Religious Messages within Cyberspace

 This paper attempts to explore the phenomenon of Islamic propagation (dakwah) on the Internet known as "e-dakwah." It problematizes the authority of religious messages within cyberspace vis a vis Internet’s anonymity. This 'cyber ethnographic' research shows that people in cyberscape are concerned more with the messages than their authors. This study confirms the autonomic truth of the messages as it is supported by Imam ‘Alī bin Abī Ṭālib’s popular argument “listen to what has been said, not who has said that." Consequently, the truth and acceptance of it in the dakwah activities or messages within cyberspace does not depend on the preachers (dā‘ī) and their professional capacity and intellectual knowledge, but on the object of dakwah (mad‘ū). This paper proposes the term “The death of the da’i,” which is adapted from Roland Barthes' term “The death of the author” in his image-music-text,  to discuss the phenomenon.


Introduction
GLOBALIZATION, which is marked by the innovation of information and communication technology, provides simplicity and easiness to human's life.Nowadays, information from all over the world can be accessed directly through our screens (televisions, computers, even cellular phones).The world now, as it is imagined by Marshall McLuhan, is like a "global village"1 which has no space and time boundaries. 2 The number means that Internet users in the world grown up to 1.052% in the last eighteen years 6 Many facilities provided by the Internet really attract many people (no matter how old are they, where they live, what their job, and any other boundaries) to use the Internet and to go online.This condition naturally has raised the so-called "cyber community." 7Do not want to leave behind, those "religious surfers" come together to join this new community.As Lorne L. Dawson mentioned, at least there are five promises provided by the Internet for religion: 8 spreading the Word, building new communities, boundary-breaking, virtual rituals and fostering a new religious consciousness.
A surprising fact about religion on the Internet was released by the Pew Internet and American Life Project, 9 which shows that some 28 million Americans have used the Internet to get religious and spiritual information and to connect with others on their faith journeys.Larsen called them "Religion Surfers," 10 who think key spiritual resources are more readily available online than offline. 116 To know the de tail about the Inte rne t usage statistics in the world, ple ase visit:: www.Inte rne tworldstats.com 7Like ly the same with what happe ne d in re al life , the cyber community also has its own social rule .For furthe r information about the te rm ‚cybe rcommunity,‛ see Burhan Bungin, Sosiologi Komunikasi: Teori, Paradigma, dan Diskursus Teknologi Komunikasi di Masyarakat (Jakarta: Ke ncana Pre nada Me dia Group, 2006) 11 64% of Re ligion Surfe rs belie ve that the Internet provide s e asie r acce ss to communication theory which asserts that "achieving a maximum target in the communication process, the message should be sent by a credible and attractive communicator. 18All these conditions, unfortunately, will not suitable in cyberspace at all.In cyberspace, anyone (even without any qualifications) may send religious messages.There is no obligation for people to attach their real identity on their messages and telling us that some messages are allowed and some others are not.In consequence, we cannot distinguish the good dā'ī from the bad one. 19The inevitable anonymity of the Internet messages, 20 make this problem even more complicated.Considering the inevitable anonymity of the Internet, it is then essential to question who has the authority to interpret those religious messages in cyberspace?

Methodology
Referring to John D. Brawer, 21 In this research, I use ‚cyber ethnography‛ 22 involving an in-depth interview and participant Risālah, 2001).
22 Using e thnography for re search in cybe rspace-as me ntione d by Witte lis appropriate with the fle xible concept of ‚fie ld‛ in e thnographic studie s and it is observation with the informants in cyberspace to access social meanings and behavior of certain cybercommunity.
Technically, in doing an in-depth interview, I used nonprobability sampling method which means taking the sample based on specific considerations. 23I mean by considerations here are some criteria proposed by Spradley for determining ‚good informant‛ for ethnographic interviews, such com plete inculturation, direct involvement, unknown culture settings, time efficiency and non-analytic. 24he interview conducted in Islam Chat room of Yahoo Messenger (Yahoo Messenger/ Yahoo Chat/ Categories: Religion & Belief/ Islam Chat) with the consideration that Islam Chat is a specialized room for discussing Islam in Yahoo Messenger.It was conducted in November-December 2010, using three different languages (Bahasa, English, and Arabic).Among 70 interviewees, there were only 31 valid interviews collected during the period.That refers to some barriers found during the interview: 1. Internet connection lost 2. Interviewee's decision not to talk to males 3. Interviewee's signing out of Yahoo Messenger with no clues 4. Interviewee's consideration that religion is a privacy  All the collected data were analyzed using communication and ethnographic approach-or as Bakti called it ‚ethnomethodology.‛ 25The approach is an important thing to do, because the message, Internet and dakwah are parts of communication studies.Furthermore, an ethnographic approach is used-as a function of ethnography itself-to build a systemic understanding about human's culture from insiders' point of view.26

