QUR’ANIC EXEGESIS IN THE DIGITAL AGE: AN ANALYSIS OF THE HEGEMONY OF SOCIAL MEDIA–BASED TAFSIR IN SHAPING MILLENNIALS’ ISLAMIC UNDERSTANDING

This study examines the hegemony of Qur’anic interpretation on social media and its role in shaping the Islamic understanding of the millennial generation through Antonio Gramsci’s theory of hegemony. The research employs a qualitative-descriptive approach supported by survey data from approximately 100 millennial respondents who actively use social media. The findings indicate that Instagram is the most frequently accessed platform at 45%, followed by YouTube at 25%, Facebook at 15%, TikTok at 10%, and Twitter at 5%. Among accounts providing Qur’anic interpretive content, @Quranreview occupies the most dominant position, followed by NU Online, Gus Baha Channel, and Gus Nadhir Channel. In terms of interpretive orientation, juridical interpretation is the most frequently accessed at 45%, while Sunni-oriented interpretation dominates ideologically at 80%. From a Gramscian perspective, this dominance reflects the operation of hegemony through consent, the formation of religious common sense, the role of digital organic intellectuals, and the war of position among religious actors. Social media therefore functions not merely as a channel for disseminating Qur’anic interpretation, but also as an arena for producing authority and normalizing religious meanings. This study proposes the concept of algorithmic hegemony of Qur’anic interpretation to explain how particular interpretations become dominant through interactions among religious actors, digital platforms, algorithms, and audience participation.