Criminalizing Digital Agression: Transforming Moral Fatwas into Virtual Ta’zir Penal Frameworks
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Abstract
Background: The rise of digital spaces has catalyzed new variants of non-physical crimes, notably cyberbullying and dooxing, which pose severe psychological and social threats. While religious authorities seek to mitigate these digital pathologies through ethical decrees, contemporary Islamic criminal jurisprudence (fikih jinayah) faces a conceptual dilemma in transforming abstract moral fatwas into enforceable punitive measures within digital ecosystems.
Purpose: This study aims to critically analyze the methodological construction (istinbath al-ahkam) of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) Fatwa No. 24 of 2017 concerning Social Media Misconduct, evaluate its socio-legal enforceability, and formulate a reconstructive framework for cyber-ta'zir sanctions through the lens of Maqashid Shari'ah.
Methods: This study adopts a qualitative normative-doctrinal approach integrated with conceptual and statutory perspectives. The analysis systematically evaluates the text of Fatwa MUI No. 24 of 2017, relevant classical criminal jurisprudence texts (kutub al-turats), and Indonesian cyber law (the ITE Law). It utilizes content analysis and hermeneutic approaches to bridge the gap between religious moral decrees and practical criminal delicts, focusing on internet cases of character assassination and privacy violations in Indonesia.
Results: The findings indicate that while the fatwa successfully criminalizes digital aggression textually, it exhibits operational paralysis due to its over-reliance on abstract ethical-moral dictums. It lacks rigid parameters (dhawabith) to distinguish constructive critique from criminal defamation. Socio-legally, the fatwa experiences a legal vacuum and public non-compliance because it lacks coercive executive power (non-legally binding) and is challenged by internet anonymity. Viewed through Maqashid Shari'ah, the current passive-moral approach fails to actively safeguard human dignity (hifz al-irdh) and psychological well-being (hifz al-nafs) against mass digital persecution.
Implication: This study proposes a Virtual Ta'zir Penal Formula that transforms physical classical punishments into digital isolation sanctions (such as "digital civil death" or account revocation), internet social work, and monetary compensation for psychological trauma (diat ma'nawiyah). It advocates for integrating these cyber-ta'zir mechanisms into statutory amendments of the national penal code to ensure enforceable restorational justice.
Originality: This research introduces a novel penal synthesis that operationalizes contemporary virtual corporate punishments within Islamic jurisprudence. Unlike previous literature focusing on digital economics or communication ethics, this study critically redefines classical ta'zir limits, providing a dynamic legal blueprint to reconcile clerical authority, state legislation, and cyber-victim protec
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