FROM FRAMING TO FLAMING IN THE CROSS-THEOLOGICAL DEBATE: HOW ARE CHRISTIAN PRINCE’S COMMENTARIES REPRESENTED THE QUR’AN ON YOUTUBE?

Article Sidebar

PDF
Published: 2023-02-20
DOI: https://doi.org/10.22373/jiif.v23i1.14707
Keywords:
Christian Prince, Framing to Flaming, The Cross-theological Debate, The Qur’an, YouTube

Main Article Content

Abdul Muiz Amir
Institut Agama Islam Negeri (IAIN) Kendari
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2396-8124
Fatira Wahidah
Institut Agama Islam Negeri (IAIN) Kendari
Muhammad Zakir
Universiti Islam Sultan Sharif Ali (UNISSA) Brunei Darussalam
Faiq Ainurrofiq
Institut Agama Islam Negeri (IAIN) Ponorogo

Abstract

Christian Prince’s (CP) presence on YouTube opened a new chapter in Christian opposition actors who act as cross-theological debaters between Muslims and Christians who, for the previous two decades, were only dominated by Muslims. Through the narratives on YouTube, this Christian apologist tries to convince the public that the Qur’an contains contradictory statements as the holy book for Muslims. In response to such an issue, this research aims to investigate the construction of CP’s interpretation, which highlights the authenticity of the Qur’an. Qualitative content and thematic analyses and the framing approach developed by William A. Gamson were employed. Findings suggest that the representation of CP’s understanding of the Qur’an verses uses a decontextualization approach. Also, the vast knowledge of the Arabic language and literary translations further strengthen the narratives to convince the public of the allegations. However, instead of considering the historical context in understanding the scientific meaning of the Qur’an, this Christian apologist uses literal meaning as a framing device. This phenomenon has shown that cross-theological debates only provoke persistent inter-religious hatred and resentment. Therefore, such debates are inclined to trigger the propaganda of religious extremists.

Article Details

Issue

Vol. 23 No. 1 (2023): Jurnal Ilmiah Islam Futura

Section

Artikel

Author Biographies

Abdul Muiz Amir, Institut Agama Islam Negeri (IAIN) Kendari

Abdul Muiz Amir: He is currently working at Institut Agama Islam Negeri Kendari, Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia. He is currently Ph.D in Islamic Studies (Qur'anic and Hadith Studies) at Universitas Islam Negeri Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta-Indonesia. He performs work in the areas of Exegesis/Hermeneutics, Qur'anic and Hadith Studies, and Islamic Studies.

Fatira Wahidah, Institut Agama Islam Negeri (IAIN) Kendari

Fatira Wahidah: She is assistant professor at Institut Agama Islam Negeri Kendari, Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia. She is Ph.D and performs work in the areas of Exegesis/Hermeneutics, Qur'anic and Hadith Studies, and Islamic Studies.

Muhammad Zakir, Universiti Islam Sultan Sharif Ali (UNISSA) Brunei Darussalam

Muhammad Zakir: He is currently working at Department of Qur’anic and Sunnah Studies, Universiti Islam Sultan Sharif Ali (UNISSA) Brunei Darussalam. He is currently Ph.D in Qur'anic Studies at Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt. He performs work in the areas of Qur'anic exegesis studies.

Faiq Ainurrofiq, Institut Agama Islam Negeri (IAIN) Ponorogo

Faiq Aninurrofiq: He is currently working at Institut Agama Islam Negeri (IAIN) Ponorogo, Indonesia. He is Ph.D candidate in Islamic Studies (Qur'anic and Hadith Studies) at Universitas Islam Negeri Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta-Indonesia. He performs work in the areas of Arabic Linguistic, and Islamic Studies.

References

Al-Zaman, Md Sayeed. “Social Mediatization of Religion: Islamic Videos on YouTube.” Heliyon 8, no. 3 (2022): e09083.

Alias, Norlidah, Siti Hajar Abd Razak, Nurul Rabihah Mat Noh Kokila Kunjambu, and Parimaladevi Muniandy. “A Content Analysis in the Studies of YouTube in Selected Journals.” Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences 103 (2013): 10–18.

Ariyanto, Ariyanto. Analisis Framing. Edited by Nurul Huda SA. Yogyakarta: LKIS, 2002.

Aṭ-Ṭabarī, Muhammad bin Jarīr. Jāmī‘ Al-Bayān Fī Ta’Wīl Ayi Al-Qur’ān. Beirut: Mu’assasah al-Risalāh, 2000.

