Children's Interpretations of Digital Islamic Narratives and Parents' Perceptions of Their Religious and Educational Credibility: A Qualitative Audience Reception Study
Keywords:
Digital Islamic Stories, Children's Interpretation, Parents' Perception, Audience Reception Theory, Religious Credibility, Educational Credibility, Islamic Education, The Thematic Analysis, NVivoAbstract
The present study is a descriptive qualitative research that examines the meaning making process of children comprehended from the digital Islamic narratives as well as parents' judgment of the religious and educational value of the meaningful parents. The study was based on Audience Reception Theory which involves semi-structured interviews with six children and five parents, using purposive sampling. Data from interviews were analyzed thematically according to the thematic analysis method proposed by Braun and Clarke, with the assistance of NVivo software. The results reveal that children are not passive recipients of digital Islamic stories, but rather are actively involved and derive moral lessons from the storytelling, animation, and visual elements. The parents, in turn, feel these stories can be helpful for teaching Islamic values and for development of moral values and principles, provided they are accurate and in line with the Qur'an and Sunna. The findings of this study are valuable in outlining the significant role of digital media in the religious education of children, as well as explaining the importance of parental guidance and the presence of reliable Islamic media.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Rukh-e-Zahra Bukhari, Sidra Bukhari, Ain ul Batool, Aiman Liaqat (Author)
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