Uniting or Dividing? Digital Sermons and Sectarian Debates among Muslim Preachers on Facebook in Bangladesh
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32678/dmr.v2i1.63Keywords:
digital, preaching, waʿẓ, sectarian debates, Facebook, salafism, Deobandi Ḥanafism, shrine-based SunnismAbstract
This paper examines how Facebook is transforming religious authority and amplifying sectarian discussions through digital sermons (waʿẓ) delivered by three prominent preach-ers in Bangladesh: Shaykh Dr. Muzaffar b. Mohsin, Muftī Rezaul Karim Abrar, and Muftī Gias Uddin Tahery. Using a netnographic approach, we analyse the discourses promoted in their sermon videos on Facebook. We demonstrate how Facebook incentivises religious leaders to intensify sectarianism in order to increase online engagement and reinforce their authority. Thus, although the Internet—specifically Facebook—is often assumed to have the potential to connect the Muslim umma, it simultaneously exacerbates sectarian divi-sions, with significant implications for both religious and social dynamics in Bangladesh.
References
Ahmed, A. T. (2024). Digitalizing religious preaching: YouTube as a place for traditional Islamic preaching Waz Mahfil.
Al-Hasani, S., Ismail, A., Kazeemkayode, B., & Elega, D. (2017). Creating a practising Muslim: A study of Qawmi Madrasah in Bangladesh. British Journal of Education, Society & Behavioural Science, 20(3), 1–9.
Al-Hasani, S. M. A. (2020). Madrasah education in Bangladesh: A comparative study between Aliya and Qawmi. Journal of Creative Writing, 4(2).
All Hanafis, Including Ali Hasan Osama vs Brother Rahul Will Be Played on April 12. (n.d.). Retrieved July 7, 2024, from https://www.facebook.com/watch/?ref=saved&v=1372071470163226
Al-Zaman, M. S. (2022). Social mediatization of religion: Islamic videos on YouTube. Heliyon, 8(3).
Al-Zaman, M. S., & Alimi, M. Y. (2021). Islam, religious confrontation and hoaxes in the digital public sphere: Comparison of Bangladesh and Indonesia. Komunitas: International Journal of Indonesian Society and Culture, 13(2), 206–223.
Amit, S., Rahman, I., & Mannan, S. (2020). Social media and radicalisation of university students in Bangladesh. Journal of Policing, Intelligence and Counter Terrorism, 15(3), 228–243.
Anderson, J. (2003). New media in the Muslim world: The emerging public sphere.
Andok, M. (2024). The impact of online media on religious authority. Religions, 15(9), 1103.
Anoraga, B., & Zuhri, M. K. (2024). The (im)possible umma? Multiple realities and multiple identities of Indonesian Muslims in online philanthropy. Asiascape: Digital Asia, 11(3), 215–245. https://doi.org/10.1163/25898515-11030004
Bhuiyan, M. N. M. (2010). Creating "good Muslims": Qawmi Madrasa schooling in a rural town of Bangladesh.
Binodon (Director). (2023, February 1). In this world, I am alone, Re Tahery Bhai. I am Re Taheri Bhai, Tahery new viral zikir 2023 [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CF77mw_yMmo
Brother Rahul vs Ali Hasan Osama. (n.d.). Retrieved July 7, 2024, from https://www.facebook.com/watch/?ref=saved&v=954172639596714
Bunt, G. (2009). The digital umma. In A. Rippin (Ed.), A companion to the Muslim world (pp. 291–310).
Campbell, H. A., & Tsuria, R. (Eds.). (2021). Digital religion: Understanding religious practice in digital media (2nd ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429295683
Castells, M. (2011). The rise of the network society. John Wiley & Sons.
Creative and lucrative da‘wa: The visual culture of Instagram amongst female Muslim youth in Indonesia. (2018). Asiascape: Digital Asia, 5(1–2). Retrieved May 11, 2024, from https://doi.org/10.1163/25898515-00501010
Digital 2022: Bangladesh—DataReportal – Global Digital Insights. (n.d.). Retrieved May 10, 2024, from https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2022-bangladesh
Digital 2024: Bangladesh. (2024, February 23). DataReportal – Global Digital Insights. https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2024-bangladesh
Digital in Bangladesh. (n.d.). DataReportal – Global Digital Insights. Retrieved May 10, 2024, from https://datareportal.com/digital-in-bangladesh
Eickelman, D. F. (2003). New media in the Muslim world, second edition: The emerging public sphere. Indiana University Press.
el-Nawawy, M., & Khamis, S. M. (2009). Islam dot com: Contemporary Islamic discourses in cyberspace. Springer.
Facebook users by country 2024. (n.d.). Statista. Retrieved May 10, 2024, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/268136/top-15-countries-based-on-number-of-facebook-users/
Facebook users in Bangladesh—May 2022. (2022, May). Retrieved from https://napoleoncat.com/stats/facebook-users-in-bangladesh/2022/05/
Faimau, G., & Behrens, C. (2016). Facebooking religion and the technologisation of the religious discourse: A case study of a Botswana-based prophetic church. Online - Heidelberg Journal of Religions on the Internet, 11. https://doi.org/10.17885/heiup.rel.2016.0.23628
From ethico-religious exhortation to legal paraenesis: Functions of Qur‘anic Wa‘ẓ. (2021). Islamic Law and Society, 28(4). Retrieved May 12, 2024, from https://doi.org/10.1163/25898515-11030004
Gerbaudo, P. (2024). Digital populism. In Research handbook on populism (pp. 506–515). Edward Elgar Publishing.