Az-Zamakhsyarī, Abū al-Qāsim Maḥmūd b. ‘Amrū b. Aḥmad. Al-Kasysyāf ‘an Ḥaqāiq Gawāmiḍ at-Tanzīl. Cet. III. Beirut: Dār Kitāb al-‘Arabī, 1986.

Behr, Hartmut, and Lars Berger. “The Challenge of Talking about Terrorism: The EU and the Arab Debate on the Causes of Islamist Terrorism.” Terrorism and Political Violence Vol. 21, no. 4 (2009): 539–57. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/09546550903153001.

Bryant, M. Darrol. “Can There Be Muslim-Christian Dialogue Concerning Jesus/Isa?” In Muslim-Christian Dialogue: Promise and Problems, edited by M. Darrol Bryant and S. A. Ali, 161–175. St. Paul: Paragon House, 1998.

Budiawan, Budiawan. “New Media and Religious Conversion Out of Islam Among Celebrities in Indonesia.” IKAT: The Indonesian Journal of Southeast Asian Studies 3, no. 2 (2020): 189–99.

Charentenay, Pierre. “Religions, Terrorism and War.” Studia Teologiczno-Historyczne Śląska Opolskiego 37, no. 2 (2017): 65–75.

Cornille, Catherine. The Wiley-Blackwell Companion to Inter-Religious Dialogue. Vol. 120. Chichester: Wiley Online Library, 2013.

Elius, Mohammad, Issa Khan, and Mohd Roslan Mohd Nor. “Interreligious Dialogue: An Islamic Approach.” KATHA-The Official Journal of the Centre for Civilisational Dialogue 15, no. 1 (2019): 1–19.

Entman, Robert M. “Framing Bias: Media in the Distribution of Power.” Journal of Communication 57, no. 1 (2007): 163–73. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.2006.00336.x.

Fachin, Melina Girardi, and Flávia Cristina Piovesan. “Human Rights, Religion and Terrorism.” Estudos Teológicos 60, no. 1 (2020): 156–74. https://doi.org/http://dx.doi.org/10.22351/et.v60i1.3894.

Gamson, William A., and Andre Modigliani. “Media Discourse and Public Opinion on Nuclear Power: A Constructionist Approach.” American Journal of Sociology 95, no. 1 (1989): 1–37. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1086/229213.

Gamson, William A. “Media Discourse as a Framing Resource.” In The Psychology of Political Communication, edited by Ann N. Crigler, 120–21. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press, 1996.

———. “News as Framing: Comments on Graber.” American Behavioral Scientist 33, no. 2 (1989): 157–61. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764289033002006.

———. Talking Politics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992.

Hasan, Ahmad Husni Haji, Kolej Islam Darul Ridzuan HEP, and Bukit Chandan. “An Islamic Perspective of the Interfaith Dialogue Amidst Current Inter-Religious Tensions Worldwide.” Global Journal Al-Thaqafah 1, no. 1 (2011): 25–35.

Hwang, Jiyeon, Hangjung Zo, Keesung Kim, Hwansoo Lee, and Andrew P. Ciganek. “Cyber Neutralisation and Flaming.” Behaviour & Information Technology 35, no. 3 (2016): 210–24. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/0144929X.2015.1135191.

Kim, Sung-Min, J. B. Banawiratma, and Dicky Sofjan. “Religious Pluralism Discourse in Public Sphere of Indonesia: A Critical Application of Communicative Action Theory to Inter-Religious Dialogue." Vol. 2. 2018.” Religió: Jurnal Studi Agama-Agama 10, no. 2 (2020): 158–88.

Landes, R. “What Happens When Jesus Doesn’t Come: Jewish and Christian Relations in Apocalyptic Time.” Terrorism and Political Violence Vol. 14, no. 1 (2002): 241–74. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/714005601.

Larkin, Brian. “Ahmed Deedat and the Form of Islamic Evangelism.” Social Text 26, no. 3 (2008): 101–21.

Mosemghvdlishvili, Lela, and Jeroen Jansz. “Framing and Praising Allah on YouTube: Exploring User-Created Videos about Islam and the Motivations for Producing Them.” New Media & Society 15, no. 4 (2013): 482–500. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444812457326.

Mustapha, Maziah, and Mohd Abbas Abdul Razak. “A Critical Appraisal of Zakir Naik’s Islamic Evangelism.” International Journal of Islamic Thought 15, no. 1 (2019): 71–83.

