- 23/06/2021
- Category: Digital Intelligence Lab ID
The use of megaphones as an inseparable part of mosques in Indonesia has long been the subject of debate. Usually, megaphones are being used for adzan and tilawah, while in Ramadan megaphones are also being used to wake people up for suhoor and reminder for imsak time. However, in some regions, people find the use of megaphones too loud and disturbing. Many people do not have the courage to complain, especially since Meiliana’s case back in 2017, who was criticizing adzan and sentenced to jail for blasphemy. Finally on April 22, Zaskia Adya Mecca, known as a celebrity and Moslem influencer, uploaded a video of megaphone’s voice on her personal instagram with the caption asking her followers if the sound is normal or disturbing for other people. Zaskia referred to the new style of waking people up by shouting as it is already loud enough with a megaphone. Later, Zaskia’s brave action gained attention and triggered netizens to start discussing the urgency of the use of megaphones by mosques.
During Ramadan, megaphones are used more frequently. The mosque will wake people up at 3 a.m and tell them to imsak 5 minutes before subuh. As we all know, Moslems are the majority in Indonesia, which comprise 87,2% of its total population. As a result, there are so many mosques with their own megaphones in one region. In Indonesia, megaphone is often called ‘ToA’, derived from the name of the megaphone’s brand. The fact that some mosques also shouted as a new way to wake people up for suhoor disturbed Zaskia.
Zaskia Adya Mecca herself is known as a moslem celebrity who often works as a model for Islamic campaign. This Ramadan, for example, Zaskia was chosen as a model for Lazada Ramadan Advertisement. Therefore, her opinion over megaphone became viral due to her status as a Moslem influencer. Her comment gained more attention when Kompas.com cited her caption into a headline titled “Wake People Up for Suhoor Through Mosque TOA, Zaskia Mecca: Not Funny, Not Ethical, Doesn’t Respect Others(Bangunkan Sahur Lewat Toa Masjid, Zaskia Mecca: Nggak Lucu, Nggak Etis, Nggak Menghargai Orang Lain)”. The misleading quote made people assume Zaskia was against the use of megaphone. Kompas.com eventually revised the title to “Asking the Most Popular Way to Wake People Up for Suhoor, Zaskia Mecca’s Post Gained Spotlight (Pertanyakan Cara Membangunkan Sahur yang Lagi Hits, Postingan Zaskia Mecca ini jadi Sorotan)”, but the discussions among netizens have already spread on social media.
There are various responses from netizens regarding Zaskia Mecca’s opinion about the use of megaphone in a mosque. Based on netizens’ responses, they were divided into three categories which are the netizens who support Zaskia, netizens who oppose Zaskia, and those who finally decided to talk about the urgency of using a megaphone.
The Netizens Who Support Zaskia
First, this research tries to see the positive comments about Zaskia’s opinion on Twitter while there are so many hate speeches from the netizens towards her. Some netizens can be considered defending Zaskia by explaining the meaning of her post. Twitter account @niken_rose replied to @cuppingkopi who said Zaskia failed to understand the use of megaphone. Niken asked the netizens to read and understand the video as a proof that the use of megaphone in Zaskia’s neighborhood is not ethical. She also told netizens to distinguish between an opinion and an imperative sentence.
Raden Muhammad Wisnu, a writer at Mojokdotco, also supports Zaskia in his article titled “Defending Zaskia Adya Mecca Who Complained about the Noisy Mosque TOA (Membela Zaskia Adya Mecca yang Mengeluhkan Toa Masjid yang Berisik)” on the relevance of Zaskia’s opinion about megaphone in a mosque. Many people who agree also commented on Mojok’s tweet, saying that in some cases the megaphone disturbs the environment. This article and the subsequent responses to it, therefore, can be seen as evidence that many people finally have the courage to talk about their opinion about megaphone.
Netizens not only defend Zaskia by tweeting about their personal experiences, but they also tend to talk about the headline of the news. Many of them considered Zaskia as a victim from the false citing by KompasTV. The debate which occurred under the hashtag of “#ZaskiaMeccaMabokToa” was caused by the wrong understanding of netizens. They compared the old headline with the new headline, which changed after KompasTV gained so much attention from netizens.
