Social Media and the Question of Change in Indonesia's Field of Islam

Abstract: Social media have become part of the everyday life of Indonesian Muslims, which particularly applies to their religious life, since more than a decade now. In the meantime, Islamic uses of and Islamic representations on social media as well as Muslims' perceptions of them have been explored in a considerable number of publications that contribute to our understanding of contemporary trends, dynamics and transformations in Indonesia's field of Islam. Focusing on more recent changes in Indonesian Islam, the article asks what actually constitutes change and how far-reaching and consequential it is. In order to discern the significance of media-related changes, the article makes an analytical distinction between change and transformation as they occur in and affect Indonesia's field of Islam. It distinguishes between change that indicates the introduction of something new or the modification of existing phenomena, such as particular Islamic practices, ideologies, figures or movements that emerge or evolve in the field, and more profound change that alters the form of the field itself, i.e. that literally trans-forms the field by inducing change in its power structure. This distinction allows to develop the argument that social media had profound effects in various spheres of religious life in Indonesia, as one can observe changes in Islamic everyday practices, affective relationships, socialities and publics as well as constructions of authority and their contestation, but that the recent transformations in the power structure of the field cannot primarily be traced back to their influence.