Humanitarian Witnessing of the Rohingya Crisis in Indonesian Islamic Media

The Rohingya crisis has attracted significant humanitarian and media attention. However, limited research has examined how Islamic media report refugee issues through religious journalism frameworks. This study examines humanitarian witnessing in Indonesian Islamic media during the Rohingya crisis. Drawing on the perspective of Daʿwa Journalism, it analyzes 425 news articles published by NU Online, Suara Muhammadiyah, and Republika between 2014 and 2024. The study employs qualitative content analysis using a combination of deductive and inductive coding. The findings show that humanitarian witnessing was expressed through reporting refugee experiences, presenting testimonies, recognizing human dignity, promoting social responsibility, and encouraging humanitarian responses. Rohingya refugees were represented not only as victims of displacement and statelessness but also as groups requiring protection and support. The analysis identified the presence of Daʿwa Journalism principles, including Khairu Ummah, Taghyir, Islah, Akhlaq al-Karimah, and Tabligh–Tabayyun. The prominence of every principle varied across different phases of the crisis. The daʿwa principles shaped how refugee issues were interpreted and communicated in news coverage.