Siri'-Metawe' Contextual Akhlak: A Framework for Digital-Era Islamic Moral Education in West Sulawesi

Abstract

This article aims to examine conceptually how moral education (akhlak) can be strengthened through Islamic Religious Education (PAI) in the digital era by integrating the local wisdom of the Mandar community in West Sulawesi. This study employs qualitative library research, drawing on journal articles, books, and educational policy documents that were analyzed through content analysis consisting of data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing. The findings show that students’ digital moral challenges, namely the unfiltered flow of information, weakened direct social control, and declining respect toward elders, require PAI teachers, parents, and community figures to act together as role models and facilitators of value-based digital literacy. The Mandar values of siri’ (a sense of shame and dignity) and metawe’ or metabe’ (respect toward elders) correspond philosophically with Islamic moral teachings and can serve as internal and relational anchors of conduct that remain effective where external supervision is absent. These findings are synthesized into a tiered conceptual framework of Siri’-Metawe’ Contextual Akhlak, which links the three values to observable behavioral indicators and a three-step learning sequence. The study concludes that Mandar local wisdom can function not merely as a cultural supplement but as an analytical and pedagogical framework for PAI-based moral education in the digital era, although its effectiveness still needs to be tested empirically in West Sulawesi schools.