Jurnal Komunikasi Malaysian Journal of Communication Jilid 32 (2) 2016: 82-104 ______________________________________________________________________ THE CREDIBILITY OF ISLAMIC RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONAL WEBSITES IN MALAYSIA NORHAFEZAH YUSOF UNIVERSITI UTARA MALAYSIA Abstract This study is an attempt to fill the gap in website credibility studies and online religious studies, as these areas seldom link when researching the credibility of Islamic religious websites. The researcher investigates the nature of 13 state-based Islamic institutional religious websites to discover whether these websites are seen as credible, based on a framework of website credibility. Eight media and communication experts were interviewed. The findings suggest that institutional Islamic religious websites have achieved the authority and objectivity features of website credibility. However, the authority of the websites requires that the accuracy, currency and coverage features are upgraded. This study is timely as it contributes to the fields of internet, communication, and religious studies. Keywords: Islam; Malaysia; website credibility; religious website KREDIBILITI LAMAN WEB INSTITUSI AGAMA DI MALAYSIA Abstrak Kajian ini adalah satu percubaan untuk mengisi jurang dalam kajian kredibiliti laman web dan pengajian agama dalam talian. Ini adalah kerana kurangnynya perkaitan antara kedua bidang apabila kajian terhadap kredibiliti laman web agama Islam dijalankan. Penyelidik mengkaji sifat 13 laman web agama institusi Islam berdasarkan negeri untuk mengetahui sama ada laman web mempunyai ciri yang boleh dipercayai, berdasarkan rangka kerja laman web kredibiliti. Lapan pakar media dan komunikasi telah ditemubual. Hasil kajian menunjukkan bahawa laman web agama institusi Islam telah mencapai kuasa dan objektiviti untuk ciri-ciri laman web kredibiliti. Walau bagaimanapun, pihak berkuasa laman web perlu mempertingkatkan ciri ketepatan, terkini dan liputan. Kajian ini adalah tepat pada masanya kerana ia menyumbang kepada bidang internet, komunikasi, dan kajian agama. Katakunci: Islam; Malaysia; kredibiliti laman web; laman web agama INTRODUCTION Credibility and the internet are two interesting entities. Credibility is a concept that binds human beings to authentic sources as references (Fogg et al., 2001; Hovland & Weiss, 1951). On the other hand, the internet is a platform that offers speed, flexibility and borderless opportunities to reach audiences (Connelly et al., 2015). With the combination of these two entities, media and communication scholars can investigate