Mediatized Da’wah: Muhammadiyah’s Digital Transformation through YouTube @MChannel1912

Abstract

The swift proliferation of digital media has altered the domain of Islamic preaching, transitioning da’wah from conventional religious venues to algorithmically influenced platforms that redefine the construction and negotiation of religious authority. This paper investigates how Muhammadiyah used @Mchannel1912 YouTube as a platform for mediatized da’wah, focusing on the reconfiguration of religious authority within the digital public realm. This study seeks to examine the techniques, obstacles, and ramifications of Muhammadiyah's digital involvement, emphasising the adaptation of institutional religious communication to media logic while preserving doctrinal integrity. This study utilises a qualitative methodology, including netnography, content analysis of specific YouTube videos, and comprehensive interviews with principal participants in digital da’wah creation. The analysis of data employed an interactive methodology of coding, categorisation, and interpretation, informed by the theoretical framework of mediatization of religion and digital religious communication. The findings indicate that Muhammadiyah’s YouTube strategy exemplifies a degree of partial mediatization, marked by the use of digital production processes while not entirely embracing interactive and algorithm-driven communication methods. This study theoretically enhances the literature on the mediatization of religion by introducing the idea of "partial mediatization," which elucidates how institutional religious actors selectively adjust to digital media contexts without completely assimilating platform logic. It enhances current studies by emphasising the micro-processes of interaction between media logic and institutional logic in organisational da’wah practices. The study also highlights the broader significance of mediatized da’wah for promoting moderate Islamic discourse, social justice, inclusion, and peaceful coexistence in contemporary digital public lifeThe rapid growth of digital technology has reshaped Islamic preaching, requiring adaptation to new communication patterns. This study aims to analyze the strategies and challenges of Muhammadiyah North Sumatra in utilizing the @Mchannel1912 YouTube channel within the framework of mediatized da’wah. Using a descriptive qualitative method, data were collected through literature review, digital observation, and in-depth interviews with key figures from the Muhammadiyah Tabligh Assembly, and analyzed through reduction, classification, interpretation, and conclusion drawing. Findings show that @Mchannel1912 reflects Muhammadiyah’s digital transformation through preacher training, contemporary content production, cross-platform promotion, and collaboration with young cadres and influencers. The novelty lies in its focus on the structured use of YouTube for regional digital da’wah, an area rarely explored in previous studies. Despite challenges such as low digital literacy, limited youth involvement, and weak interactivity, the channel enhances Muhammadiyah’s digital presence and promotes a modern, moderate, and progressive Islamic discourse. This study contributes to the literature on digital Islamic communication and offers practical insights for optimizing religious preaching in a digital society