API Seminar(2008/04/25)
Date: April 25, 2008 16:00-18:00
Venue: E207 CSEAS, Kyoto University
Title: How Liberal Can You Go? - The Rise of Liberal Islam Network in
Indonesia
Commentator: Dr. Ken Miichi (Iwate Prefectural University)
Abstract
No one has ever doubted the swift ascent of the Jaringan Islam Liberal (JIL) in Indonesia, and how it has impacted recent discourse on the future of Islam in the world’s largest Muslim nation. Indeed, much of the hype and triumphalism that escorted JIL’s rise to prominence has contributed immensely to the intense contestation over the proper place and role of Islam in an increasingly democratic Indonesia post-reformasi and post- September 11. Yet, questions still abound as to how liberal JIL is, and how receptive can Indonesian Muslims be as far as JIL’s ideology is concerned. Perhaps, the ultimate question to pose is: can JIL replace the century old predominance and preeminence of NU and Muhammadiyah as the vanguard of traditionalist and modernist Islam in Indonesia?
About the Speaker
Dicky Sofjan, Ph.D. is an Asian Public Intellectual (API) Fellow 2007/8 from Indonesia. He graduated from the National University of Singapore and is the author of Why Muslims Participate in Jihad: An Empirical Survey on Islamic Religiosity in Indonesia and Iran (Australian Theological Forum Press and Mizan 2007). Sofjan worked for UNDP-Indonesia (2005-06) and The Nature Conservancy (2006-08). He is also an adjunct faculty member at the Magister Ilmu Politik (MIP) Program in Universitas Padjadjaran and the Departments of International Relations and Communication Science in Universitas Pelita Harapan.