Islamic Political Narratives in the Digital Era: A Comparative Analysis of Malaysian and Indonesian Islamic Parties

This study explores the political narratives and representations of leadership by Islamic parties in two Muslim-majority countries, Malaysia and Indonesia, focusing on Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS) and Partai Keadilan Sejahtera (PKS). Many studies on digital political communication and Islamic parties examine campaign effectiveness, thematic content, or leadership as represented through physical presence. However, there remains a gap in understanding how digital political narratives function as a medium to represent leadership in digital spaces or on the party’s official website. This research employs qualitative content analysis along with in-depth interviews. This combination of methods provides a comprehensive understanding of perspectives and insights. Data were collected three months before the general elections in each country, focusing on each party’s website. The study also interviewed 7 student leaders from each country, for a total of 14 participants. The results show that PAS and PKS effectively use their official websites to strengthen their content image and highlight issues across social, political, economic, and religious themes. Student leaders’ views further indicate that digital content plays a crucial role in shaping public perceptions of party leadership and its influence during elections. This research also contributes theoretically by integrating agenda-setting theory and transformational leadership as strategic analytical approaches in political communication in the digital era.