REPORTING FATWA IN THE MEDIA: RECEPTION AND PERCEPTION
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33102/abqari.vol9no1.129Keywords:
fatwa, framing Islam, Malaysian journalism, receptionAbstract
News coverage on Islam in newspaper publications in Malaysia has become part of Malaysian dailies since Islam is the official religion in Malaysia. A special section is allocated for Islamic teaching, forum or letter to Editors for certain days in a week. Perhaps the greatest innovation in coverage on Islam can be seen from how Malaysian reporters frame their stories, which many include the definition of religion, faith and moral choices in the secular world. News on Fatwa has, in short, become a major topic of discussion among Malaysian public once it is highlighted. It became an agenda for a period of time in most of the mainstream newspapers. This paper focuses on how the public perceived the news reporting made on fatwa in the Malaysian newspapers by looking at (i) the source of knowledge of the respondents, (ii) knowledge and understanding on fatwa, and (iii) correlation between level of education and understanding of fatwa news. Random samples of fatwa news on various issues were used as reference for the respondents. Then, a survey on 500 respondents was conducted randomly among Muslim public around Kuala Lumpur and the state of Selangor areas. This has helped in identifying the level of understanding and reactions of the public towards Fatwa issued by the National Fatwa Council of Malaysia. The findings also suggested small numbers of the news coverage on Fatwa has emphasized the significance of the Fatwa which, in the opinion of many far exceeds the important of the fatwa itself. This study may help to strategize the Fatwa Council in convincing the general public on Fatwa through news reporting because there had always been questions of reliability since there is no follow-up by the council to the public regarding Fatwa that has been issued by them.
Keywords: fatwa, framing Islam, Malaysian journalism, reception
Abstrak
Liputan berita mengenai Islam dalam penerbitan akhbar di Malaysia telah menjadi sebahagian daripada agenda dalam akhbar-akhbar Malaysia kerana Islam adalah agama rasmi negara ini. Ruangan khas tertentu berkaitan Islam diperuntukkan untuk pengajaran, forum atau surat kepada Editor untuk hari-hari tertentu dalam seminggu. Mungkin inovasi yang paling besar dalam liputan mengenai Islam dapat dilihat dari kaedah pemberita tempatan membingkai berita berkaitan, yang banyak melibatkan takrifan agama, kepercayaan dan pilihan moral dalam dunia sekular. Berita berkaitan Fatwa kerap menjadi topik utama perbincangan dalam kalangan rakyat Malaysia apabila mula dilaporkan. Berita berkaitan fatwa ini menjadi agenda untuk satu tempoh masa tertentu dalam kebanyakan akhbar-akhbar arus perdana. Kajian ini menumpukan bagaimana orang ramai menerima laporan berita berkaitan fatwa dalam akhbar Malaysia dengan mengkaji (i) sumber pengetahuan responden, (ii) pengetahuan dan kefahaman mengenai fatwa, dan (iii) hubungan antara tahap pendidikan dan pemahaman berita fatwa. Sampel rawak berita fatwa terdahulu mengenai pelbagai isu telah digunakan sebagai bahan rujukan kepada responden. Kajian ini melibatkan 500 responden awam yang dipilih secara rawak dalam kalangan umat Islam di sekitar Kuala Lumpur dan beberapa kawasan sekitar Selangor. Dapatan kajian ini telah membantu dalam mengenal pasti tahap kefahaman dan tindak balas khalayak terhadap fatwa yang dikeluarkan oleh Majlis Fatwa Kebangsaan Malaysia. Hasil kajian juga mencadangkan sebilangan kecil liputan berita fatwa menekankan kepentingan fatwa sedia dan umum berpendapat bahawa kepentingan fatwa itu jauh lebih penting dalam fatwa itu sendiri. Kajian ini diharap dapat membantu Majlis Fatwa Kebangsaan Malaysia untuk menyusun strategi dalam meyakinkan orang ramai mengenai sesuatu fatwa yang dilaporkan melalui akhbar kerana tiada tindakan susulan oleh Majlis Fatwa kepada umum berkenaan fatwa yang telah dikeluarkan dan ini secara tidak langsung boleh menyebabkan kekeliruan dalam masyarakat.
Kata kunci: fatwa, pembingkaian Islam, kewartawanan di Malaysia, penerimaan khalayak
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