#ZaskiaMeccaMabokToa: Buzzers Who Are Against Zaskia
After the tweet by KompasTV gained some attention, a hashtag called #ZaskiaMeccaMabokToa appeared on Twitter and became a trending topic. Almost all of the tweets using #ZaskiaMeccaMabokToa contain criticisms and hatred against Zaskia. Therefore, it is important to see which categories of netizens started and frequently used the hashtag. Based on the Twitter sample data used in this research, #ZaskiaMeccaMabokToa was first mentioned in a tweet by @Mahagoni8. The tweet was a reply to @_Ipeh_14 who was talking about Atta Halilintar and his relationship with Jokowi. The first tweet did not gain much engagement.
One of the accounts who received big attention from mentioning #ZaskiaMeccaMabokToa is @Anonymous_2024. He connected the similarity between PKI (the Communist Party of Indonesia), the devil, and Zaskia. It is because Zaskia’s husband, Hanung Bramantyo, is a Jokowi supporter which is often considered as a PKI supporter.
Another account who was against Zaskia’s opinion is @akhwatelya (As of June 17, 2021, the user has changed the username to @ukhtielya). She told netizens about her personal experience and thanked the use of megaphone in a mosque. In the end, she mocked Zaskia and also pointed out Zaskia’s religion.
@Mahagoni8, @Anonymous_2024, and @akhwatelya are considered as buzzer accounts according to their behaviour on tweeting. They usually tweet about Jokowi in a negative way. Even though @akhwatelya didn’t use #ZaskiaMeccaMabokToa, she often retweeted a tweet from @anonymous_2024 that mentioned the hashtag. For example, most @Anonymous_2024 ‘s tweets are describing how Indonesian Government is incompetence. The account also acted as Habib Rizieq Shihab’s supporter which demands to release Rizieq Shihab from jail. Different from @Anonymous_24 who posted their own tweets about the issue, @akhwatelya usually replies or retweets other users’ tweets aimed to criticize Jokowi. Another evidence to support the argument is that @Mahagoni8 has been suspended by Twitter as of June 17, 2021. This means his account has violated the Twitter’s rules and policies.
As we all could see, the discussion about Zaskia’s opinion towards megaphone on Twitter somehow has become a hot topic for buzzers. They started a new trend using the hashtag #ZaskiaMeccaMabokToa. Buzzer not only talked about the opinion of Zaskia, but also the political choice of her and her husband. In other words, the discussion is being used to indirectly criticize Jokowi.
Netizens Talk about The Urgency of Using Megaphone in a Mosque
Zaskia’s opinion encourages many netizens to finally speak about the ethics of using a megaphone in a mosque. Moreover, the ZaskiaMeccaMabokToa discussion did not only revolve around Zaskia. In this case, some of them finally have the urge to have an opinion about the use of loud megaphone in a mosque.
For example, @flovaira mentioned how using a loud voice to wake up people for suhoor is not a good thing to do. With this statement, Flovaira did not only focus on the use of megaphone, but also many other ways to wake people up for suhoor, for example by using a parade.
Similar to @flovaira, @mtaufiqar also tweeted his support for Zaskia. On top of that he also asked Muhammadiyah, as an Islamic organization, to give a response to Zaskia’s opinion. He thinks that the use of megaphone in mosques should be regulated. From Taufiq’s tweet, which gained many engagements, we could say many people are concerned about the use of megaphone and the regulation for it.
Conclusion
Zaskia Adya Mecca’s opinion on the urgency of using a megaphone in a mosque has led to a big concern among netizens. The issue started when KompasTV cited her caption as a headline, causing a discussion between netizens. Many netizens finally have the urge to share a story of their personal experiences with megaphone. However, the discussion does not only consist of people who purely agree or disagree with her opinion. This research has also identified buzzers who linked Zaskia’s behaviour with her past political choice and mentioned Jokowi as a president. Therefore, this research shows the politicization of Zaskia’s opinion.
Author: Olivia Prastiti
Data collection: Vidiskiu Fortino
Editor: Josia Paska Darmawan
