On another front, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) leaders are increasingly engaging in digital forms of preaching. For example, they deliver religious studies via Zoom meetings, YouTube channels, and Facebook Live broadcasts, as seen with figures like Gus Ulil Abshar Abdalla. This digital transformation forces pesantren teaching methods to become more flexible, no longer confined by time and space. Now, anyone can potentially become a teacher or a digital santri.
The challenge, however, is that technology does not offer the same standardization of expertise for religious figures (such as kiai or ulama) that pesantren do. In addition, the spiritual stature and character-building education provided by pesantren are not easily replicated online. In the traditional setting, a kiai commands respect from their students, primarily emphasizing etiquette over pure knowledge.
Digitalizing Pesantren
Given that not everyone can access the wealth of knowledge typically found in pesantren due to limitations of time and space, digitalizing pesantren could help address the scarcity of religious study materials typically offered in these institutions. However, the flood of religious content online poses a challenge for pesantren to offer methods of religious outreach that remain relevant, particularly to the millennial generation.
The fundamental reason for technological advancement is to make human work easier, often leading to an unintended culture of laziness, with effectiveness and efficiency prioritized. This is what makes “Sunnah studies” attractive to some when responding to queries from their followers—they offer straightforward answers grounded in the interpretations of specific Islamic scholars.