Young Muslim Women's Digital Engagement with Cultural Heritage: Implications for Citizenship Education and National Sovereignty

Abstract

The increasing influence of digital media has transformed the ways young people interact with cultural heritage, identity, and citizenship. While globalization and digital communication offer opportunities for cultural exchange, they also pose challenges to the preservation of local cultural values and national identity. Young Muslim women have emerged as active participants in digital spaces, using social media and other online platforms to express, reinterpret, and promote cultural heritage. However, limited research has explored how these digital practices contribute to citizenship education and support national sovereignty in the contemporary digital era. This study aims to examine how young Muslim women engage with cultural heritage through new media and to analyze the implications of this engagement for citizenship education and national sovereignty. The research employs a phenomenological approach to understand the lived experiences and meanings that participants attach to their digital cultural activities. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with young Muslim women and complemented by secondary data from academic literature, policy documents, and digital media content, including social media posts and online cultural campaigns. The findings indicate that young Muslim women utilize digital platforms as spaces for cultural preservation, identity formation, and civic participation. Their engagement with cultural heritage strengthens cultural awareness, promotes digital citizenship competencies, and encourages a sense of responsibility toward safeguarding national values in a globalized environment. Furthermore, digital cultural practices foster intercultural dialogue and contribute to strengthening national sovereignty through the preservation and dissemination of local cultural knowledge. These findings suggest that citizenship education should integrate digital literacy and cultural heritage engagement to empower young citizens as active contributors to society.