Distinction of Millennials and Generation Z Islamic Literacy: A Comparative Study of Reading Preferences at UIN Sayyid Ali Rahmatullah Tulungagung

The characteristics of the generation are related to the side of Islamic behavior that they should adhere to. We can analyze the selection of literacy commonly used in studying Islam. However, the increasing prevalence of various literacy that does not introduce tolerance and diversity even leads to radicalism. Therefore, mapping the relationship between generation categories and literacy selection is used as a center for knowledge development, especially in the Higher Education environment. There are several things to consider in creating a university that views the importance of tolerance. The first thing that may be done is to create students at Islamic universities with intellectual abilities and an emotional side when interacting with a difference. That can be realized through a curriculum system emphasizing tolerance through interaction and cooperation with various campuses with different beliefs. The following formulation can be done by integrating the curriculum that the campus has set with a more moderate teaching system by selecting teaching materials that follow the rules of nationalism and plurality. Moderate teaching can also be seen in Islamic universities in Indonesia, which insert some compulsory courses based on the Islamic religion. However, the emphasis on tolerance of differences needs to be included in some of these courses. Control of interactions outside of student academic activities should be considered because ideologies do not follow diversity rules. Approaches with offcampus organizations are a middle ground by providing understanding and exciting studies to appreciate the differences. It can also be done by facilitating interfaith and social activities that strengthen brotherhood regardless of differences. As Al' Ayyubi said, building an understanding of freedom of religion and belief can start from building friendly intellectual abilities in diversity and through a modified Education system of understanding differences!. The presence of various Islamic-based student organizations in Islamic universities can also be a forum for a tolerant life of religious differences and beliefs. In addition, literacy control spread across campuses is an important thing to do. The literacy referred to here is Islamic literacy that spreads among university actors, namely students and teachers. Therefore, before going further, this research focuses on mapping the Islamic literature used in the State Islamic University (PTKIN), where UIN Sayyid Ali Rahmatullah Tulungagung is the place of the author's chosen research object. UIN Sayyid Ali Rahmatullah Tulungagung was chosen as the research location because it met the requirements for variables that researchers tried to analyze, such as the spread of the number of millennials and Z generations on the PTKIN campus, which has the most significant number of students in East Java. In addition, this Islamic University also applies several Islamic-based courses, such as Islamic Studies or Moderate Islam, which are listed in the curriculum of compulsory courses each student must take. However, Islamic Literacy Mapping, often used on campus, needs to be done to anticipate some literature that may tend to radicalism or map the criteria for Islamic literature, like what these two different generations choose. Comparative research on mapping Islamic literature used by millennials and Generation Z is rarely found in some PTKIN in Indonesia. Even if there is research on the relationship between the millennial generation and literacy tendendies, it is not a comparison, even though if we analyze again, the millennial generation has run out. It is time for Generation Z to choose the proper literacy, as mentioned in Tirto.id article dated April 28, 2017, entitled "Selamat tinggal generasi milenial, selamat datang generasi Z (goodbye millennial generation, congratulations come to generation Z)." One of the studies that Nurhadi Hasan has done about how Islamic literature tends to be done by the millennial generation2. The paper leans towards describing what literature is commonly used in various places in Indonesia by combining it with the study of Islamism. Furthermore, the paper is also more indepth about how to map publishers that tend to be on the side of Islamism based on data in all high schools and universities in Indonesia. The depiction of this research is on the millennial generation experiencing a period of movement from print to digital so that they move their understanding of Islam on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, or other online media®. However, when looking further back at the definition of the millennial generation, there will certainly be something that needs to be added to the study. Furthermore, the distinction of the differences between millennials and Generation Z is what escapes the study. So, this research focused on the differences in the selection of Islamic literacy of different generations of these characteristics. Another research published in this paper reviews the theory of generational differences. In this case, Yanuar Surya Putra generally explains what differences are and what basis is used to distinguish generational characteristics:. The most striking difference that is trying to be explained is that generation Zis a generation that has experienced advances in information technology since birth compared to the previous generation or millennials, so it can be said that the technology that millennials have used can be used by generation Z, therefore controlling Human Resources is an important thing to do to generation Z.5. Research focuses on generational differences, but it has yet to lead to the applicative side that should be done from each generation. The literature selection research that the author is trying to analyze is one way of controlling attitudes or, in this case, towards the issue of radicalism through mapping of Islamic literature used. As mentioned, the millennial generation is a generational categorization influenced by the sodocultural that developed during their time. Therefore, the depiction of the millennial generation is also seen from the literacy that exists in the scope of the area under study. As published by the Ministry of Women's Empowerment and Child Protection in 2018, entitled " Statistik Gender Tematik: Profil Generasi Milenial Indonesia," explains the picture of Indonesia's millennial generation. The millennial generation is known as a generation that is reactive to various changes that exist in the environments. These characteristics arise from sociocultural changes previously who were unfamiliar with information technology to how to maximize as best as possible the various existing technologies. His description from the paper is different from Generation Z, who experienced a time when everything was instantaneous’. Everything is available through the internet system as it is experienced now, namely food and clothing that can be ordered online and various literature that can be accessed directly and instantly. This sociocultural difference can be used as a basis for researching the importance of distinction of the characteristics.

