Gamified Da’wah Communication among Muslim Gamers in Palopo: A Digital Ethnography Study

Abstract

Purpose: This study examines gamified dakwah communication among Muslim gamers in Palopo, Indonesia, by investigating how religious messages are constructed, negotiated, and internalized within gaming communities. The topic is relevant because digital gaming has become a significant cultural space where young Muslims interact, build social identities, and negotiate religious values beyond conventional dakwah settings. The study aims to identify forms of dakwah communication in gamer communities, explain the gamification mechanisms that shape message acceptance, and develop a conceptual model of digital dakwah grounded in local Muslim gaming culture.

Methodology: This research employed an integrative qualitative design combining ethnographic research and grounded theory. Data were collected through two months of field immersion, participant observation, in-depth interviews with gamers and ulama/dakwah practitioners, field documentation, and constant comparative inquiry. Purposive sampling was used for ethnographic exploration, while theoretical sampling was applied during grounded theory development. Data were analyzed through open coding, axial coding, selective coding, iterative data analysis, and thematic categorization with the support of qualitative data analysis software.

Findings/Results: The findings reveal five major themes: informal religious communication, Islamic gaming ethics, community-based religious authority, gamification of dakwah messages, and negotiation and resistance. Dakwah in gamer communities operates not as a linear transmission of religious instruction, but as a culturally negotiated process shaped by social relations, gaming language, timing, humor, symbolic rewards, and peer-based legitimacy.

Originality: This study contributes to digital religion, Islamic communication, and game culture studies by proposing the concept of gamified dakwah communication as a grounded theoretical model. It demonstrates that gaming communities are not merely entertainment spaces, but dynamic cultural arenas where Islamic values are socially constructed, adapted, and negotiated through digital social practices.