Response In Communication and Dakwah's Studies
The term ‚communication,‛ which means an exchange of thought, feeling or information between one and the others that have common meanings and target, 27 has many classifications 28 including the communication of dakwah.As a process, communication involves at least five elements; the sender (communicator), message, media, receiver (communicant) and response (effects). 29Among these five, the response is the most critical element to know the effectiveness of the communication. 30n other words, we may confidently argue that the response is the primary goal of the communication process 31 In the communication discourse, the message itself (orally, written or symbolic) sometimes has been found problematic.One of the immerging problems is the recipients' response toward the messages.Many theories produced to explain this, such as the S -O-R (Stimulus-Organism-Response) theory.This theory says that the effect (of communication) is a specific reaction caused by a specific stimulus.Therefore, one could expect and predict the correlation between message and communicant's reaction. ThThe diagram below explains how the communicants respond the message: The above diagram clearly shows that the messages will go through several phases before the communicants respond to the messages.The expected response of the messages will not always be the same with the given stimulus, and even, communicants may utterly refuse the message and give no response.This theory, interestingly, emphasizes the significant role of the communicant in filtering the message.
Different from S-O-R theory, which stresses the role of communicant, the mass communication studies mostly acknowledge ‚the bullet theory,‛ which argues that communicants had no significant role in the communication process.It is called "bullet" theory because it sees that communicants passively respond to the fusillade of mass media messages.The primary assumption of this theory is that the components of communication (communicator, message and media) significantly influence the passive communicants. 32n 1967, using a Q-sort data collection procedure, William Stephenson conducted extensive research on audiences' attitude 32 Rakhmat, Metode Penelitian Komunikasi, 83.toward the media.From this research, Stephenson developed a "play theory," 33 showing that, the use of media as a tool to refrain and to escape from a busy world to "a play world."This theory inspires the future theory focusing on how the media is used and what kind of gratification can be gained from the media, which known as "uses and gratification theory." The uses and gratification theory claims that the media does not do anything to people, but people do things to the media. 34In other words, the effect of media is limited to what people permit to happen.This theory begins from the idea that everyone is an active selector to the media (entirely different from the bullet theory's point of view) and the audiences actively respond to the messages in the media.
There are three theoretical assumptions brought by uses and gratification theory.First, the audience of mass communication is active and goal-directed.Second, the audience of the member is responsible mainly for choosing the media to meet their needs.The third assumption, related to the other two, is that media compete with other sources to gratify audiences' needs.In other words, despite various options to gratify peoples' needs provided by the media, it is still the people hold final decision which to choose.
Going in the same vein as uses and gratification theory, Thayer, 35 Ravault, Hall, 36 Katz and Liebes, 37 Ang, 38 and also Bakti propose the ‚active-recipient theory,‛ which believes that mass media are not as powerful as they are imagined, their receivers are not passive but active, even, they may give a contradictory responses-as explained by the ‚boomerang effects theory.‛Bakti, in this context, stresses the fact that messages cannot be decoded equally, since the meanings are culturally, politically, socially, and psychologically contextualized by the individual recipient's circumstances. 39his active-recipient theory believed that receivers are not passive while receiving the messages.It is because-according to Thayer-the traditional model of communication (AB=X) is faulty or inadequate on some counts: First, the StimulusResponse (AB) model of communication just doesn't fit the facts.A may say something to B. We would not want to question the ‚reality‛ of A's utterance.However, we also need to understand that what B hears or how he interprets what he hears is ultimately a product of B and not of A. Second, we have to recognize the fact that A's utterance does not fall upon even a temporarily inactive or relatively ‚blank‛ mind.Quite the contrary.A's statement can be meaningful to B only to the extent that (1) B has developed over time the required mental ‚wherewithal‛ to apprehend and comprehend A's utterance in the context in which it occurs; and (2) B's mind is active.Third, it should be evident that who is doing the communicating has considerable upon how B interprets the utterance.One can readily accept a controversial statement made by a friend, but might boldly disagree with the same statement made by someone he/she dislikes or distrusts. 40Based on those previous theories (on how individuals actively respond to the messages in a communication process) in mind, now I would like to critically see how mad'ū (as the receiver) respond to the religious messages from the dā'ī.
Theoretically, dakwah activity is the communication process in its particular understanding. 41Therefore to give a comprehensive understanding of how the communicant from responding to the messages, we will see how the response (of the message) in dakwah studies.
Regarding the Islamic history, the successfulness of dakwah has been depended on the dā'ī (as a subject of dakwah). 42Thus, to give a maximum result, the message of dakwah should be delivered by those dā'īs who have high qualification in Islamic sciences and good spirituality. 43However, at this point, I would like to argue that the phenomenon of using technologies in dakwah activities, such as the use of the Internet for dakwah, has given us a new paradigm of the dakwah successfulness.In this context, the dā'ī is no longer the main factor for dakwah messages to be wholly accepted by mad'ū (the recipient of dakwah messages) since mad'ū critically responds the dakwah messages by interpreting those messages according to his/her needs.
Ali bin Abi Thalib's popular argument ‚see what has been said NOT to see who has said‛ 44 encourages readers to be active and objective recipients while receiving the messages, without being affected by the message senders.For Muslims, this argument is obviously following the teaching of Islam as mentioned in some Quranic verses: (Q.S al-A'lā, 9), 45 (al-Ghāshiyah, 22-23), 46 and (Āli 'Imrān, 20). 47

