TikTok Algorithm and Digital Creed Challenges: A Framing Analysis of ‘The Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light’ Propagation from an ASWJ Perspective

Abstract

Malay: Ajaran The Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light (AROPL) merupakan sebuah gerakan baharu yang menyimpang daripada akidah Ahli Sunnah Wal Jamaah. Gerakan ini secara agresif mengeksploitasi landskap media siber, khususnya TikTok, bagi menyebarkan fahamannya melalui pendekatan komunikasi yang tersusun dan retorik berunsur keagamaan. Kajian ini bertujuan menganalisis kandungan video TikTok berkaitan AROPL dengan memberikan penekanan khusus kepada bagaimana ciri teknikal platform tersebut terutamanya fungsi algoritma cadangan mencipta fenomena algoritma yang mempunyai kuasa seperti ‘ketuhanan’ (algorithmic conspirituality). Fenomena siber ini dimanipulasi secara strategik untuk menyebarkan gabungan teologi sinkretisme dan teori konspirasi global. Menggunakan kaedah analisis kandungan kualitatif berteraskan Teori Pembingkaian Robert M. Entman (1993), kajian ini meneliti 50 rakaman video dan hantaran penstriman langsung (live) di TikTok untuk mengenal pasti empat komponen utama: definisi masalah, punca, penilaian moral, dan penyelesaian yang ditawarkan. Seterusnya, kandungan wacana digital tersebut dinilai secara kritikal berdasarkan kriteria penyelewengan akidah yang digariskan oleh JAKIM dan Majlis Fatwa. Dapatan kajian mendapati bahawa kesan tularan ghaib daripada algorithmic conspirituality di TikTok telah berjaya membingkai kandungan AROPL untuk menyusup masuk ke dalam ruang siber audiens muda secara automatik, sekaligus menimbulkan simpati, kekeliruan doktrin, dan penerimaan terhadap fahaman yang bertentangan dengan asas Islam. Antara bentuk manipulasi yang dikesan termasuklah dakwaan bahawa kitab The Goal of The Wise merupakan kesinambungan wahyu yang lebih tinggi daripada al-Quran, penafian syariat solat lima waktu, pengubahan kiblat ke Petra, serta tafsiran batil terhadap ayat al-Quran. Kajian ini menyimpulkan bahawa kuasa algoritma platform media sosial yang digabungkan dengan naratif konspirasi kerohanian digital merupakan ancaman nyata dan sofistikated terhadap keselamatan akidah umat Islam di Malaysia. Integrasi antara teori pembingkaian siber dan kerangka penilaian Ahli Sunnah Wal Jamaah dalam kajian ini memberikan asas ilmiah yang kukuh untuk memahami serta membendung taktik penyelewengan akidah pascamoden dalam era kecerdasan digital. English: The Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light (AROPL) is a new movement that deviates from the creed of Ahl Sunnah Wal Jamaah. This movement aggressively exploits the cyber media landscape, particularly TikTok, to propagate its ideology through a structured communication approach and religious rhetoric. This study aims to analyze TikTok video content related to AROPL by placing a specific emphasis on how the platform's technical architecture chiefly its recommendation algorithm fosters the phenomenon of "algorithmic conspirituality," where the algorithm appears to wield a "divine-like" power. This cyber phenomenon is strategically manipulated to disseminate a blend of syncretic theology and global conspiracy theories. Employing a qualitative content analysis method grounded in Robert M. Entman’s (1993) Framing Theory, this study examines 50 TikTok videos and live streams to identify four core components: problem definition, causal interpretation, moral evaluation, and proposed treatment recommendations. Subsequently, the digital discourse is critically evaluated against the criteria for deviant teachings outlined by JAKIM and the National Fatwa Council. The findings reveal that the mystical viral effect of "algorithmic conspirituality" on TikTok successfully frames AROPL content to automatically penetrate the digital space of young audiences, thereby evoking sympathy, causing doctrinal confusion, and promoting the acceptance of beliefs that contradict mainstream Islamic creed. Among the identified manipulations are claims that the book "The Goal of The Wise" is a continuation of revelation superior to the Quran, the rejection of the five daily prayers, the alteration of the Qibla to Petra, and the distorted interpretation of Quranic verses. This study concludes that the power of platform algorithms combined with digital spiritual conspiracy narratives poses a real and sophisticated threat to the doctrinal security of Muslims in Malaysia. The integration of cyber framing theory and the Ahl Sunnah Wal Jamaah evaluative framework provides a robust scholarly basis for understanding and countering postmodern deviant teachings in the digital intelligence era.