The Phenomenon of Islamic Boarding School Traditions Against Modernity: A Case Study of Lirboyo Islamic Boarding School from the Perspective of Mass Media and Social Media
Main Article Content
Abstract
The phenomenon of modernity, characterized by the acceleration of information technology and the dominance of digital media, has generated profound social, cultural, and epistemological transformations across various spheres of life including within traditional Islamic educational institutions such as pesantren. This article provides an in-depth examination of how Pondok Pesantren Lirboyo in Kediri, East Java, negotiates its traditional identity within the context of digital modernity. The study focuses on the public controversy surrounding the Xpose Uncensored program aired by Trans7 in October 2025, which sparked extensive public reactions. Employing a qualitative approach within the theoretical frameworks of the mediatization of religion and cultural negotiation, this research integrates Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) of mass media coverage with digital ethnography to trace the dynamics of online discourse and public narratives across platforms such as Twitter/X, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. The findings reveal that Pondok Pesantren Lirboyo does not reject modernity outright but rather constructs a model of selective modernization a form of critical engagement with technology and digital media that maintains the core values of Islamic ethics and pesantren traditions. The responses of the pesantren community and santri toward the Trans7 broadcast demonstrate a symbolic awareness aimed at preserving moral authority amid media representation disruptions. Meanwhile, the active use of social media by santri and alumni serves as an instrument of counter-discourse against mainstream media framing, simultaneously strengthening the pesantren’s presence and legitimacy within the digital public sphere. This study concludes that pesantren are now transforming into active cultural agents within the process of mediatization not merely objects of media representation but subjects capable of managing their image, discourse, and identity amidst the flux of global modernity. The phenomenon reinforces the argument that tradition and modernity within Indonesian Islam are not in binary opposition, but exist in a dynamic and productive dialectical relationship.
Article Details
How to Cite
SYAH, Syahrudin; ASHARI, Zakiah Mohamad.
The Phenomenon of Islamic Boarding School Traditions Against Modernity: A Case Study of Lirboyo Islamic Boarding School from the Perspective of Mass Media and Social Media.
Proceeding of International Conference on Islamic Education (ICIED), [S.l.], v. 10, n. 1, p. 1482-1492, dec. 2025.
ISSN 2613-9804.
Available at: <https://conferences.uin-malang.ac.id/index.php/icied/article/view/3798>. Date accessed: 22 july 2026.
doi: https://doi.org/10.18860/icied.v10i1.3798.
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Articles
References
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Benfeldt, O., & Persson, J. S. (2025). Semiotic mediation in data governance: Towards valuing data as assets. Information and Organization, 35(3), 100588.
Davydzik, V. (2025). CYBERFEMINISM AND THE BELARUSIAN UPRISING: DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURES, AFFECTIVE SOLIDARITY, AND POLITICAL IMAGINATION. Topos, 1, 226–243.
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Firdaus, S. A., & Suwendi, S. (2025). Fostering Social Harmony: The Impact of Islamic Character Education in Multicultural Societies. AL-ISHLAH: Jurnal Pendidikan, 17(1), 942–955.
Firnando, H. G., Khair, N., & Setiawati, C. (2025). Religious Education 5.0: Concept, Design, and Implementation of Adaptive Pedagogy in Islamic Religious Education for the Society 5.0 Era. Indonesian Journal of Islamic Educational Review, 2(3), 241–254.
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Greco, C., & Leone, M. (2025). Wearing the Veil in the Web: Transformations of Social Norms and Everyday Practices in the Digital Sphere Within the MENA Region. International Journal for the Semiotics of Law-Revue Internationale de Sémiotique Juridique, 1–39.
Haobo, S. (2025). China’s Image in Sino-US Trade War Reporting from the Perspective of Critical Discourse Analysis: Comparative Study on the Report of China Daily in 2018 and 2025. 0299, 49–68. https://doi.org/10.32996/ijllt
Happyana, L., & Istiqomah, F. Z. (2025). Integration of Tradition and Technology : Digitalization Strategies in Islamic Education at Pesantren in Banyuwangi , Indonesia. 6(01), 1–18.
