Examining the antecedents of the persuasiveness of social media posts by celebrity Muslim preachers in Malaysia

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.