Religious Conversion in the Field of Islamic Sharia by the Hijrah Community

Abstract

Background: underlying the development of the hijrah community among millennial Muslim youths in Yogyakarta City, focusing on the transformation of Islamic shari’ah within mosque-based programs organized by Teras Dakwah and Muslim United (Real Masjid). The study addresses how mosque-centered initiatives reshape religious attitudes, practices, and socio-economic engagement among young Muslims

Methods: Employing a grounded phenomenological approach, the research analyzes participants lived experiences through a dialectical framework of three moments to understand the processes of externalization and objectivation of religious knowledge

Results: The findings identify four integrated forms of shari’ah transformation. First, the mosque as Baitullah shifts youths’ reluctance into a willingness to attend as part of their hijrah. Second, participants move from shyness to active enjoyment of religious studies. Third, they transition from passive attendance to active involvement in prospering the mosque. Fourth, this engagement expands into business activities, positioning the mosque as a center of community economic life. These transformations reflect the objectivation of inclusive shari’ah knowledge collectively agreed upon within the community

Conclusion: this inclusive transformation signifies a form of religious conversion among millennial Muslim youths without generating sociological or theological tensions. By conceptualizing shari’ah transformation as a dialectical process embedded in mosque institutions, this research contributes to international scholarship on youth religiosity, Islamic revivalism, and the sociology of religion, particularly in the context of contemporary urban Muslim societies in Southeast Asia