Hapsari, Y. D., Rahmawati, T., Kurniawan, D. A., & Hikmat, R. (2025). Jurnal Penelitian Ilmu-Ilmu Sosial New Social Movements in Mental Health Issues : The Role of Griya Schizofren in Humanizing People with Mental Health Problems ( ODMK ) in Surakarta City. 6(2), 149–166. https://doi.org/10.23917/sosial.v6i2.12695
Hasanah, U. (2024). Praktik Filantropi Islam di Baitul Maal KSPPS NURI Jatim Perspektif Maslahah. INSTITUT AGAMA ISLAM NEGERI MADURA.
Hidayat, A., & Wahyono, S. B. (2025). Grassroots perspectives of Javanese Muslims on local kyai figures versus Islamic preachers in religious television broadcasts. Masyarakat, Kebudayaan & Politik, 38(1).
Kahl, P. (2025). Epistemic Justice and Institutional Responsibility in Academia.
Li, L., & Huang, J. (2025). Online discourse and chronotopic identity work: A longitudinal digital ethnography on WeChat. New Media & Society, 27(6), 3596–3617.
Loso, J., Purba, R., Fatmawati, E., Ningrum, D. W., & Saputra, N. (2025). Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) of Norman Fairclough’s Theory on Gojek YouTube Advertisement GoSend Version: Jadi# BestSellerGoSend Bareng Ariel Noah.
Maspul, K. A. (2025). Sacred Resilience: The Islamic Wisdom of Soul Healing. Deepublish.
Masuwd, M. A., Wasil, A., & Hidayatulloh, M. (2025). Islamic Boarding School Media as a Bridge of Communication for Multicultural Communities. 2, 47–67.
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Mustofa, M. Y., Mas, A., & Elizabeth, M. Z. (2023). Hybrid Pesantren in Indonesia ; Analyzing the Transformation of Islamic Religious Education in the Digital Age Abstrak. 14(1), 79–104.
Nadhifah, A. M., & Pramono, M. S. (2025). Negotiating Liminal Identity and Women’s Empowerment in Pesantren Salaf. Jurnal Sosiologi Reflektif, 19(2), 365–400.
Ndifereke, C., & Bassey, G. (2025). Photo Aesthetics in Select Nigerian Newspapers and Reader Preferences in South-South Nigeria : Examining Visual Appeal and Audience Engagement. 10(1), 41–52. https://doi.org/10.56201/ijelcs.vol.10.no1.2025.pg41.52
Nusra, T. R. (2025). Critical Discourse Analysis of Entrepreneurship in E-Learning Platforms : A Fairclough Model Application.
Orgeret, K. S., Mutsvairo, B., de Bruijn, M., Schroeder, D. T., Badji, S. D., & Moges, M. A. (2025). Hashtags, Hatetags and social media campaigns in Ethiopia’s Tigray conflict. Information, Communication & Society, 1–19.
Putra, A. P., Sapiudin, S., Efendi, R., Handayani, F., Septiarini, A., Amiros, K., & Burhan, B. (2025). Community-Based Education: Fostering Participatory and Practical Interfaith Tolerance through the Temanggungan Bogor Case Study, Indonesia. JURNAL INDO-ISLAMIKA, 15(1), 186–199.
Raya, M. K. F. (2025). Digital Islam: New space for authority and religious commodification among Islamic preachers in contemporary Indonesia. Contemporary Islam, 19(1), 161–194.
Safitri, E., Alkhowarizmi, A., Luthfi, R., Putri, N. A., & Fazriani, E. T. (2025). Maintaining Traditions in the Midst of the Current Era: Adaptive Strategies of Islamic Boarding Schools to Modernization. Jurnal Studi Sosial Keagamaan Syekh Nurjati, 5(1), 100–121.
Shobri, K., Ghufron, M., & Kholis, M. M. (2025). AUGMENTED AND VIRTUAL REALITY IN INDONESIAN MADRASAH EDUCATION: POTENTIALS, CHALLENGES, AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS.
