Examining the Antecedents of the Persuasiveness of Social Media Posts by Celebrity Muslim Preachers in Malaysia

Abstract

As communication technology continues to evolve, this has also revolutionized how religious messages are presented on social media, particularly for celebrity Muslim preachers. They can easily connect with their followers and create da’wah messages using various social media tools, such as reels, stories, and live streams. In Malaysia, some preachers have become instant celebrities, with millions of followers who are willing to like, reshare and repost their messages. What factors though contribute to the persuasiveness of religious messages posted on social media by celebrity Muslim preachers? Elaboration likelihood model (ELM) examines the persuasiveness of messages based on how they are processed by the recipient. Accordingly, hypotheses were tested based on ELM. This quantitative study employed a cross-sectional survey design with 423 university students in Malaysia. The research instrument was constructed using Google Form and distributed online among the survey respondents. They must follow at least one celebrity Muslim preacher on social media to participate in the study. Mediation and moderated mediation models (model 4 and 7) were tested using the PROCESS macro. Overall, this study provided some support for ELM; argument quality predicted both belief in da’wah messages and sharing intent. Belief mediated the relationship between argument quality and sharing intent. However, personal involvement did not moderate the relationship between argument quality and sharing intent, through belief. Implications of these findings on ELM and the persuasiveness of religious messages on social media will be deliberated.

Keywords

• Celebrity Muslim Preachers
• Da’wah
• Elaboration Likelihood Model
• Persuasion
• Social Media

Malezya'daki Ünlü Müslüman Vaizlerin Sosyal Medya Paylaşımlarında İkna Ediciliğin Öncüllerinin İncelenmesi

Öz

İletişim teknolojisinin sürekli olarak gelişmesi, dini mesajların sosyal medyada sunulma biçimini de dönüştürmüştür. Özellikle ünlü Müslüman vaizler, çeşitli sosyal medya araçlarını (reels, hikayeler ve canlı yayınlar gibi) kullanarak takipçileriyle kolayca etkileşim kurabilir ve davet (tebliğ) içerikleri üretebilir hale gelmiştir. Malezya’da bazı vaizler, milyonlarca takipçisi bulunan ve mesajlarının beğenildiği, paylaşıldığı ve yeniden gönderildiği ünlü kişiler haline gelmiştir. Ancak, ünlü Müslüman vaizlerin sosyal medyada paylaştıkları dini mesajların ikna ediciliğine katkıda bulunan faktörler nelerdir? Elaboration Likelihood Modeli (ELM), mesajların ikna ediciliğini alıcı tarafından nasıl işlendiğine bağlı olarak incelemektedir. Bu doğrultuda, ELM’ye dayalı hipotezler test edilmiştir. Bu nicel çalışma, Malezya’da 423 üniversite öğrencisiyle yapılan kesitsel bir anket tasarımı kullanmıştır. Araştırma aracı Google Form ile oluşturulmuş ve çevrimiçi olarak katılımcılara dağıtılmıştır. Ankete katılabilmek için katılımcıların en az bir ünlü Müslüman vaizi sosyal medyada takip etmesi gerekmektedir. Aracılama ve düzenlenmiş aracılama modelleri (model 4 ve 7), PROCESS makrosu kullanılarak test edilmiştir. Bu çalışma genel olarak ELM’yi destekleyen bazı bulgular sunmuştur; argüman kalitesi hem davet mesajlarına inanmayı hem de paylaşım niyetini öngörmüştür. İnanma, argüman kalitesi ile paylaşım niyeti arasındaki ilişkiyi aracı bir değişken olarak etkilemiştir. Ancak, kişisel katılım, argüman kalitesi ile inanma aracılığıyla paylaşım niyeti arasındaki ilişkiyi düzenleyici bir faktör olarak etkilememiştir. Bu bulguların ELM ve sosyal medyada dini mesajların ikna ediciliği üzerindeki etkileri tartışılmıştır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Ünlü Müslüman Vaizler
• Davet
• Detaylandırma Olasılık Modeli
• İkna
• Sosyal Medya

