Reconstructing Islamic Humanism for Ethical Governance of the Digital Public Sphere: A Normative-Conceptual Analysis

The expansion of the digital public sphere has intensified ethical challenges such as polarization, incivility, performative religiosity, and the erosion of moral accountability in online communication. Existing studies on Islam and digital media largely remain descriptive, focusing on patterns of online religious expression, identity construction, or authority contestation, while leaving under-theorized the normative ethical criteria by which digital discourse itself can be evaluated and guided. Unlike dominant approaches that treat Islam primarily as a sociocultural variable within digital environments, this study advances Islamic humanism as a normative ethical theory capable of critically assessing and reshaping the moral quality of digital public discourse. This study aims to address this gap by conceptualizing Islamic humanism as a normative framework for ethical engagement in the digital public sphere. Drawing on classical Islamic moral philosophy, particularly the principles of adab (civility), rahmah (compassion), and ʿadl (justice), the research examines how Islamic ethical values can inform digital discourse, communication practices, and identity formation. The study employs a qualitative, interpretive, and hermeneutic methodology, integrating conceptual analysis with critical readings of contemporary digital discourse. The findings reveal that Islamic humanism provides a triadic ethical grammar capable of countering dehumanizing tendencies in digital environments by restoring moral balance, empathy, and justice in online interaction. The analysis also identifies structural tensions between spiritual sincerity and algorithm-driven performance, highlighting the need to integrate ethical consciousness with technological literacy. This study proposes a model of digital Islamic humanism that unites ethical, discursive, and identity dimensions. The findings contribute theoretically to digital ethics by introducing an Islamic humanist normative paradigm and offer practical implications for fostering humane, responsible, and spiritually grounded digital citizenship in pluralistic public spheres.