Sim, J., Marit, A., & Sim, J. (2023). Metasynthesis : issues of empirical and theoretical context. Quality & Quantity, 57(4), 3339–3361. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-022-01502-w
Sukmawaty, F., Wahyuni, Y. S., Tianqi, F., Gunawan, A., & Yaya, S. (2025). Performing Cultural Synthesis : Sendratari Kadita as Ethical Pedagogy in Islamic-Javanese Heritage Preservation and Pluralistic Coexistence. 15(1), 136–152.
Taufikin, T. (2025). Redefining Islamic Pedagogy: A Transformative Approach to 21st-Century Education in Indonesian Pesantren. Maharot: Journal of Islamic Education, 9(1), 1–20.
Tsuladze, L., Lokot, T., & Boulos, S. (2025). Mediatized Discourses on Europeanization and Their Representations in Public Perceptions. Aranzadi.
Wajdi, M. B. N., Marpuah, S., Ahmad, S. B. A. B., Abdul, M. H. B. A. R., & Rusdi, M. (2025). Reconceptualization of Islamic Education in Indonesia: Future Strategies and Approaches. EDUKASI: Jurnal Penelitian Pendidikan Agama Dan Keagamaan, 23(2), 256–270.
Wickramasinghe, D., Adhikari, P., Steccolini, I., & Jayasinghe, K. (2025). The Recovery of Public Sector Accounting as a Site of Possibility: Publicness and Localized‐Led Development. In Financial Accountability & Management. Wiley Online Library.
Adhikari, P., Danture, W., Steccolini, I., & Jayasinghe, K. N. (2025). reorienting public sector accounting beyond NPM. Financial Accountability and Management.
Adisa, O. O., & Oluwatosin, B. (2025). Framing Terror : Media , Boko Haram , and the Struggle for Narrative Power in Nigeria. 3, 20–47.
Aithal, P. S. (2025). Holistic education redefined: Integrating STEM with arts, environment, Spirituality, and sports through the seven-factor/Saptha-Mukhi student development model. Poornaprajna International Journal of Management, Education & Social Science (PIJMESS), 2(1), 1–52.
Al-Kassimi, K., Kirat, M., & Hmaidi, L. (2025). A critique of Frantz Fanon’s abandonment neurosis and secular-humanist ideology: Islam, non-violence, and anti-colonial movements. Cogent Arts & Humanities, 12(1), 2522563.
Alpuğan, Z. (2024). NAVIGATING THE DIGITAL LANDSCAPE: A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF DIGITAL MEDIA'S IMPACT ON CHILD DEVELOPMENT TT - DİJİTAL DÜNYADA YOLCULUK: DİJİTAL MEDYANIN ÇOCUK GELİŞİMİNE ETKİSİ ÜZERİNE KAPSAMLI BIR İNCELEME. Nişantaşı Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, 12(2), 572–592. https://doi.org/10.52122/nisantasisbd.1481354
Anggawirya, A. M., Floriani, R., & Reliubun, A. S. (2025). Representation of Cultural Values in Digital Content Through a Grounded Theory Approach to Cultural Creators on Tiktok. 4(2), 119–131. https://doi.org/10.54259/mukasi.v4i2.4257
Arifin, Z., Huda, S., Bisyri, M. H., & Budiman, M. (2025). The The Strategic Role of Kiai in Embedding Qur’anic Educational Values within Rural Communities. Edukasia Islamika, 10(1), 17–34.
Bartsch, A., Neuberger, C., Stark, B., Karnowski, V., Maurer, M., Pentzold, C., Quandt, T., Quiring, O., & Schemer, C. (2025). Epistemic authority in the digital public sphere. An integrative conceptual framework and research agenda. Communication Theory, 35(1), 37–50.
Benfeldt, O., & Persson, J. S. (2025). Semiotic mediation in data governance: Towards valuing data as assets. Information and Organization, 35(3), 100588.
