Written by Athanasia Safitri

Following the visit made by University of Gadjah Mada Rector Prof. Dr. Ova Emilia, M.Med.Ed., Sp.OG(K)., Ph.D. to Kirikkale University in Turkey on 4-6 July 2022, a team from Kirikkale repaid the visit to UGM accompanied by the son of the President of Turkey, Necmettin Bilal Erdogan and the delegation from Prof. Fuat Sezgin Research Foundation for the History of Science in Islam, on 20 December 2022. The visit was not only to continue mutual cooperation in education and research programs between these institutions but also to give a public lecture entitled “Scientific Development: Past, Present, and Future Trajectories”. The signing of an MOU for collaboration on education, technology, and communication service in Islamic and religious studies was completed by UGM Rector Prof. dr. Ova Emilia, Kirikkale University Rector Prof. Dr. Ersan Aslan, and President of the Board of Directors for Prof. Fuat Sezgin Research Foundation for the History of Science in Islam Mecit Çetinkaya. The event was also attended by academic scholars, lecturers, Director of ICRS Dr. Zainal Abidin Bagir, Director of CRCS Dr. Samsul Maarif, and Prof. Dr. Siti Ruhaini Dzuhayatin from UIN Sunan Kalijaga. Dr. Dicky Sofjan of ICRS UGM also delivered a lecture as part of the occasion. read more

Written by Jekonia Tarigan

Accordingly, the presence of religion brings about social and cultural changes. One of the interesting variables to note related to the influence of religious presence related to these social and cultural changes is the trend of changing children’s names. Naming a child reflects social choice, with various practices guided by larger personal and social preferences, cultural, and institutional constraints. [i] This was the first topic that was presented and discussed in the tenth diversity dialogue, a presentation forum and research discussion for alumni of the Indonesian Consortium for Religious Studies (ICRS) on Saturday, 3 December 2022. This topic was presented by Dr. Askuri, batch 2013 ICRS alumnus, who currently serves as a lecturer at Aisyiyah Yogyakarta University. read more

Written by Maurisa Zinira

The path of upholding justice frequently presents challenges to both victims and those who devote their lives to this cause. Human rights, which are rights inherent in individuals, cannot be obtained for free; there is a price that must be paid to obtain our rights. Such work for justice frequently calls for considerable effort. Oftentimes, activists themselves have doubts about the viability and efficacy of their work. Has the fight for human rights so far produced any results? Are efforts to advance human rights ineffective? read more

Written by Jekonia Tarigan

Religion and ecology as a field of study emerged in the 1960s as a part of awareness of a global environmental crisis the decade before, one of which was marked by the critics of American historian Lynn White Jr. He published an article in Science which specifically blamed Christianity as the main actor that caused the environmental crisis related to its biblical text and teaching that legalized and perpetuated exploitation of nature.[i] Meanwhile, on the Islamic side, Seyyed Hossein Nasr in his book entitled Man and Nature: the Spiritual Crisis of Modern Man argued that the environmental crisis originated in secularized modern science, which emptied the cosmos of its sacred character.[ii] Critiques like these more or less show the dynamics of religion and ecology discourse, so that one of the main questions that needs to be answered at this time is whether religion is destroying or saving the planet? This question was proposed by Jonathan D. Smith in his presentation in Wednesday Forum, a weekly discussion forum organized by the Indonesian Consortium for Religious Studies and the Center for Religious and Cross-cultural Studies on 23 November 2022. Smith is a Visiting Researcher at CRCS and a Visiting Fellow at the Center for Religion and Public Life at the University of Leeds. He has conducted qualitative research on religion and social action in Jordan, Lebanon, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. read more

Photo by Dewi Fajriani for Antara, Indonesia at Melbourne

Written by Zainal Abidin Bagir

Indonesia’s new Criminal Code (KUHP) has been decried as a major step backwards for Indonesian democracy. While provisions on sex outside marriage and cohabitation have grabbed global headlines, another set of articles that have ignited controversy are those relating to religion.