Musthafa, Jasbeer. “Mediation and Muhammad’s Message: Characteristics of Online Islamic Evangelism Consumed by Indian Youth.” Jurnal Pengajian Media Malaysia 16, no. 1 (2014): 13–24.

Nasr, Seyyed Hossein. “Islamic-Christian Dialogue: Problems and Obstacles to Be Pondered and Overcome.” Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations 11, no. 2 (2000): 213–27.

Neumaier, Anna. “The Big Friendly Counter-Space? Interreligious Encounter within Social Media.” Religion 50, no. 3 (2020): 1–22. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/0048721X.2020.1754605.

Paolillo, John C. “Structure and Network in the YouTube Core.” In Proceedings of the 41st Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS 2008), 156–156. Waikoloa: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE Xplore)), 2008. https://doi.org/doi: 10.1109/HICSS.2008.415.

Prince, Christian. The Deception of Allah Volume 1: A Book Muslim’s Do Not Want You to Read. Kindle Edi. Kindle, 2017.

Ratcliff, Amanda Jo, Josh McCarty, and Matt Ritter. “Religion and New Media: A Uses and Gratifications Approach.” Journal of Media and Religion 16, no. 1 (2017): 15–26. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/15348423.2017.1274589.

Ryan, Charlotte, and William A. Gamson. “Are Frames Enough?” In The Social Movements Reader: Cases and Concepts, edited by Jeff Goodwin and James M. Jasper, 3rd editio., 136–42. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 2015.

Rydz, Elżbieta, Rafał Piotr Bartczuk, Beata Zarzycka, and Anna Wieradzka-Pilarczyk. “Readiness to Engage in Interreligious Dialogue Test–Internal Structure, Reliability and Validity.” Mental Health, Religion & Culture 22, no. 5 (2019): 1–19. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/13674676.2019.1586861.

Sadouni, Samadia. “Ahmed Deedat, Internationalisation, and Transformations of Islamic Polemic.” Journal of Religion in Africa 43, no. 1 (2013): 53–73.

Saeed, Abdullah. Interpreting Qur’an: Towards a Contemporary Approach. London & New York: Routledge Publishing, 2006.

Shihab, Alwi. Islam Inklusif: Menuju Sikap Terbuka Dalam Beragama. Bandung: Mizan Publishing, 1999.

Smith, Henry Preserved. “The Apologetic Interpretation of Scripture in Islam and in Christianity.” The Journal of Religion 4, no. 4 (1924): 361–71.

Stout, Daniel A., and udith M. Buddenbaum. “Media, Religion, and Framing.” Journal of Media and Religion 2, no. 1 (2003): 1–3. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1207/S15328415JMR0201_1.

Suermann, H. “Muhammad in Christian and Jewish Apocalyptic Expectations.” Islam and Christian‐Muslim Relations 5, no. 1 (1994): 15–12. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/09596419408721018.

Swidler, Leonard. “Deep-Dialogue/Critical-Thinking/Emotional-Intelligence/Competitive-Cooperation: The Most Authentic Way to Be Human.” In Dialogue for Interreligious Understanding, 35–45. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2014.

Theobald, Simon. “Faith, Interfaith, and YouTube: Dialogue, or Derision?” Literature & Aesthetics 19, no. 2 (2011): 326–42.

Tsuria, Ruth. “The Space Between Us: Considering Online Media for Interreligious Dialogue.” Religion 50, no. 3 (2020): 437–54.

Wani, Hilal, Raihanah Abdullah, and Lee Wei Chang. “An Islamic Perspective in Managing Religious Diversity.” Religions 6, no. 2 (2015): 642–56.

Westerlund, David. “Ahmed Deedat’s Theology of Religion: Apologetics Through Polemics.” Journal of Religion in Africa 33, no. 3 (2003): 263–78.

Zayd, Nashr Hamid Abu. Isykaliyāt Al-Qirā’ah Wa Āliyāt at-Ta’wīl. Beirut: Al-Markaz aṡ-Ṡaqāfī al-‘Arabī, Dār al-Baiḍā,’ 2014.

———. Mafhūm An-Naṣ: Dirāsah Fi ‘Ulūm Al-Qur’Ān. Beirut: Al-Markaz aṡ-Ṡaqāfī al-‘Arabī, Dār al-Baiḍā,’ 2014.