Indonesian Journal for Islamic Studies

The Influence of Islamic Studies Education on Professional Identity among Muslim University Graduates in the Southern Philippines

Hawla M. Upak — 2026-07-30

Background: Islamic Studies education plays a vital role in shaping the values, ethics, and professional conduct of Muslim graduates. While previous studies have focused on graduate employability and curriculum effectiveness, limited research has examined how Islamic Studies education contributes to the development of professional identity among Muslim university graduates in the Southern Philippines.
Objectives: This study examined the influence of Islamic Studies education on the professional identity of Muslim graduates of Mindanao State University Maguindanao. Specifically, it assessed the relevance of Islamic knowledge in professional practice, identified challenges in aligning professional responsibilities with Islamic teachings, and explored curriculum enhancements that may strengthen professional identity formation.
Methods: A quantitative-descriptive research design was employed involving 50 graduates of the Bachelor of Arts in Islamic Studies program of Mindanao State University–Maguindanao from 2020 to 2025. Data were collected through a structured survey questionnaire and analyzed using frequency, percentage, and weighted mean.
Results: The results show that by encouraging accountability, honesty, moral behavior, and wise decision-making, Islamic Studies education greatly influenced graduates' professional identities. Despite obstacles including work obligations, a lack of institutional support, and time limits, participants thought Islamic knowledge was very relevant to workplace ethics and communication. They suggested career-oriented learning, ethics-focused training, and ongoing professional development.
Conclusion: Islamic Studies education significantly contributes to the formation of professional identity among Muslim graduates by fostering ethical values, professional responsibility, and faith-based decision-making. Strengthening practical and career-oriented components of the curriculum may further enhance graduates’ professional development and workplace relevance.

Shariah Governance and Halal Compliance of Cultured Meat: A Maqasidi Analysis of in Vitro Meat Production

Luqman Abu Tayyab — 2026-07-30

Background: Cultured meat, produced through cellular bioprocessing rather than conventional slaughter, raises substantial and largely unresolved questions for Islamic dietary law and halal governance, and no study to date has integrated the complete Maqasid al-Shariah framework with a comparative assessment of international halal regulatory infrastructure.
Objectives: This study evaluates the Shariah governance dimensions and halal compliance requirements of cultured meat through the five essential interests (al-kulliyyat al-khams) of Maqasid al-Shariah and identifies substantive gaps in existing halal certification infrastructure.
Methods: A qualitative doctrinal (usul al-fiqh) methodology was employed, drawing on the Quran, Sunnah, and classical fiqh manuals of the four Sunni madhabs, contemporary fatawa, and international halal standards (OIC/SMIIC, JAKIM, GSO, MUIS), supplemented by a systematic mapping of peer-reviewed literature (2018–2026) on cultured meat and Islamic bioethics.
Results: Cultured meat occupies a novel legal space (fiqh al-mustajaddat), generating three scholarly positions conditional permissibility, prohibition, and tawaqquf. Three governance gaps were identified across existing halal standards: absent biopsy protocol specifications, no framework for evaluating growth media (notably Foetal Bovine Serum), and structural inapplicability of conventional chain-of-custody models to continuous bioprocess production. The May 2025 resolution of the International Islamic Fiqh Academy conditionally permitting cultivated meat corroborates the governance-centred trajectory this study proposes.
Conclusion: Cultured meat requires purpose-built Shariah governance combining scholarly ijtihad, institutional oversight, and a 'Shariah-by-design' approach. The study contributes a Maqasidi cost-benefit framework and a four-tier governance architecture to Islamic regulatory discourse.

Zakat, Legal Pluralism, and Revenue Governance in Kenya

Lyla Latif — 2026-07-30

Background: Neither African public finance studies nor Islamic fiscal studies have examined the administration of zakat in Kenya or the potential impact of domestic resource mobilization on public health financing to any significant extent.
Objectives: This study examines how modern zakat governance has been shaped by the historical interplay between Islamic fiscal standards, the Omani government, British colonial rule, and Kenya’s post-independence constitutional framework. This study differs from previous research in that it provides the first empirical and phenomenological analysis of zakat governance in Kenya. It combines the concept of historical legal pluralism with original field evidence to assess whether state-administered zakat is an effective source of funding for public health.
Methods: Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was used in conjunction with discursive analysis in this study. Qualitative data were collected from 166 participants in Mombasa and Nairobi, including 107 zakat payers, 42 Islamic scholars and religious leaders, and 17 policymakers and non-Muslim stakeholders. The data were organized into eight analytical themes.

Result: The results show that Kenya’s zakat governance is legally pluralistic; among the 166 participants, trust, authority, legality, and consent emerged as key themes. Nearly all Muslims oppose government-administered zakat because they are concerned about corruption, constitutional obstacles, and the importance of preserving Islamic legal authority.
Conclusion: This study proposes “conditional consent” as a legally and institutionally viable framework that can be used to reconcile the principles of Islamic finance with Kenya’s constitutional structure. It will expand the theoretical discourse on domestic resource mobilization and legal pluralism.

