Understanding The Delivery of Islamophobic Hate Speech Via Social Media In Indonesia

Abstract

Various pevious studies on Islamophobia have largely utilized Western perspectives. This occurrs owing to Islam and Muslims being a minority group that is considered a threat to the majority. This article discusses the delivery of Islamophobic hate speech via social media in the context of Indonesia, where the majority of the population are Muslims. The study found that Islamophobia on social media may be understood as a reaction against speeches by Islamic religious figures discrediting Christianity. Such Islamophobic articulation is considered a freedom of opinion, which is constructed on the ground of religion-based political polarization. Subsequently, this study brings into the literature a new understanding of Islamophobia within the context of Muslims as the majority and of netizens’ activities on social media in Indonesia. The research data were obtained by observing Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter timelines containing Islamophobic hate speech that went viral on social media. Berbagai penelitian sebelumnya tentang Islamophobia sebagian besar telah memanfaatkan perspektif Barat. Artikel ini mendiskusikan penyampaian ujaran kebencian Islamophobia melalui media sosial dalam konteks Indonesia sebagai negara yang mayoritas penduduknya penganut agama Islam (muslim). Penelitian ini menemukan bahwa Islamophobia di media sosial dapat dipahami sebagai reaksi terhadap ceramah dari pemuka agama Islam yang mendeskriditkan Kristen. Penyampaian Islamophobia tersebut dianggap sebagai kebebasan berpendapat yang dibentuk berdasarkan polarisasi politik berbasis agama. Sehingga, penelitian ini berkontribusi terhadap pemahaman baru tentang Islamophobia dalam konteks muslim sebagai mayoritas dan aktivitas netizen di media sosial di Indonesia. Data penelitian diperoleh dari pengamatan terhadap media social seperti Facebook, Instagram, YouTube dan Twitter yang memuat ujaran kebencian tentang Islamophobia yang viral di media social.