Considering religious moderation in Islamic law through AI ChatGPT and Bahsul Masail of Nahdlatul Ulama

The use of AI technology in religious issues can provide both convenience and challenges for religious scholars including those related to intolerance and radicalism that are of concern to religious scholars in the Islamic world. Using a qualitative-comparative approach and textual analysis, this study argues that the responses of the AI, ChatGPT version 3.5, do not indicate answers that lead to intolerant or radical actions regarding Islamic attitudes and law. ChatGPT's response can be said to be equally tolerant when compared to the response/product of moderate Islamic law produced through Bahsul Masail (BM) in Indonesia, a law-setting mechanism used by Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) to establish Fiqh law relating to religious and social issues. Several questions in the Bahsul Masail collection that could be indicators of religious radicalism were asked of the ChatGPT and then the answers were compared with the BM results. These questions included the limits of tolerance, the law of suicide bombing, the law of removing (impeaching) leaders, the law of blasphemy against other religions, nationalism and diversity in Indonesia, and the basis of Pancasila. Although the legal responses from both tend to be equally moderate, the legal sources used are different.