Davydzik, V. (2025). CYBERFEMINISM AND THE BELARUSIAN UPRISING: DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURES, AFFECTIVE SOLIDARITY, AND POLITICAL IMAGINATION. Topos, 1, 226–243.
Description, C., Student, C., & Outcomes, L. (2025). Social Media Tools / Strategies.
Fatah, S. M. (2025). Constructing gender through silence: Patriarchal power in Nawal El-Saadawi’s “Nobody Told Her.” Women’s Studies International Forum, 114, 103238. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wsif.2025.103238
Firdaus, S. A., & Suwendi, S. (2025). Fostering Social Harmony: The Impact of Islamic Character Education in Multicultural Societies. AL-ISHLAH: Jurnal Pendidikan, 17(1), 942–955.
Firnando, H. G., Khair, N., & Setiawati, C. (2025). Religious Education 5.0: Concept, Design, and Implementation of Adaptive Pedagogy in Islamic Religious Education for the Society 5.0 Era. Indonesian Journal of Islamic Educational Review, 2(3), 241–254.
Forward, A. P., & Muslim, F. O. R. (2025). Article Details : Policy Journal of Social Science Review. May, 227–241.
Ghani, M. F., & Ayaz, H. (2025). Practical Strategies for Islamic Character Building in Contemporary Society: An Analytical Study in the Light of the Quran and Sunnah: الاستراتيجيات العملية لبناء الشخصية الإسلامية في المجتمع المعاصر: دراسة تحليلية في ضوء القرآن والسنة. Al-Marjān (المرجان), 3(2), 16–27.
Greco, C., & Leone, M. (2025). Wearing the Veil in the Web: Transformations of Social Norms and Everyday Practices in the Digital Sphere Within the MENA Region. International Journal for the Semiotics of Law-Revue Internationale de Sémiotique Juridique, 1–39.
Haobo, S. (2025). China’s Image in Sino-US Trade War Reporting from the Perspective of Critical Discourse Analysis: Comparative Study on the Report of China Daily in 2018 and 2025. 0299, 49–68. https://doi.org/10.32996/ijllt
Happyana, L., & Istiqomah, F. Z. (2025). Integration of Tradition and Technology : Digitalization Strategies in Islamic Education at Pesantren in Banyuwangi , Indonesia. 6(01), 1–18.
Hapsari, Y. D., Rahmawati, T., Kurniawan, D. A., & Hikmat, R. (2025). Jurnal Penelitian Ilmu-Ilmu Sosial New Social Movements in Mental Health Issues : The Role of Griya Schizofren in Humanizing People with Mental Health Problems ( ODMK ) in Surakarta City. 6(2), 149–166. https://doi.org/10.23917/sosial.v6i2.12695
Hasanah, U. (2024). Praktik Filantropi Islam di Baitul Maal KSPPS NURI Jatim Perspektif Maslahah. INSTITUT AGAMA ISLAM NEGERI MADURA.
Hidayat, A., & Wahyono, S. B. (2025). Grassroots perspectives of Javanese Muslims on local kyai figures versus Islamic preachers in religious television broadcasts. Masyarakat, Kebudayaan & Politik, 38(1).
Kahl, P. (2025). Epistemic Justice and Institutional Responsibility in Academia.
Li, L., & Huang, J. (2025). Online discourse and chronotopic identity work: A longitudinal digital ethnography on WeChat. New Media & Society, 27(6), 3596–3617.
Loso, J., Purba, R., Fatmawati, E., Ningrum, D. W., & Saputra, N. (2025). Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) of Norman Fairclough’s Theory on Gojek YouTube Advertisement GoSend Version: Jadi# BestSellerGoSend Bareng Ariel Noah.
Maspul, K. A. (2025). Sacred Resilience: The Islamic Wisdom of Soul Healing. Deepublish.
Masuwd, M. A., Wasil, A., & Hidayatulloh, M. (2025). Islamic Boarding School Media as a Bridge of Communication for Multicultural Communities. 2, 47–67.
