ISLAMIC EDUTAINMENT AS PEDAGOGICAL DA‘WAH: INTEGRATIVE ISLAMIC EDUCATION THROUGH TELEVISION PRODUCTION

Abstract

This study aimed how Islamic higher education institutions (Perguruan Tinggi Keagamaan Islam, PTKI) in Indonesia produce television edutainment as an institutionalized form of pedagogical da‘wah and a site of integrative Islamic education. Using a qualitative multi-case design across three PTKI media units, the research draws on in-depth interviews, participant observation, document review, and focus group discussions. It analyzes them through an interactive process of data reduction, display, and verification, combined with cross-case thematic analysis. Three findings emerged. First, television production operated as an institutionalized extension of classroom pedagogy and da‘wah rather than as independent broadcasting, blending experiential learning with public religious communication. Second, producers translated integrative Islamic values into entertaining formats through narrative, dramatization, dialogue, and humor, guided by ethical boundaries derived from maqāṣid al-sharī‘ah. Third, production remained a negotiated practice shaped by human resource instability, infrastructural disparity, and the tension between religious dignity and audience appeal. The study contributes a production-centered account of religious edutainment and reframes PTKI as active producers of religiously grounded educational media ecosystems. In practice, it offers guidance on strengthening campus media governance, student capacity, and ethical content design. The findings imply that mediated da‘wah in Islamic higher education is best understood as moral media work, in which pedagogy, institutional legitimacy, and religious authority are continuously balanced