BEYOND NEUTRAL ALGORITHMS: ISLAMIC ETHICAL CRITIQUES OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND MORAL AUTOMATION
Indonesia 
Qatar 
Turkey 
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Accountability, Algorithmic Ethics, Artificial Intelligence
Abstract
Artificial intelligence systems are increasingly positioned as neutral and objective mechanisms for decision-making across social, economic, and institutional domains, yet growing evidence indicates that such systems embed normative assumptions that shape moral outcomes. Ethical discourse in AI has largely been dominated by secular frameworks emphasizing fairness, transparency, and accountability, while alternative moral epistemologies remain underexplored. Islamic ethical philosophy offers a distinct normative foundation for re-evaluating claims of algorithmic neutrality through principles of justice (?adl), intentionality (niyyah), and moral responsibility. The purpose of this study is to critically examine the concept of neutrality in artificial intelligence and to construct an Islamic ethical critique of moral automation in algorithmic governance. A qualitative interpretive methodology is employed, utilizing systematic literature analysis and conceptual synthesis of AI ethics scholarship alongside Islamic philosophical texts. Findings reveal that algorithmic systems are not ethically neutral, as they reproduce structural inequalities through data dependencies and design choices. Results further indicate that moral automation redistributes ethical responsibility from human agents to computational systems, creating ambiguity in accountability structures. Islamic ethical critique reasserts the centrality of human moral agency and challenges the reduction of ethical judgment to computational optimization. The study concludes that integrating Islamic ethical frameworks into AI governance provides a more comprehensive approach to evaluating algorithmic decision-making beyond technical efficiency.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Muhammad Ali Muhaidori, Ahmed Al Mohannadi, Ahmet Demir
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