Kaynakça

1. Abdul Karim, H. (2016). Audience reception of reality TV show ‘imam muda’: Contradictions and contested religious identities among young Malaysian Muslims. Jurnal Kinabalu, 19, 185–204. https://doi.org/10.51200/ejk.v19i.509
2. Abdullah, R., Sabran, R., Kasmani, M. F., Ramle, N. A., Mohd Ariffin, M. Y., & Marjuni, K. N. (2018). Ustaz cool, ustazah trendy: Chiselled Islamic celebrity preachers. Al-Abqari: Journal of Islamic Social Sciences and Humanities, 16(1), 197–217.
3. Alimuddin, N. (2007). Konsep dakwah dalam Islam. Hunafa, 4(1), 73–78. https://doi.org/10.24239/jsi.Vol4.Iss1.195
4. Angst, C., & Agarwal, R. (2009). Adoption of electronic health records in the presence of privacy concerns: The Elaboration Likelihood Model and Individual Persuasion. MIS Quarterly, 36(2), 339–370.
5. BERNAMA (2024, June 20). Preachers cautioned on giving views on Islamic laws—Mohd N’aim. BERNAMA. https://www.bernama.com/en/news.php?id=2309385
6. Bhattacherjee, A., & Sanford, C. (2006). Influence processes for information technology acceptance: An elaboration likelihood model. MIS Quarterly, 30(4). http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/25148755
7. Chen, C.-Y., Kearney, M., & Chang, S. (2021). Belief in or identification of false news according to the elaboration likelihood model. International Journal of Communication, 15, 1263–1285.
8. Chua, A., & Banerjee, S. (2018). Intentions to trust and share online health rumors: An experiment with medical professionals. Computers in Human Behavior, 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2018.05.021

