ISLAMIC MORAL VALUES AS PANACEA FOR SOCIAL MEDIA ABUSE AMONGMUSLIM PREACHERS IN YORUBALAND OF NIGERIA

Abstract

Before the invention of social media, it is informing that itinerant Muslim preachers had a small or
restricted audience, which hindered the global spread of Da'wah. The twenty-first century with its
modern evolving trends avails contemporary Muslim preachers the opportunity of utilising social
media to promote religious ideals and raise Da'wah awareness. Be that as it may, the unrestrained use
of social media presents a detrimental challenge among contemporary Muslim preachers,
particularly in Yorubaland where moral decadence includes, character assassination, slandering of
scholars, attracting followers with misleading and deceptive outbursts, dissemination of false and
unverified information that goes against Islamic moral values, is prevalent among the preachers. It is
glaring that there is a need for transformation to ward off the abuse. The research attempts to modify
this by unraveling the application of Islamic moral values as a panacea for the social media abuse
among contemporary Muslim preachers in Yorubaland. To fulfill the set goals, the research explores
the study's historical context, summarises Islamic moral principles, analyses social media as a
concept, discusses its misuse, and evaluates the need and importance of applying Islamic moral
principles. The research adopted an analytical method The study asserts that the social media abuse
and cyber bullying of scholars can be curbed by appropriately implementing Islamic moral values.