Mapping Islamic Legal Discourses on Domestic Violence: Media Representation and the Dynamics of Contemporary Muslim Family Law

Purpose – This study aims to analyze the legal opinions of Instagram users regarding domestic violence (DV) in Muslim families. The study focuses on how elite figures such as religious leaders, politicians, and influencers express their legal opinions on social media, as well as how these opinions are received, responded to, and reconstructed by netizens. To analyze the production and reconstruction of legal opinions related to domestic violence (DV) within the dynamics of contemporary Muslim families, as conveyed by elite figures through Instagram, as well as the critical responses of netizens to these opinions. Methods – This study uses a qualitative-descriptive approach with Norman Fairclough's critical discourse analysis method. Data was obtained from content on Instagram social media that displayed legal opinions related to domestic violence, including comments from netizens responding to the content. The data was analyzed through three dimensions: text, discourse practice, and sociocultural practice. Findings – The results of the study show that netizens do not necessarily accept legal opinions expressed by elite figures on social media as the sole truth. Instead, netizens actively represent their own understanding, which is often contradictory to the content being presented. The branding of content figures and their ideological backgrounds greatly influence the content and manner of delivery of these legal opinions. Netizens' comments indicate that the digital public sphere plays a significant role in breaking the dominance of patriarchal discourse and creating more emancipatory legal production that focuses on victim protection. Research implications/limitations – This study reveals limitations in the direct influence of educational content on social media on the public's understanding of the law. Additionally, due to resource constraints, this study has not explored in depth the longitudinal aspects of text consumption by audiences. Originality/value – This study contributes new insights to the study of Islamic family law and social media by examining the paradigm shift in legal communication in the digital space. The findings can serve as a foundation for developing more inclusive and participatory digital legal literacy in the future.