Digitalizing Female Religious Authority: KUPI’s Gender-Responsive Fatwas and the Reconfiguration of Islamic Discourse in Indonesia

Ida Rochmawati; Imroatul Azizah

Article Details

Digitalizing Female Religious Authority: KUPI’s Gender-Responsive Fatwas and the Reconfiguration of Islamic Discourse in Indonesia

Authors:

Ida Rochmawati | Imroatul Azizah

Publisher:

UIN Kiai Ageng Muhammad Besari Ponorogo

Main Topics:

Religion | Other

Journal:

Al-Tahrir: Jurnal Pemikiran Islam Vol.26 Issue 1, pp.0-0

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

1/2026

Document Language:

English

Document ID (Org No.):

2001861982

pISSN:

1412-7512

Abstract:

 The digitization of Indonesia’s Islamic religious sphere has created a complex competition for authority. The Indonesian Congress of Women Ulama (KUPI) aims to reshape religious authority by producing and sharing gender-responsive fatwas through digital platforms. This study looks at KUPI’s digital methods for spreading these fatwas and how these methods influence a more inclusive Islamic conversation. Using a qualitative, case-study approach within KUPI’s digital ecosystem, particularly KUPIPedia and its social media channels, data was collected through systematic content analysis of digital outputs from 2017 to 2025. The analytical framework combines Fairclough’s Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) and Latour’s Actor-Network Theory (ANT) to explore how claims of authority are created through discourse and shaped by networks of people and non-human elements. The findings show that KUPI builds a model of shared and participatory authority through the ideas of ma’ruf, mubadalah, and true justice, supported by a network of 15 partner institutions. However, digitalization does not lead to a straightforward growth of influence. Social media algorithms often favor conservative content, and KUPI’s reach mainly focuses on the educated urban audience. Theoretically, this study reveals that digital religious authority is subject to debate and relational, rather than merely a product of technological democratization and methodologically offers a replicable CDA-ANT framework for analyzing the production of fatwas in the digital age.

Article Details

Digitalizing Female Religious Authority: KUPI’s Gender-Responsive Fatwas and the Reconfiguration of Islamic Discourse in Indonesia

Authors: Ida Rochmawati | Imroatul Azizah

Publisher: UIN Kiai Ageng Muhammad Besari Ponorogo

Main Topics: Religion | Other

Journal: Al-Tahrir: Jurnal Pemikiran Islam Vol.26 Issue 1, pp.0-0

Document Type: Article

Publication Date: 1/2026

Document Language: English

Document ID (Org No.): 2001861982

pISSN: 1412-7512

Issues

Authors:

Ida Rochmawati | Imroatul Azizah

Publisher:

UIN Kiai Ageng Muhammad Besari Ponorogo

Main Topics:

Religion | Other

Journal:

Al-Tahrir: Jurnal Pemikiran Islam Vol.26 Issue 1, pp.0-0

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

1/2026

Document Language:

English

Document ID (Org No.):

2001861982

pISSN:

1412-7512