The talk show “The Future of the Study of Religion in Indonesia: Opportunities and Challenges” became one of the opening activities of the International Conference of the Association for Asian Studies (AAS) in Asia, held at Universitas Gadjah Mada.
The event occurred in the UGM Graduate School (SPs UGM) building on Monday, Jul. 8, 2024. It was attended by approximately 200 AAS participants who had arrived in Yogyakarta a day before the series of AAS activities started the next day.
Notable attendees included Dr. Widyanto Dwi Nugroho (Vice Dean for Academic, Student Affairs, and Collaboration of SPs UGM), Dr. Samsul Maarif (Head of the Master’s Program in the Center for Religious and Cross-cultural Studies (CRCS)), Professor Fatimah Husein (Associate Director of ICRS), and Dr. Zainal Abidin Bagir, representing The Indonesian Consortium for Religious Studies (ICRS), along with four other speakers.
Dr. Nugroho warmly welcomed the participants present to discuss the future opportunities and challenges of religious studies in Indonesia.
“I hope everyone can enjoy the talk show and share experiences to spread positivity, especially related to the religious theme we will discuss,” Dr. Nugroho welcomed.
He added that this talk show is a trigger activity to start AAS 2024, which explores the complexities and richness of religious practices and studies in Indonesia.
Meanwhile, Dr. Maarif, in his speech, explained the Inter-Religious Studies (IRS) program, which consists of CRCS for the Master’s level. The doctoral program is organized by the Indonesian Consortium for Religious Studies (ICRS), consisting of UGM, UIN Sunan Kalijaga, and Duta Wacana Christian University.
“Our main strength is studying religions in Indonesia, especially Islam. We hope that discussions with tonight’s speakers can produce new knowledge that will benefit the future development of the IRS program,” explained Dr. Maarif.
Dr. Maarif also explained the scholarships offered by the IRS program, which prospective students from anywhere can utilize regardless of religion and country of origin.
“Established in 2006, we have a mission to provide a learning place for students to have interfaith and interdisciplinary communication skills and to promote peace and justice for all people,” Dr. Maarif concluded.
Entering the discussion session, Professor Fatimah Husein, Associate Director of ICRS and a researcher in Islamic studies and interfaith dialogue, served as the moderator for the four speakers present that evening: Professor Robert Hefner (Boston University), Professor Nelly van Doorn-Harder (Wake Forest University), Dr. Lena Larsen (University of Oslo), and Professor Greg Fealy (Australian National University).
Before the discussion, Professor Husein asked a trigger question about each speaker’s research on Islamic studies in Indonesia.
“Indonesia provides an exemplary collaboration in a pluralism system. Religion plays a role in enhancing and strengthening democracy, citizenship, and diversity. Thus, the assumption that the separation between state and religion must be a governance model is a flawed policy assumption,” said Professor Hefner.
He explained that despite Indonesia’s challenges, such as demonstrations, this country has shown that democracy and Islam coexist.
Professor Hefner sees that Indonesia can make democracy work, which makes this archipelago nation extraordinary.
Professor Doorn-Harder, who extensively researches the role of women in religious communities in Indonesia, provided her perspective on the study of religious diversity and gender issues in Indonesia.
“Together with the National Commission on Violence Against Women, we conduct campaigns to educate through mass media, digital platforms, local meetings, and Quran study groups to introduce the concept of religious freedom for women,” said Professor Doorn-Harder.
She added that discussions she often engages in to advocate for fiqh for children facilitate the realization of women’s human rights in Islamic teachings.
“This process may take a long time, and there is still a long way to go, but we believe this will offer broader opportunities and choices for teenagers and girls,” Professor Doorn-Harder concluded.
“Intolerance and hate speech are not only happening in Indonesia. In Europe, hostility towards religion is showing a significant increase,” revealed Dr. Larsen, who actively voices religious freedom and belief in Norway.
According to her, the reality of religious life and state guarantees for minorities in Europe reveals a complex situation that cannot be fully explained.
“This is because the status of religious freedom in Europe varies from one country to another. Differences in demographic conditions and the character of socio-political life greatly influence each country’s attitude towards minority groups,” Dr. Larsen said.
Furthermore, she explained that awareness of pluralism is beginning to emerge in Norway.
“Young Muslims are now starting to participate and actively engage in social community activities. Many women even become members of mosque community councils and initiate efforts to promote religious freedom within and outside their religious communities,” Dr. Larsen added.
The last speaker, Professor Greg Fealy, known for his interest in studying politics and Islam in Indonesia, highlighted several large mobilizations by Islamist groups and other quite diverse groups participating in several demonstrations in Jakarta.
“In my view, this is one of the indicators that conservative Islam is strengthening, but there are political factors behind it that create that situation. This phenomenon is not yet fully understood and needs to be studied further,” Professor Fealy concluded, marking the start of the discussion with participants.
Author: Triya Andriyani
Photographer: Firsto
Post-editor: Lintang