Ministry of Religious Affairs: Religious Counsellors Must Become Fact-Checkers in the Digital Space

The Ministry of Religious Affairs has stated that Islamic religious counsellors must become fact-checkers and guides for the public in filtering information, rectifying misunderstandings, and building healthy religious literacy in the digital space.

“In the era of social media and AI, the challenge for counsellors is not only to convey religious teachings but also to guide the public in distinguishing between authoritative religious knowledge and information that is merely viral,” said Muchlis M. Hanafi, Director of Islamic Religious Information at the Ministry of Religious Affairs, in Jakarta on Friday.

Muchlis noted that advances in information technology and artificial intelligence (AI) have transformed the way society learns about religion. Access to religious knowledge has become easier, although the information available is not always complete, correct, or accountable.

According to him, counsellors must become religious fact-checkers grounded in a scholarly chain of transmission. This is particularly important given the recent phenomenon of people using social media and AI applications as primary sources for religious inquiries.

“AI can help search for information very quickly. However, AI lacks a scholarly chain of transmission, has no moral responsibility, and cannot understand the social context of society in the way a scholar or religious counsellor can,” he said.

He also reminded that the world is currently entering an era of uncertainty. Geopolitical tensions, global economic pressures, technological disruption, changes in communication patterns, and the development of artificial intelligence have all affected people’s lives, including how they understand religion.

In such a situation, he said, counsellors need to strengthen their mastery of fiqh al-waqi’ (understanding of reality) and fiqh at-tahawwulāt (understanding of social change).

Effective preaching, according to him, does not rely solely on mastery of religious texts but also requires the ability to read the changing times so that religious messages remain relevant and capable of addressing the real problems of society.