Symposium

Revisiting Islam in Indonesia: Mysticism, Quran Hermeneutics, and Theology – A Symposium

Date

Wednesday 10 June 2026

Time

08:45 - 16:45 hour

Address

Herta Mohr
Witte Singel 27A
2311 BG Leiden

Room

0.20

Register here (before 28 May)

A mystical diagram depicting a human form as God’s last manifestation within the framework of the seven grades of Being. Source: the National Library of Indonesia, KBG. 691, Primbon Brajakusuman, f. 3r.

About

This symposium is held on the occasion of Nur Ahmad’s doctoral promotion at the Leiden Institute for Area Studies (LIAS), the Faculty of Humanities, Leiden University. His dissertation, Javanese Mystical Qurʾān Interpretation: Kyai Saleh Darat’s (d. 1903) Fayḍ al-Raḥmān and the Javanese Mystical World, invites scholars to rethink the contribution of Indonesian Islam on the field of Qurʾān hermeneutics.

This symposium broadens the examination of the legacy of Indonesian Islam in fields of mysticism (taṣawwuf), speculative theology (kalām), and their expressions in local literature, inter-discursive elements pointed in Ahmad's thesis. This examination is particularly timely, given that Indonesian Islam remains significantly underrepresented within the broader field of Islamic studies in Western scholarship.

Chairs

• Prof. dr. N.J.G. Kaptein (Leiden University).
• Prof. dr. B. Arps (Leiden University).
• Dr. N.M. Dessing (Leiden University).

Speakers

• Prof. dr. J. Pink (University of Freiburg).
• Prof. dr. O. Fathurahman (Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University, Jakarta).
• N. Ahmad (Leiden University).
• Prof. dr. N.J.G. Kaptein (Leiden University).
• Prof. dr. B. Arps (Leiden University).
• Prof. dr. E.P. Wieringa (University of Cologne).
• Dr. V.H. Meyer (Leiden University).

The symposium is financed by the Indonesia Endowment Fund for Education Agency (Lembaga Pengelola Dana Pendidikan, LPDP) and Leiden Institute for Area Studies (LIAS).

Program

Opening Session
08:45 - 09:00 Registration and Reception.
09:00 - 09:15 Opening Speech by Prof. dr. G.R. van den Berg (the Academic Director of LIAS).

Morning Panel Session
Chair: Prof. dr. N.J.G. Kaptein.

09:15 - 10:00 N. Ahmad.
10:00 - 10:45 Prof. dr. B. Arps.

Coffee Break 10:45 - 11:00

11:00 - 11:45 Dr. V.H. Meyer.
11:45 - 12:30 Prof. dr. O. Fathurahman.
12:30 - 13:30 Lunch Break (for all speakers and participants).

Afternoon Panel Session
Chair: Dr. N.M. Dessing.

13:30 - 14:15 Prof. dr. N.J.G. Kaptein.
14:15 - 15:00. Prof. dr. J. Pink.

Coffee Break 15:00 - 15:15

15:15 - 16:00. Prof. dr. E.P. Wieringa.

Roundtable Discussion Session
Chair: Prof. dr. B. Arps.

16:00 - 16:30 Q&A’s session.

Closing Remarks
16:30 -16:45 Speech by N. Ahmad.

Register here (before 28 May)