Empirical Validation of Lunar Timing for Hijama: A Cross-Sectional Study of Hemostatic and Immune Biomarkers from Yemen

Naif Ali — 2026-07-31

Background: Prophetic Medicine (Al-Tibb al-Nabawi) recommends performing Hijama (wet cupping) on specific mid-lunar days (17th, 19th, and 21st of the Hijri month). This recommendation has lacked empirical validation until now.
Objectives: This study aims to empirically validate whether these lunar phases are associated with measurable variations in hemostatic and immunological parameters relevant to Hijama's therapeutic mechanisms.
Methods: 258 healthy persons between the ages of 18 and 50 participated in a cross-sectional study conducted in Yemen's Ad'Dla Governorate. Automated systems were used to analyse blood samples taken during the new moon (1st–5th Hijri days) and mid-lunar phase (17th–21st Hijri days) for full blood counts and coagulation profiles. Paired t-tests, two-way ANOVA, bootstrapping, and Bayesian analysis were used to assess the data.
Results: Significant improvements in hemostatic and immunological measures, such as higher platelet, monocyte, neutrophil, and eosinophil counts and a shorter clotting time, were linked to the mid-lunar phase (all p < 0.05). ANCOVA verified that these changes were independent of environmental influences (p-phase < 0.001; p-temp > 0.05), and all values stayed within normal clinical ranges.
Conclusion: This work supports a fundamental idea in prophetic medicine and the foundation of lunar chronotherapy by offering the first empirical proof that mid-Hijri lunar days are linked to enhanced hemostatic and immunological responses. To verify their clinical usefulness after Hijama, more randomised controlled trials are required.

An Investigation into the Modern Trends in Islāmic Da’wah (Preaching) in Yorubaland

Ismaila Boladale Lawal — 2026-07-31

Background: In Yorubaland, Nigeria, Islamic da’wah (preaching) traditions have changed dramatically due to the development of electronic and digital technologies. Traditional itinerant preaching has given way to technology-mediated methods. Although these developments have increased da’wah's reach, they have also brought forth new potential and difficulties that need for empirical research.
Objective: By identifying modern da’wah techniques, assessing their effects on Yoruba Muslims, and analyzing the difficulties involved in their application, this study investigates the current developments in Islamic da’wah in Yorubaland.
Method: A mixed-methods study design was used. In addition to non-participant observation, standardized questionnaires were used to gather quantitative data from 300 respondents chosen from the six states of Southwestern Nigeria. Descriptive statistics, such as percentages and frequencies, were used to analyze the data.
Results: The results show that the most popular contemporary da’wah techniques include public address systems, radio, television, audio-visual media, and social media platforms. According to respondents, these strategies have improved religious knowledge (79.3%), increased youth participation (83.7%), and broadened the reach of Islamic teachings (82.3%). The absence of social media censorship (87.0%), the rise of unqualified self-styled preachers (86.0%), the careless use of public address systems (80.7%), and the propagation of hate speech (79.0%) are significant obstacles, nevertheless.
Conclusion: In Yorubaland, modern technology has significantly increased the efficacy of Islamic da’wah, but it has also presented ethical and legal difficulties. To ensure authentic and long-lasting da’wah practices, it is imperative to adopt a code of conduct for preachers, strengthen institutional monitoring, and improve ICT proficiency among Islamic scholars.

Digital Mediation of the Quran and Transformation of Religious Literacy in the Modern Southeast Asia: A Critical Analytical Review

Shehar Bano — 2026-07-31

The article focuses on the critical analysis of how digital media mediate the activities involving engagement with the Quran and how it changes the religious literacy in modern Southeast Asia. The scholarship of the study on digital religion, interdisciplinary scholarship in Islamic studies, and the theory of religious literacy analyzes the impacts of mobile Qur'an applications, social media platforms, and online educational initiatives on the transformation of Quranic access, interpretation, as well as authority. The paper constructs a multidimensional system of digital Quranic religious literacy, including textual, interpretive, ethical, and authority-related competencies through a qualitative/critical analytical method using secondary literature. The study shows that digital mediation has contrasting literacy results, which are influenced by platform logic, institutional regulation, language, and local culture, using a comparative analysis of Indonesia and Malaysia. Even though digital media provide opportunities for increased accessibility and informal and lifelong Quranic education, particularly among young people, they bring about chances of fragmentation, insufficient engagement, and inadequate scholarly mediation. It should be reflected in the article that digital transformation does not displace classical Islamic epistemology and does not presuppose a rise of literacy, but, on the contrary, one must integrate pedagogies, govern ethically, and find a new interpretive responsibility. The research has a theoretical and regional contribution to the discourse on digital religion and education in Islam and religious authority.