Activating Communal Bereavement: Mosque Loudspeakers as Socio-technical Infrastructure of Care in Muslim Indonesia

The mosque loudspeaker comes alive in the late afternoon in a residential neighbourhood. A familiar phrase is heard: 'Innā lillāhi wa innā ilayhi rājiʿūn' (indeed we belong to God and to Him we return). A voice announces the death of a resident, then closes with a request for prayers and an invitation to pay condolences and attend the funeral prayer. Within minutes, conversations begin in front of homes and small roadside stalls. People ask where the bereaved family lives and check neighbourhood WhatsApp groups for further details. Schedules, transportation, and burial needs are quickly coordinated. The day's rhythm shifts as motorbike taxi routes turn towards the mourning house and some stores close earlier than usual. In Indonesia, mourning is often a social process supported by ritual and neighbourly networks. The announcement does more than circulate information. It coordinates grief as duty within Indonesia's shared soundscape.