Sri Mulyani's Analogy: Tax Equals Zakat – A Critical Discourse Analysis Exegesis

Abstract

Abstract

This paper presents a critical discourse analysis of a public assertion by Sri Mulyani Indrawati, Indonesia’s Minister of Finance, who portrayed taxation as a parallel to zakat, one of Islam’s central pillars. The study centres on a televised debate on tvOne (2025), where responses were provided by MUI scholar K.H. Abdul Muiz and public policy analyst Trubus Rahardiansyah of Trisakti University. Employing Fairclough’s tri-dimensional model—text, discursive practice, and social practice—this research explores how pajak (tax) and zakat (Islamic almsgiving) are constructed, contested, and reinterpreted within Indonesia’s political and religious arenas. The analysis uncovers stress lines between sovereign mandate and religious prescription, secular rule and Islamic morality, and civic obedience and moral obligation. Although the metaphor seeks to enhance tax adherence by leveraging moral feeling, it runs the danger of oversimplifying intricate theological and jurisprudential nuances, which may distance religious constituents and attenuate the standing of both taxation policy and religious authority. The article concludes that whilst such comparisons can have persuasive effect within official discourse, they mandate precise contextual framing to avert distortions and to.

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