This study uses a mixed-method research design. Mixed method research design is a procedure for collecting, analyzing, or combining quantitative and qualitative methods in a single study or a series of several studies to understand a research problem?. The mixed method combines quantitative and qualitative research methods in a study®. The basic assumption of this approach is that using both quantitative and qualitative methods will provide a better understanding of the problem and answers to research questions than each method alone. The mixed method strategy used in this study is the sequential mixed method, where researchers try to combine or expand the findings obtained from one method with the discoveries of another method. In practice, this mixed strategy is carried out by conducting in-depth observations and interviews first to obtain explanations that facilitate and followed by a quantitative survey method number of samples to obtain general results from a population!®. Therefore, the initial mapping of this study starts by looking at samples of how Generation (Y) millennials and Generation Z explore Islam through the selection of literature they use to study Islam. After that, further research will be conducted on how they respond to the Islamic studies they use. At the end of this study, more in-depth is what each generation looks like in responding to various problems about radicalism, especially in universities, which are the locus of this study where respondents selected in this study are 30 generation X represented by Lecturers/Employees at UIN Sayyid Ali Rahmatullah Tulungagung and 30 generation Z represented by this Islamic campus students.

Karl Mannheim (1952), the first figure to mention the classification of generations in his essay entitled "The Problem of generation,” explained that the development of human characteristics was influenced by socio-historical phenomena that they experience both during youth and growth. Biological factors, which various age groups define at this time, can be the leading standard in determining a generation by integrating the equation of sociocultural factors as a basis for this categorization!!. According to Manheim, generation is a social construction in which people have the same age and historical experience’2. Manheim further explains that individuals who belong to a generation have a common birth year of 20 years and are in the same social and historical dimensions®. The definition was specifically developed by Ryder, who said that generation is the aggregate of individuals who experienced the same events in the same period!4. In recent years, the definition of generation has evolved, one of which is the definition according to Kupperschmidt, which says that a generation is a group of individuals who identify their group based on the similarity of birth years, ages, locations, and events in the life of that group of individuals that have a significant influence in their growth phase!>. Based on some of these definitions, Neil Howe and William Strauss popularized the theory of generational differences¢. Divides generations can be classified based on the similarity of the birth period and historical events. Researchers with different labels also propose the division of generations, but generally, it has the same meaning. For example, according to Martin Tulgan Y Generation is the generation born in 197877, while according to Howe & Strauss!s. The Y generation is the generation born in 1982. The different labels happen because of the different schemes used to group these generations because the researchers come from different countries. Indeed, if we look deeper into the categorization of this generation, we can analogize it to the growth of technology that develops in society. Therefore, several studies have stated that the birth range of that generation is about 15 years, namely Baby Boomers (1945-1964), generation X (1965-1980), generation Y / Millennials (1980-1995), and generation Z (1996-2010s). The standards used are indeed following the development of technology or culture during the youth of their respective generations, such as Baby boomers, who are famous for the soaring number of births after World War II, and generation X, who are synchronized due to the invention of birth control pills and the start of electronic media technology during their youth, generation Y who experienced a transition period of advanced information technology. Finally, generation Z who experienced everything internet-based. Respondent Demographic Overview Generation Y, known as the millennial generation, or millennials, uses a lot of instant communication technology such as email, SMS, and social media such as Facebook and Twitter. In other words, generation Y is the generation that grew up in the era of the internet boom. Furthermore, Lyons reveals that the characteristics of generation Y are characteristics of each individual are different, depending on where he grew up, the economic strata, and the sodial strata of his family». His communication patterns are very open compared to previous generations, social media users who are fanatical and whose lives are greatly affected by technological developments are more open to political and economic views, so they seem very reactive to environmental changes around them, paying more attention to wealth. Generation Z is the youngest generation that has just entered the workforce, also called iGeneration or the Internet generation. Generation Z has similarities with Generation Y, but Generation Z can apply all activities simultaneously (multi-tasking), such as running social media using a mobile