AI-Mediated Islamic Preaching in Kazakhstan: Rethinking Religious Authority in the Digital Age

The growing influence of artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping religious communication, including Islamic preaching. However, little is known about how AI-mediated preaching transforms religious authority, particularly in post-Soviet Muslim contexts such as Kazakhstan. This study addresses this gap by examining how AI reshapes the foundations of religious authority in Kazakhstan. It aims to conceptualize emerging forms of authority and to compare communicative patterns across AI-generated, hybrid, and human-led preaching. The qualitative comparative design was employed, analyzing 90 social media posts from six accounts across various social media platforms. The study integrates digital discourse analysis, rhetorical analysis (ethos, pathos, logos), and audience engagement analysis to examine content structure, authority construction, and interaction patterns. The findings reveal the emergence of algorithmic religious authority, grounded in visibility, consistency, and platform alignment rather than traditional scholarly legitimacy. AI-generated preaching demonstrates high standardization, simulated credibility, and passive engagement, while hybrid preaching combines algorithmic optimization with human contextualization. Human-led preaching retains interpretive depth, relational authority, and stronger dialogical interaction. Together, these forms create a stratified and pluralized system of authority. The study concludes that AI is not merely a tool but a structuring force that redefines the epistemic foundations of religious authority, introducing conditions of “authority without accountability” in digitally mediated Islamic preaching.