Written by Maurisa Zinira

The progress of Islamic studies in Indonesia is quite extensive. This can be seen from the variety of research models that have developed. Although the debate around Islam and the West is still ongoing and religious sectarianism remains strong, Indonesia’s intellectual climate is relatively open to various views and alternative ideas.

In her book Whose Islam? The Western University of Modern Islamic Thought in Islam, Megan Brankley Abbas said that modern Indonesian Islamic thought cannot be separated from the influence of Western universities. This book was discussed at the Reading in Social Science (RISOS) forum held April 22, 2002 entitled “Hantu Imperialisme Akademis? Universitas Barat dan Pemikiran Islam Modern di Indonesia” (The Ghost of Academic Imperialism? Western Universities and Modern Islamic Thought in Indonesia). In her book, Abbas argues that those who studied in the West returned to Indonesia and brought renewal to Indonesian Islamic thought. However, some circles are still haunted by negative stereotypes about the West. She asks whether is true that there is an imperialism agenda in the Western knowledge of Islam? To discuss the topic, the forum invited alumni of Western education such as Saiful Mujani, Yeni Ratna Yuningsih, and Zainal Abidin Bagir whose experiences resonate with what Megan addressed in the book. read more

International Board Members and Executive Committee of Globethics.net

Written by Jekonia Tarigan

Globethics.net is a global network of teachers and institutions with the vision to embed ethics in higher education. Founded in 2004, Globethics.net strives to educate and inform people, and especially leaders in society so they can contribute to building sustainable, just, and peaceful societies.  Therefore, Globethics.net believes that equal access to knowledge resources in the field of applied ethics enables individuals and institutions from developing and transitioning economies to become more visible and audible in the global discourse is pivotal. Globethics.net maintains the conviction that the transformative effect of ethics is not just for the individual, but for society as a whole. For this reason, Globethics.net develops its resources and programs to meet the following goals: empowerment (developing talents), transformation (placing common good before self-interest), a holistic approach (understanding of in-depth correlations), integrity (making values-based decisions and behaviors), competence (focusing on innovative and collective proficiency), and sustainability. read more

Written by Jekonia Tarigan

In the social sciences, specifically related to Asia, there has long been a distinction between South Asian Studies and Southeast Asian Studies. However, there is a link between the two, the small, Indian Ocean Island known through history as Sarandib, Lanka, and Ceylon. This island was a site of banishment throughout the 18th century for members of royal families, convicts, servants, and others sent there from across the Indonesian archipelago. Descendants of these exiles who remained on the island continued to speak and write in Malay, the archipelago’s lingua franca, and to adhere to a collective Muslim identity for several centuries and into the present. Ronit Ricci’s research examines if and how earlier religious and literary traditions of banishment tied to the island, those of Adam’s fall from paradise to Sarandib and Sinta’s abduction to Lanka, played a role in the lives of the early exiles and their descendants. [i] Ricci presented her findings in Wednesday Forum, a weekly discussion forum hosted by the Indonesian Consortium for Religious Studies (ICRS) and the Center for Religious and Cross-Cultural Studies (CRCS) on April 26, 2022. Ricci is a lecturer in the departments of Asian Studies and Comparative Religion at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Since 2013, she has been developing Indonesian Studies at the Hebrew University, the only Israeli university to offer this field of study. Her research interests include manuscript cultures of Javanese and Malay, translation studies, and Islamic literature from South and Southeast Asia. read more

We are proud as UGM announced that ICRS and CRCS UGM were ranked number 47 in the world and number 1 in Indonesia for the Theology, Divinity, and Religious Studies category by Quacquarelli Symonds World University Rankings (QS WUR) by Subject. We would like to extend our deepest gratitude and appreciation to all who have been supporting us to obtain this achievement.

As reported in Kompas, Universitas Gadjah Mada achieved the 47th ranking in the world and the first nationally in the category of Theology, Divinity and Religious Studies. The Graduate School of UGM offers a Master of Arts degree in Religious and Cross-cultural Studies (CRCS) and a doctoral program in Inter-Religious Studies (IRS). The latter is part of the Indonesian Consortium for Religious Studies (ICRS), which consists of Universitas Gadjah Mada, Universitas Kristen Duta Wacana and Universitas Islam Negeri Sunan Kalijaga Yogykarta. read more

Written by Athanasia Safitri

Religious leaders have the gift of relating sacred texts to the reality and transferring them to the community. The way the leaders interact with their religious followers is pivotal; his/her ideas must be in line with the community to succeed. Therefore, it is crucial to be consistent in what they believe and teach while bringing coherence to their message. This kind of relationship plays a key role for religious leaders as they provide guidance to their followers in their daily lives. Dr. Ismail Fajrie Alatas argues that authority in the sense of religious leadership means that the leader’s opinion is accepted and followed without coercion. read more