Trends in Artificial Intelligence and Digital Technology Research in Islamic Education: A Scopus-Based Bibliometric Analysis
TL;DR
The results suggest that studies on AI in Islamic education are still in their foundational, exploratory phases, and three main strategies are proposed: enhancing global partnerships, conducting empirical research on generative AI grounded in Islamic principles, and developing AI tools tailored to Islamic educational environments.
Abstract
The objective of this research is to outline the trends, intellectual framework, and thematic progression of artificial intelligence (AI) and digital technology within Islamic education, using Scopus database records from 2018 to 2026. The study focuses on publication rates, top authors, key institutions, and leading countries, and identifies research gaps to guide future studies. Guided by the PRISMA 2020 guidelines, an initial 225 documents from Scopus underwent identification, screening, and eligibility evaluations, resulting in a final selection of 52 articles from 35 journals, written by 196 authors. A quantitative assessment was conducted via the Bibliometrix (R package) and Biblioshiny, encompassing performance metrics, thematic mapping, and visual networks of keyword co-occurrences. The research area shows significant expansion, boasting a 27.54% Annual Growth Rate (AGR), well above the average for scientific publications, and an international collaboration rate of 30.77%. With 224 citations, Indonesia leads in citation count, while UIN Sunan Kalijaga is the top-contributing institution. The analyzed data includes 225 author keywords and 2,766 references, with an average document age of 1.73 years, indicating the topic's novelty. Thematic evaluations highlight "Islamic education" and "higher education" as primary drivers. Meanwhile, "ChatGPT," "generative AI," "sentiment analysis," and "deep learning" are considered niche topics yet to enter mainstream discussions. Although "digital transformation" and "Islamic religious education" stand out as strategic themes, notable gaps remain in methodologies, themes, geography, and values, especially within madrasah and pesantren contexts. The results suggest that studies on AI in Islamic education are still in their foundational, exploratory phases. Consequently, three main strategies are proposed: enhancing global partnerships, conducting empirical research on generative AI grounded in Islamic principles, and developing AI tools tailored to Islamic educational environments. Keywords: artificial intelligence, Islamic education, bibliometric analysis, Scopus, digital technology.