Artificial Intelligence, Green Elections, and Islamic Political Ethics: Rethinking Digital Campaigns through Siyāsah Sharʿiyyah in Indonesia

Abstract

Conventional political campaigns in Indonesia have generated significant environmental impacts, particularly through the extensive use of plastic- and vinyl-based campaign materials that contribute to waste accumulation and ecological degradation. At the same time, the increasing use of artificial intelligence (AI) in political communication has introduced new debates concerning the relationship between digital democracy, technological power, and ethical governance. This article aims to critically examine the potential and limitations of AI-based digital campaigns within the framework of siyāsah sharʿiyyah, while exploring the concept of Green Elections as an environmentally and ethically oriented model of democratic practice. This study employs a normative legal research method using statutory, conceptual, and doctrinal approaches. The analysis is conducted through interpretation of electoral law, environmental governance, and Islamic political jurisprudence, particularly the principles of maṣlaḥah mursalah, ḥifẓ al-bīʾah (environmental protection), al-ʿadālah(justice), and dafʿ al-mafsadah (prevention of harm). Rather than empirically measuring the effectiveness of AI technologies, this article focuses on doctrinal and normative analysis concerning the ethical legitimacy of AI-based political campaigns within contemporary digital democracy. The findings suggest that AI-based campaigns potentially contribute to reducing dependence on environmentally harmful physical campaign materials and may support broader dissemination of political information within digital spaces. From the perspective of siyāsah sharʿiyyah, AI may possess limited functional relevance to certain objectives of hisbah, particularly in relation to monitoring disinformation, hate speech, and campaign violations. However, this study also demonstrates that AI is not a neutral technological instrument. Algorithmic bias, data manipulation, surveillance capitalism, and corporate control over digital infrastructures create significant ethical and political risks that may undermine justice, transparency, and democratic accountability. Accordingly, the compatibility between AI and the principles of siyāsah sharʿiyyah should be understood as conditional and dialectical rather than absolute. This article argues that the realization of Green Elections requires not only technological innovation, but also ethical regulation, ecological responsibility, and democratic oversight grounded in the objectives of maqāṣid al-sharīʿah.