The KUHP includes a new chapter of six articles on “Crimes against Religion, Belief, and Religious/Belief Life” (Tindak Pidana terhadap Agama, Kepercayaan, dan Kehidupan Beragama atau Kepercayaan). read more

Written by Maurisa Zinira

Various studies on democracy show that the quality of democracy in Indonesia has declined. Even though this setback is a global phenomenon, in which a number of countries are also experiencing the same crisis, such a worsening situation in Indonesia is saddening. Saiful Mujani and R. William Liddle in their article “Indonesia: Jokowi Sidelines Democracy” argue that the decline was caused instead by agents/actors themselves, not by external structural factors. They even firmly said that Joko Widodo, the president of Indonesia, was responsible for weakening Indonesia’s democracy considering some observable democratic deterioration during his presidency. read more

A “Launching-cum-Kick Off Meeting” was held on December 14, 2022, to mark the establishment of an invigorated Regional Office of Geneva-based Globethics in the Graduate School of Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM). An MoU was signed earlier this year on July 18 between UGM and Globethics with the hopes to promote faculty/student mobility, collaborative research, joint conferences/workshops, publications and other international collective efforts.

The host of the event, Dean of the UGM Graduate School Professor Dr. Siti Malkhamah, stated the necessity to infuse “ethics and value education” throughout the higher education institution and curriculum. With the more than 20 study programs in the Graduate School as well as the 18 Faculties and one Vocational School in UGM, the collaboration will surely be mutually beneficial. Meanwhile, the Globethics International Board Member and Regional Director, Dr. Dicky Sofjan, who is also a Core Doctoral Faculty in the Indonesian Consortium for Religious Studies (ICRS) presented the case on the “Ethical Deficits” in Indonesia. Dr. Sofjan said that the collaboration can bring UGM as an institution, Faculty members and students to be more engaged on the diverse range of issues pertaining to ethics, both inside and outside of the university context. read more

Written by Jekonia Tarigan

Marriage is central to Indonesia’s social fabric and critical in defining socially legitimate relationships. However, marriages often face the threat of divorce due to various factors.[i] As a Muslim majority country, the Indonesian state’s marriage legislation concerns various aspects of classical Islamic law that have the potential to adversely impact women in the realm of divorce. Muslim family law is a crucial determinant of women’s rights in many Muslim settings. Muslim family law is commonly interpreted to stipulate a family structure in which husbands are breadwinners and household leaders, while wives are responsible for the domestic realm and may be expected to obey their husbands. However, the norms and practices in majority Muslim societies have changed, with increasing numbers of women pursuing higher education and careers. Interestingly, today, divorce cases are increasing in Indonesia. read more

Written by Athanasia Safitri

The persistence of ulema-state alliances in the contemporary Middle East has been a debate in our modern days, both religiously and politically. It raises questions as to whether it is still relevant in the context of the situations that are happening these days, and whether it plays any significant role in the development (or underdevelopment) of most Muslim-majority countries. There has been a large implication of authoritarianism in these countries which emanate problems not only compared to the Western countries but also with the terms of world averages. Ahmet T Kuru, Professor of Political Science at San Diego State University, shared his thoughts as an alternative argument in examining the participation of Muslim scholars in the state government. He wrote a book entitled Islam, Authoritarianism, and Underdevelopment: A Global and Historical Comparison (2019), which argues that neither Islam itself nor Western colonialism holds responsibility for the high levels of authoritarianism and low levels of socioeconomic development in these countries. read more

Written by Jekonia Tarigan

There are various social issues in local and global contexts that should be of concern to the theological thinking of every religion, one of which is the issue of oppression and poverty. It is hoped that theological thoughts directed at social concerns will encourage innovative action to create the common good.[[i]] Theology does not always have to start with digesting the thought of St. Augustine, Karl Barth, or Karl Rahner, but listening to the cry of people who are suffering, poor, oppressed, and marginalized. Following Gayatri Cakravorty Spival, the margin ‘is not a place of weakness or self-deprecation, it is a place pulsating with critical activity, it is alive with argument, controversy, and creative discourse.” That is where theology begins. At its best, theology is done by people at the margins. They are the ones most in need of, and are most eager to challenge and change the status quo from the structures that oppress to those that liberate. This argument and question was presented by Rev. Dr. Shanta Premawardhana at the October 26 Wednesday Forum, a weekly discussion forum organized by the Indonesian Consortium for Religious Studies and the Center for Religious and Cross-cultural Studies. Premawardhana is the president of the OMNIA Institute for Contextual Leadership. He currently serves as a member of the board of trustees of the Parliament of the World’s Religions, the board of governors of the National Council of Churches, USA, and the board of directors of Common Cause Illinois. read more