Religious Trauma in the Digital Era: A Case Study of Muslim Diaspora and the Clash of Global Traditions with Indonesian Islam

This study aims to analyze how religious trauma among Indonesian Muslim diasporas is produced, reproduced, and negotiated in digital spaces, and how these experiences contribute to the transformation of religious identity in aglobal-digital context. Beyond the experienceof physical migration, Indonesian Muslim diaspora engage in ongoingreligious identity negotiation through sustained exposure to digitally mediated religious norms circulating within transnational online publics. Employing a qualitative case-study approach, theresearch analyzes approximately 150 units of digital data collected from YouTube and TikTok between 2021–2024, including short videos, comment threads, and public interviews involving Indonesian Muslim diaspora figures. The data were examinedthroughthematic digital discourse analysis combined with a social exegesis approach. The findings indicate that religious trauma is largely generated through digitally mediated moral judgment, the algorithmic amplification of rigid religious narratives, and thepublic delegitimation of individualreligious choices. At the same time, digital platforms function as counter-spaces for healing, enablingnarrative expression, community support, and inclusive reinterpretations of Islamic teachings. This study proposes the concept of digitally mediated religious trauma