Cyber-cleric Under the Shadow of Anonymity
Following the example of the dakwah of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), there are at least two determinant factors of his successful dakwah activities.First, Muhammad's consistency to do dakwah code of ethics.Second, Muhammad's exemplary for his companions.
The term dakwah code of ethics refers to some of the Quranic guidance on dakwah activities.Ali Mustafa Yaqub said that there are, at least, seven dakwah codes of ethics according to the Quran; not to be inconsistent between words and actions (Q.s.al-Baqarah, 44; al-Ṣaff, 2-3), not to abuse those whom they call upon besides Allah (al-An'ām, 108), not to expect for rewards (Q.s.Saba ', 47,  Shu'arā', 109, 127, 145, 164, 180 and Hūd, 29 & 51), not to compromise in matters of faith (Q.s.al-Kāfirūn, 1-6), not to do any social discrimination (Q.s.'Abasa, 1-2, al-An'ām, 52, and al-Kahfi, 28), not to be a friend with the immoral (Q.s.al-Mā'idah, 78-79), not to deliver the unknown things (Q.s.al-Isrā', 36). 48Further, Tata Sukayat said that dā'īs should have, at least, 35 kinds of virtues and avoid 42 kinds of disgraceful characters. 49Fuad Kauma said that there are 15 kinds of evil characters might destroy the sacred image of the 'ulama. 50hose factors as mentioned above, I would like to underline, unfortunately, may not be applicable when the dā'ī go into the cyberspace because the cyberspace is naturally a cross-geographic, ethnic, and ethics space.People could not differentiate the ‚true dā'ī‛ from the fake ones in this space, moreover, to ensure their dakwah code of ethics.
be anonymous.In short, it has been and always be an integrated part of the Internet, any efforts to drag it out of Internet obviously would give no results.In the context of dakwah, this condition is indeed a big challenge for the Muslim cyber clerics.So how dā'ī address this issue?
To answer this, first of all, I would like to underline the fact that the most common ways to do dakwah in the cyberspace (even there are many facilities could be used for dakwah) is by delivering religious messages through articles on websites, blogs or mailing lists.Consequently, the dā'ī should be able to provide religious articles that could meet their cyber communities' tastes.
Based on this research, there are some requirements for religious articles to be able to meet the cyber communities' taste.Interviews with the netters and the web-based survey conducted in this research reveal that there are at least five important criteria of an excellent online religious article: 1. Valid.The article should not only be informative but also supported by authoritative and valid references from Quran, Sunnah, or any other Islamic references.2. Objective.The article should be able to provide a comprehensive, smart, and inspiring analysis of the topic being discussed.That also should be free from the subjective dogma of particular Muslim groups.3. Contextual.The readers prefer to read articles about Islam that are relevant to their current social contexts.Because, most of the time, they expect some answers to their current problems while reading the articles.4. The article should be presented in a peaceful way of writing, using standard and understandable terminologies and less Arabic terms.Also, it will be more attractive if the article complemented with some visualizations (like picture, voice, or video).5.Last but not least, a good article according to the netizen, should have a clear identity.Not only the identity of the article's author but more than that, the identity of the supporting organization of the website that publishes the article.
Putting those characteristics into account, we may conclude that the so-called dakwah code of ethics and exemplary of dā'ī are not applicable in cyberspace and that, basically, due to the absence of the dā'ī physical existence.However, the absence of the dā'ī does not influence the objective receptions of their messages.The data illustrates that 57% of the respondents see that the messages are more important than the authors themselves.On the other hand, 11% of them view the importance of the authors more than the messages.Meanwhile, 27% view both messages and authors are equally important.
Following up this finding, I would argue that readers' objectivity toward the message gives a positive implication on bringing back the objective meaning of the message regardless their subjectivity, fanaticism and the authority of the authors.Regarding the influence of the author, 49% of the respondents admitted that the authors indeed influenced their understanding of the messages.Meanwhile, 29% of them admitted the contrary.
Other than giving positive implication on the objective meanings of the article, this finding also confirms the validity of S -O-R theory, the uses and gratification theory and also the activerecipient theory, which emphasize on the critical attitude of the readers.They respond the message not with ‚blank mind‛ as Lee Thayer said : "The objects and events of our worlds are entire without meaning in their raw event-data form.It is people who create and attach or assign meaningfulness to them.The way a person puts words together is a product of him.However, the way in which a receiver understands those words is a function of the receiver, not of the originator.The originator may create the event -data, but the receiver creates the meaning that event-data has for him.Moreover, that is what counts in communication.‛ 51 In the context of dakwah, this finding confirms my hypothesis that the greatness and the attractiveness of the dā'ī are less important compared to mad'ū quality in processing and interpreting the message.Therefore, the successfulness of dakwah no longer depends on the dā'ī but mad'ū.In such cross-identity space, mad'ū/communicants freely explore many things for his/her spiritual needs with less attention to the quality of the dā'ī behind the messages.I call this phenomenon as the death of the dā'ī.