Hamouda, W., Hashmi, U. M., & Omar, A. (2023). Muslim preachers’ pandemics related discourses within social media: A corpus-based critical discourse analysis. Cogent Arts & Humanities, 10(1), 2205729.
“I request that Muzaffar b. Mohsin withdraw this statement. If not, we will pursue legal action for labelling the entire Deobandis group as polytheists, inshāʾAllāh [God willing].” (n.d.). Retrieved July 7, 2024, from https://www.facebook.com/watch/?ref=saved&v=420027004106805
Jana, F., & Gulshan, S. (2019). Bangladesh: Social media, extremism and freedom of expression.
Kepios. (n.d.). Kepios. Retrieved May 10, 2024, from https://kepios.com
Lim, M. (2013). Many clicks but little sticks: Social media activism in Indonesia. Digital Activism in Asia Reader, 127–154.
Lim, M. (2017). Freedom to hate: Social media, algorithmic enclaves, and the rise of tribal nationalism in Indonesia. Critical Asian Studies, 49(3), 411–427.
Mandaville, P. G. (2003). Transnational Muslim politics: Reimagining the umma. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203453155
Masum, M. A. A. (2020). Quality reform in traditional madrasahs for sustainable development in Bangladesh: An observation and a study from the British colonial education system. Quarterly Journal of the Pakistan Historical Society, 68(4), Article 4. https://www.phs.com.pk/index.php/phs/article/view/92
McLuhan, M., & Powers, B. R. (1989). The global village: Transformations in world life and media in the 21st century. Oxford University Press.
Mehfil. (2023). In Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Retrieved May 10, 2024, from https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/mehfil
Moffitt, B. (2016). The global rise of populism: Performance, political style, and representation. Stanford University Press.
Mohsin, M. b. (n.d.). Chukti kore wa‘ẓ kora jabe ki? [Can preaching be done or jāʿiz with contractual prerequisites?]. Retrieved July 6, 2024, from https://www.facebook.com/watch/?ref=saved&v=837750468165377
Muftī Ali Hassan Usama vs Brother Rahul Ruhul Amin Debate Video Details If You Do Not See It, You Will Miss It. (n.d.). Retrieved July 7, 2024, from https://www.facebook.com/watch/?ref=saved&v=1424248691517311
Mufti Gias Uddin Tahery. (n.d.). Retrieved July 7, 2024, from https://www.facebook.com/MuftiGiasUddinTaheryOfficial
Piscatori, J. (2019). Conceptualising the umma: An introduction. The Muslim World, 109(3), 193–208. https://doi.org/10.1111/muwo.12286
Rezaul Karim Abrar. (n.d.). Retrieved July 6, 2024, from https://www.facebook.com/rezaulkarimabrar22
Rifat, M. R., Amin, M. R., & Ahmed, S. I. (2022). Situating public speaking: The politics and poetics of the digital Islamic sermons in Bangladesh. Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction, 6(CSCW1), 1–28. https://doi.org/10.1145/3512911
Rifat, M. R., Prottoy, H. M., & Ahmed, S. I. (2022). Putting the waz on social media: Infrastructuring online Islamic counterpublic through digital sermons in Bangladesh.
Schoemaker, E. (2016). Digital faith: Social media and the enactment of religious identity in Pakistan [PhD, London School of Economics and Political Science]. https://etheses.lse.ac.uk/3578/
Shaikh Dr. Muzaffar Bin Mohsin. (n.d.). Retrieved July 6, 2024, from https://www.facebook.com/DrMuzaffarOfficial
Showrov Ahmed (Director). (2020, December 29). Tor laiga re Taheri song [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a96AtHjzx1s
Social Media Stats Bangladesh. (n.d.). StatCounter Global Stats. Retrieved May 10, 2024, from https://gs.statcounter.com/social-media-stats/all/bangladesh
Stille, M. (2020). Islamic sermons and public piety in Bangladesh: The poetics of popular preaching. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Suherdiana, D., & Muhaemin, E. (2018). The da’wah of Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah in social media of Facebook. Ilmu Dakwah: Academic Journal for Homiletic Studies, 12(2). https://doi.org/10.15575/idajhs.v12i2.6176
The New Song of Tahery. (n.d.). Retrieved July 7, 2024, from https://www.facebook.com/reel/1004978087842602
Wa‘ẓ. (2024). In Wiktionary, the free dictionary. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/wa%E2%80%98z
What Did Tahery Ḥuzur Discuss with the ‘Shaykh Worshipers’ Regarding the Worship of the Shrine? (n.d.). Retrieved July 7, 2024, from https://www.facebook.com/watch/?ref=saved&v=332910299839350
Yarrington, M. D. (2010). Lived Islam in Bangladesh: Contemporary religious discourse between Ahl-i-Hadith, "Hanafis” and authoritative texts, with special reference to al-barzakh. https://era.ed.ac.uk/handle/1842/5690
Zaman, M. S. A. (2023, Spring). Misinformation on social media: An exploratory sequential mixed methods analysis of users’ engagement with religious misinformation. ERA. https://doi.org/10.7939/r3-e8py-d259
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Md. Mahdi Hasan, Bhirawa Anoraga
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
