Reconstructing Classical Sociological Theory in Transformative Dakwah in the Digital Era

Abstract

Digital transformation has fundamentally reshaped the landscape of Islamic preaching (dawah), not only in terms of the medium through which messages are delivered, but also in the formation of religious authority, community solidarity, social conflict, and patterns of religious participation. These changes raise theoretical questions regarding the capacity of classical sociological theories to explain the realities of dawah increasingly mediated by digital platforms and algorithms. Previous studies have extensively examined digital dawah, religious authority, and religion in virtual spaces; however, systematic efforts to reconstruct the theories of Marx, Durkheim, and Weber to explain transformative dawah within an algorithmic context remain limited. This article employs a theoretical reconstruction approach by integrating perspectives from classical sociology, digital sociology, and Islamic Studies. The research adopts a qualitative literature review method with critical-interpretive analysis of the major works of Marx, Durkheim, and Weber, as well as contemporary literature on digital dawah, digital religion, platformization, and algorithms. This article argues that classical sociological theories retain their explanatory power, but their application requires conceptual expansion. Marx's perspective is reconstructed through the concepts of commodification and the attention economy; Durkheim's through digital solidarity and the formation of virtual communities; and Weber's through the transformation of authority toward forms of legitimacy that are also shaped by algorithmic visibility.