Conclusion
The doctrine of the universality of Islam should not be understood only from its substantial meaning that Islam is relevant for all times and places (ṣāliḥ li kulli zamān wa makān), but also from the fact that dakwah of Islam should cover anyone in the world, including the digital world or cyberspace.The rejuvenation of dakwah methods at this point becomes the necessary corollary to the intersection of Islam and current technology, only then, Islam will stand still in front of the unstoppable development of technology.This current research on how Muslims respond to religious messages in cyberspace becomes one manifest token of how dakwah activity should be seriously revisited.
One explicit consideration this article would like to emphasize is that Muslims in the digital era should be the active receivers of religious messages.They are strongly encouraged to actively contextualize what they got about religion from any media channels.The death of the dā'ī, in this context, should be followed with the rise of the better mad'ū.Because, answering this paper's main question, mad'ū holds the absolute authority to interpret the religious messages in cyberspace.Here, media literacy becomes socially and religiously compulsive project to educate Muslims to wisely use the media and finally able to comprehensively understands and produce a comprehensive interpretation of religious messages in cyberspace.
, 159. 8 Lorne L. Dawson, ‚Doing Re ligion in Cybe rspace : The Promise and the Pe rils,‛ The Council of Societies for the Study of Religion Bulletin 30, no. 1 (2001): 3-9, and compare it with Syarif Hidayatullah and Zulfikar S. Dharmawan, Islam Virtual: Keberadaan Dunia Islam di Internet (Ciputat: Mifta, 2004).9 Se e http://www.pewInte rne t.org/re ports/re ports.asp,Ele na Larse n, ‚Cybe rfaith: How Ame ricans Pursue Re ligion Online ,‛ in Religion Online: Finding Faith on the Internet , e d.Lorne L. Dawson and Douglas E. Cowan (Ne w York: Routle dge , 2004), 17-20. 1025% of Inte rnet users have gotte n re ligious or spiritual information online at one point or anothe r.More than 3 million pe ople a day ge t re ligious or spiritual mate rial, up from the 2 million that re ported last ye ar.For comparison's sake , it is inte re sting to note that more pe ople have gotte n re ligious or spiritual information online than have gamble d online , use d We b auction site s, trade d stocks online , place d phone calls on the Inte rne t, done online banking, or use d Inte rne t-base d dating se rvice s.

Figure 1 .
Figure 1.Islam Chat Room in Yahoo Me sse nge r