9. Dillard, J. P., & Lijiang, S. (2013). The SAGE Handbook of Persuasion. SAGE.
10. Erklİ, Y. T. (2022). Social media influencers: The perspective of elaboration likelihood model. Journal of Academic Tourism Studies, 3(1), 1–12. http://dx.doi.org/10.29228/jatos.57482
11. Gao, X., Xu, X.-Y., & Syed Muhammad, U. T. (2021). How the live streaming commerce viewers process the persuasive message: An ELM perspective and the moderating effect of mindfulness. Electronic Commerce Research and Applications, 49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.elerap.2021.101087
12. Hair, J. H., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2013). Partial least squares structural equation modeling: Rigorous applications, better results, and higher acceptance. Long Range Planning, 46(1–2), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lrp.2013.01.001
13. Hair, J.H., F., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2011). PLS-SEM: Indeed a Silver Bullet. The Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, 19(2), 139–152.https://doi.org/10.2753/MTP1069-6679190202
14. Haugtvedt, C. P., & Petty, R. E. (1989). Need for cognition and attitude persistence. Consumer Research, 16, 33–36.
15. Hayes, A. A. (2018). Partial, conditional, and moderated mediation: Quantification, inference, and interpretation. Communication Monographs, 85(1), 4–40. https://doi.org/10.1080/03637751.2017.1352100
16. Homer, P.M., & Kahle, L.R. (2013). Source expertise, time of source identification, and involvement in persuasion: An elaborative processing perspective. Journal of Advertising, 19(1), 30-39.
17. Jefri, N. (2020, April 17). Janna Nick terkilan cara teguran PU Syed. Harian Metro. https://www.hmetro.com.my/rap/2020/04/567640/janna-nick-terkilan-cara-teguran-pu-syed
18. Kasmani, F., Yusoff, S.H., & Kanaker, O. (2019). Muhammad’s conversation with the Bedouin: A speech-act analysis of Prophetic discourse in Hadith. Al-Bayan Journal of Qur’an and Hadith, 17(1), 1-23.
19. Kitchen, P. J., Kerr, G., Schultz, D. E., McColl, R., & Pals, H. (2014). The elaboration likelihood model: Review, critique and research agenda. Emeral Journal of Marketing, 48(11/12), 2033–2049.
20. Kemp, S. (2024, February 23). Digital 2024: Malaysia. Datareportal. https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2024-malaysia#:~:text=TikTok%20users%20in%20Malaysia%20in,in%20Malaysia%20in%20early%202024
21. Li, R., & Suh, A. (2015). Factors influencing information credibility on social media platforms: Evidence from Facebook pages. Procedia Computer Sciences, 72, 314–328. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procs.2015.12.146
22. Meng, B., & Choi, K. (2019). Tourists’ intention to use location-based services (LBS): Converging the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and the elaboration likelihood model (ELM). International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 31(8), 3097–3115.
23. McNeill, B. W., & Stoltenberg, C. D. (n.d.). Reconceptualizing social influence in counselling: The Elaboration Likelihood Model. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 36(1).
24. NapoleanCat. (2024). Social media users in Malaysia [Dataset]. https://napoleoncat.com/stats/social-media-users-in-malaysia/2024/
25. Ohanion, R. (1990). Construction and validation of a scale to measure celebrity endorsers’ perceived expertise, trustworthiness and attractiveness. Journal of Advertising, 19(3), 39–52. https://doi.org/10.1080/00913367.1990.10673191
26. Petty, R. E., & Cacioppo, J. T. (1984). Source factors and the elaboration likelihood model. Advances in Consumer Research, 668-672.
27. Petty, R. E., & Cacioppo, J. T. (1986). Communication and persuasion. Central and peripheral routes to attitude change (1st ed.). Springer New York.
28. Petty, R. E., & Cacioppo, J. T. (1986). The elaboration likelihood model of persuasion. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 19, 123-205.
29. Rustan, A. S., Haramain, M., & Nurhakki. (2020). The phenomenon of the celebrity preachers and the awakening of the religious spirit of millennial generation in Indonesia. Annual International Conference on Islamic Studies, Jakarta.
30. Saat, N., & Mohd Taufek, N. S. (2021, August 6). Scholarly or Trendy? The declining influence of Malaysian Muftis and the emergence of popular preachers. Fulcrum. https://fulcrum.sg/scholarly-or-trendy-the-declining-influence-of-malaysian-muftis-and-the-emergence-of-popular-preachers/
31. Shehu, F. (2017). Methodology of prophetic da’wah and its relevance to contemporary global society. Journal of Education and Social Science, 6, 9-17.
32. Siddiqi, A. (2014). An observatory note on tests for normality assumptions. Journal of Modelling in Management, 9(3), 290–305. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JM2-04-2014-0032
33. Tatar, P., & Abdul Rohman, D. (2019). Komunikasi dakwah melalui media sosial. Jurnal Balai Diklat Keagamaan Bandung, XIII (2), 121–133.
34. Teng, S., Khong, K.W, & Goh, W.W. (2014). Conceptualizing persuasive messages using ELM in social media. Journal of Internet Commerce, 13(1), 65–87. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15332861.2014.910729
35. Tengku Mohd Azzman, T. S. A., & A. Manaf, A. M. (2017). Following Islamic reality show personalities on Twitter: A uses and gratification approach to understanding parasocial interaction and social media use. Intellectual Discourse, 25(Special Issue), 637–659.
36. Tengku Mohd Azzman, T. S. A., & A. Manaf, A. M. (2018). Religiosity and its impact on Twitter use and viewing of Islamic reality television shows among university students in Malaysia. Journal of Islam in Asia, 15(3), 356–382. https://doi.org/10.31436/jia.v15i3.709
37. Zha, X., Yang, H., Yan, Y., Liu, K., & Huang, C. (2018). Exploring the effect of social media information quality, source credibility and reputation on informational fit-to-task: Moderating role of focused immersion. Computers in Human Behavior, 79, 227–237. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1016/j.chb.2017.10.038