phone, browsing a PC, and listening to music using a headset. Whatever is done is mostly related to cyberspace. Since childhood, this generation has known technology and is familiar with sophisticated gadgets that indirectly affect personality. Forbes Magazine surveyed generation Z in North and South America, Africa, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Forty-nine thousand children were asked?!. Based on those results, Generation Z is the real first global generation. High-tech in their blood, they have grown up in an uncertain and complex environment that determines their view of work, studying and the world. They have different expectations in their workplace, are career-oriented, are an ambitious generation of professionals, and have technical abilities and knowledge of the language at a high level. Therefore, they are excellent labor. Employers must prepare to engage Generation Z because they are effective employees in the digital age2. The study results showed significant differences in characteristics between Generation Z and other generations; one of the main distinguishing factors is the mastery of information and technology. For Generation Z, information and technology have become part of their lives because they were born where access to information, especially the internet, has become a global culture, affecting their values, views, and life goals. The rise of Generation Z will also pose new challenges for organizational management practices, especially human resource management Ppractices. If we look at the outline of the characteristic differences between millennials and Z by some scholars above, it can be described in the following table: Selection of Islamic Literacy The role of Islamic literature in the seedbed of Islamist ideology among millennials and Z generations is significant. Islamist ideology generally infiltrates through religious books and readings that spread among students and college students, primarily through the Internet, because the Internet is unlimited information that can be accessed by the two generations who are experts in technological advances. In reality, literature that seeks to peddle Islamist ideology centered on demands about the totality of the application of Islam in all aspects of life and boils down to the desire to replace the democratic nation-state system with a caliphate, even if it needs to be pursued with violence is conspicuously present, flooding the arena and social landscape in Indonesian Universities and even Islamic Universities As a source of advanced Islamic religious education. The target before them offers a diverse way of reading and understanding Islam and the world. The approach, ideological orientation, and narrative are developed from the virtual space or textbook content. The literature is produced by various websites and articles affiliated with Islamist movements and organizations that have developed various content provided on the internet. In this context, the role of agency obviously cannot be ignored because of the parallel relationship between the growth of Islamic literature production and the development of Islamic movements that tend to be radical. The main thing is, of course, students and college students, even ordinary people's working groups, which is also considered potential to be recruited into a new cadre that sustains the continuity and further spread of the ideology. They enjoy various books, references, articles, websites, social media, and Islamic magazines. Therefore, it is important to map how to map Islamic literacy, in this case, Generations Y (Millennials) and Z as the majority generation present in the present, especially in Indonesia, where this study focuses on UIN Sayyid Ali Rahmatullah Tulungagung as a form of anticipation of the growth of radical views. When asked about the frequent knowledge about Islam, 96.7% of the Z generation answered yes, which is different from the millennial generation, which 86.7% answered yes. So, the Z generation shows how they did, from an early age, acquire knowledge of Islam from the internet in contrast to the Y gen, which indeed was 'full' of the internet from the beginning because they are indeed this generation still experiencing the massive use of Islamic-themed textbooks at the beginning of their study of Islam. However, although Gen Z tends to acquire Islamic knowledge from the Internet, they can be said to prefer to acquire not from gadgets. That can be seen from the survey results showing that half, 50%, prefer to learn Islam conventionally rather than just from gadgets. This condition may be understood as a form of boredom of this I-gen with daily life with the internet, so this is like an oasis for them in studying Islam, unlike the millennial generation, who prefer to use gadgets because they may practically be able to learn Islam without having to sweat and click on social media or websites to obtain Islamic knowledge quickly Generation Z can be summed up as a generation that thirsts for knowledge in person rather than virtually. They obtain Islamic content on their gadgets, which is becoming common in contrast to Millennials, who may 'still' enjoy practically conveying knowledge through virtual. That is inseparable from the adaptation of the pandemic period that has occurred recently where without meeting face-toface lecturers, in this case in the UIN SATU Tulungagung environment behind their busy teaching, service, and research, and this is evidenced by the results of questionnaires which show that almost half or 46.7% of Gen Y like virtual than 86.7 who prefer to meet face to face in learning Islam. Ideological, Popular, or