MUI.OR.ID. (2025). KPI Resmi Hentikan Program Xpose Uncensored Trans7, Imbas Sudutkan Pesantren dan Kiai. MUI.OR.ID. https://mui.or.id/baca/berita/kpi-resmi-hentikan-program-xpose-uncensored-trans7-imbas-sudutkan-pesantren-dan-kiai
Mustofa, M. Y., Mas, A., & Elizabeth, M. Z. (2023). Hybrid Pesantren in Indonesia ; Analyzing the Transformation of Islamic Religious Education in the Digital Age Abstrak. 14(1), 79–104.
Nadhifah, A. M., & Pramono, M. S. (2025). Negotiating Liminal Identity and Women’s Empowerment in Pesantren Salaf. Jurnal Sosiologi Reflektif, 19(2), 365–400.
Ndifereke, C., & Bassey, G. (2025). Photo Aesthetics in Select Nigerian Newspapers and Reader Preferences in South-South Nigeria : Examining Visual Appeal and Audience Engagement. 10(1), 41–52. https://doi.org/10.56201/ijelcs.vol.10.no1.2025.pg41.52
Nusra, T. R. (2025). Critical Discourse Analysis of Entrepreneurship in E-Learning Platforms : A Fairclough Model Application.
Orgeret, K. S., Mutsvairo, B., de Bruijn, M., Schroeder, D. T., Badji, S. D., & Moges, M. A. (2025). Hashtags, Hatetags and social media campaigns in Ethiopia’s Tigray conflict. Information, Communication & Society, 1–19.
Putra, A. P., Sapiudin, S., Efendi, R., Handayani, F., Septiarini, A., Amiros, K., & Burhan, B. (2025). Community-Based Education: Fostering Participatory and Practical Interfaith Tolerance through the Temanggungan Bogor Case Study, Indonesia. JURNAL INDO-ISLAMIKA, 15(1), 186–199.
Raya, M. K. F. (2025). Digital Islam: New space for authority and religious commodification among Islamic preachers in contemporary Indonesia. Contemporary Islam, 19(1), 161–194.
Safitri, E., Alkhowarizmi, A., Luthfi, R., Putri, N. A., & Fazriani, E. T. (2025). Maintaining Traditions in the Midst of the Current Era: Adaptive Strategies of Islamic Boarding Schools to Modernization. Jurnal Studi Sosial Keagamaan Syekh Nurjati, 5(1), 100–121.
Shobri, K., Ghufron, M., & Kholis, M. M. (2025). AUGMENTED AND VIRTUAL REALITY IN INDONESIAN MADRASAH EDUCATION: POTENTIALS, CHALLENGES, AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS.
Sim, J., Marit, A., & Sim, J. (2023). Metasynthesis : issues of empirical and theoretical context. Quality & Quantity, 57(4), 3339–3361. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-022-01502-w
Sukmawaty, F., Wahyuni, Y. S., Tianqi, F., Gunawan, A., & Yaya, S. (2025). Performing Cultural Synthesis : Sendratari Kadita as Ethical Pedagogy in Islamic-Javanese Heritage Preservation and Pluralistic Coexistence. 15(1), 136–152.
Taufikin, T. (2025). Redefining Islamic Pedagogy: A Transformative Approach to 21st-Century Education in Indonesian Pesantren. Maharot: Journal of Islamic Education, 9(1), 1–20.
Tsuladze, L., Lokot, T., & Boulos, S. (2025). Mediatized Discourses on Europeanization and Their Representations in Public Perceptions. Aranzadi.
Wajdi, M. B. N., Marpuah, S., Ahmad, S. B. A. B., Abdul, M. H. B. A. R., & Rusdi, M. (2025). Reconceptualization of Islamic Education in Indonesia: Future Strategies and Approaches. EDUKASI: Jurnal Penelitian Pendidikan Agama Dan Keagamaan, 23(2), 256–270.
Wickramasinghe, D., Adhikari, P., Steccolini, I., & Jayasinghe, K. (2025). The Recovery of Public Sector Accounting as a Site of Possibility: Publicness and Localized‐Led Development. In Financial Accountability & Management. Wiley Online Library.