Gus Muwafiq's Preaching Message Based on Local History and Culture on YouTube

Abstract

The development of digital media has shifted the dynamics of da'wah from conventional spaces to the YouTube platform, which often triggers a shallowing of religious meanings and the erosion of local traditions. This study aims to analyze the construction of da'wah messages based on local history and culture by KH. Ahmad Muwafiq (Gus Muwafiq) on YouTube and how his communication style is packaged. Using a qualitative approach with media text analysis methods, this study examines three lecture broadcasts on the themes of Nusantara history, the origins of Java, and the historiography of Nahdlatul Ulama. The results show that Gus Muwafiq restructured the da'wah narrative by combining the historiography of Islam Nusantara, symbols of local wisdom such as macapat songs, gamelan philosophy, and the tradition of blessings, into rational arguments to straighten out the puritanical narrative in cyberspace. His relaxed, humorous, and integrative communication style has proven effective in making YouTube a space for inclusive religious dialectics. This study concludes that digital cultural da'wah is not merely an instrument for broadcasting messages, but rather an epistemological strategy in maintaining Indonesian identity, social solidarity, and Islamic theology that is friendly to tradition in the digital era.