Communicating Islam across Social Difference in Contemporary Indonesia

Abstract

Islamic preaching in Indonesia have extensively addressed message effectiveness, religious moderation, and digital authority, yet rarely explain how theological claims, moral classification, social recognition, and media circulation operate within one communicative process. This study examines how Islamic communication forms and negotiates moral boundaries in encounters with social difference in contemporary Indonesia. This resarchh uses a qualitative literature study with a conceptual approach. The findings show that preaching does more than transmit religious teachings: it assigns moral positions to those discussed and may shape whether they are treated as legitimate members, objects of correction, or socially suspect actors. Doctrinal boundaries do not necessarily produce exclusion because theological disagreement can remain separate from civic rights and everyday cooperation. Problems arise when judgments about beliefs extend to a person’s social worth, loyalty, or right to participate, a process identified here as moral spillover. Protection and coexistence also do not always amount to equal recognition when dominant groups retain unilateral authority to define the terms of acceptance. In digital settings, the force of moral labels is strengthened or challenged by the credibility of religious actors, platform structures, and the arrival of audiences outside the original setting. Islamic communication across difference is therefore better assessed by whether it preserves doctrinal conviction while allowing those being judged a meaningful opportunity to speak, respond, and influence shared social relations.