Moderate Islamic Literacy Ideology Islamism is quite massive among students and the educated community in general. However, the resistance to Islamist ideological literature both in the classroom and outside the classroom is relatively high, and this gives meaningful hope for the future of moderate Islam and a plural Indonesian society. Suppose you look at the survey data, more than 3/4 of them often find content that tends to be radical, whereas millennials, in this case, are more often aware of it. That can be understood, because the algorithm model used in gadgets or electronic devices will point to keywords often seen by them. As an illustration of Gen Y's conclusion, curiosity will be high on issues about radicalism and other Islamist movements, in contrast to the I genes that have been 'friendly' to gadgets since their childhood so that their ignorant of the issues of Islamism may not be as intense as those of the generations previously, namely Millennials, where if we adhere to the principles of modernism and globalization the more in the future humans will be more individualist and engrossed in their world. Moderate Muslims in the country have not been silent, and they have even done essential things to face the pressure of ideological Islamism books to maintain Indonesia's moderate Islam, friendly tolocal culture, committed to the Indonesian nation-state, uphold democratic values and other progressive values, and be able to accept the reality of diversity. Moderate Islamic texts can survive and even develop. Furthermore, Indonesian Muslims also respond strongly to the ideological pressures of Islamism through the production of Islamic religious literature. So, we assume that the existence of moderate Islam does exist. In that case, it is not as aggressive as ideological/doctrinal content, which is famous for its militancy against teachings they believe to be the most accurate. Rosmalina researched the millennial generation's tendency toward Islamic literature in her article2. In that paper, Rosmalina said that the millennial generation had anticipated some radical issues in media or online, so this generation can filter some information that danger their thought ideologically. The characterization of the millennials strengthened their view on Islamic literature issues so they can filter through their characteristic during the shifting technological era from their experiences. Facing the onslaught of Islamic literature, millennial and Gen Z youth still have the power of selection, adaptation, and appropriation, following their tendency as millennials to grow up in the flow of consumption culture. They are not easily carried away by entering a certainideological vortex, let alone those who want to dictate and lock them in with an all-black-and-white choice, according to the cultural expression of young people. Instead, students and college students try to find literature that can understand their mood and cultural identity while showing how to solve their daily problems while building optimism in the face of contemporary challenges and future hopes. Islamic books and magazines that carry daily and popular themes are crudial for students. Its influence is the most widespread compared to the patterns of Islamic literature described above. The key is that even when interspersed with ideological messages, popular Islamist literature packages the content crisply and trendily and offers a variety of practical guidance for Muslims to wade through life (ready-to-use Islam). Presented with fictional, popular, and comic patterns, he presents short narratives in simple language that is not patronizing and is complemented by exciting illustrations. In this way, he can enter into the millennial generation's mind as they seek various alternatives to overcome the dilemmas and paradoxes of life they are facing. Chart 5: Comparison reading Islamic theological tendency It is essential to underline that although Islamic literature, as described above, continues to emerge with various ideological tendencies and in various genres, moderate Islamic texts can still survive and even develop. Responding to the invasion of Islamist literature, Indonesian Muslims tried to produce alternative Islamic books. These alternative texts include textbooks and Islamic websites that revitalize mainstream Islamic teachings. Moderate and popular Islamic textbooks are counter-narrative textbooks created for mild deradicalization programs. Therefore, hopes for the future of Indonesian Islam that is moderate, strongly committed to Indonesianness, and friendly to diversity are still quite large, at least from the indications of the still strong spread of alternative Islamic texts amid the pressure of Islamist literature that floods Indonesia's open public space today.

Ideology Islamism or transnational Islamic groups in Indonesia are smaller than is often alarmed. However, the penetration of literature has gained a wide public space since the era of reform and digitization. UIN Sayyid Ali Rahmatullah Tulungagung generally has sufficient resilience and repulsion against the penetration of Ideological Islam. Nevertheless, the loopholes for Islamic literature charged with Islamist ideology are still open enough to influence the aspirations and views of lecturers and students. Although it is still an early mapping, it has also indicated that the future of moderate Indonesian Islam that values plurality, is strongly committed to the nation-state, upholds democratic and other progressive values, and is friendly to local culture is still quite promising. However, the threat from the ideology of Islamism itself does not disappear.