Yogyakarta - The Graduate School of UIN Sunan Kalijaga hosted an international graduate conference on 12–13 May 2026 under the theme “Reconfiguring Islamic Tradition: Authority, Circulation, and Contemporary Engagements”. Bringing together emerging scholars and researchers, the conference explored how Islamic traditions continue to evolve, adapt, and interact with contemporary social realities.
The event was organized through a collaboration between UIN Sunan Kalijaga, UIN Sayyid Ali Rahmatullah Tulungagung, Universitas Brawijaya, and Leiden University. More than simply an academic gathering, the conference reflected a growing effort to strengthen international collaboration in contemporary Islamic studies.
Baca Juga: Diskusi Keilmuan: Melampaui Dekolonisasi dan Membangun Ilmu Mandiri di Nusantara
In his opening remarks, Postgraduate Director of UIN Sunan Kalijaga, Moch Nur Ichwan described the conference as a meaningful intellectual meeting point for scholars and students who share a commitment to rethinking and revitalizing Islamic intellectual traditions. He noted that the collaboration represented an active network of intellectual exchange crossing disciplinary, geographical, and institutional boundaries.
The conference attracted considerable interest, receiving around 100 applications, including submissions from international participants, with around 55 presenters selected to join the forum.
The conference introduction emphasized that recent scholarship no longer sees Islamic tradition as fixed or unchanging. Instead, tradition is understood as something historically constructed through processes of transmission, interpretation, negotiation, and debate. Across different periods of Islamic history, both textual traditions and religious practices have continuously been reinterpreted in response to changing cultural and social contexts.
In a separate interview, Prof. Nur Ichwan highlighted the urgency of bringing discussions on tradition back into the center of Islamic academic discourse. According to him, conversations about tradition have often been overshadowed by the dominance of Western social theories rooted in modernization and industrialization.
“Discussion about tradition has been marginalized because of the bias of modernity. Whereas in the Indonesian context, tradition has never died. Tradition continues to accompany the journey of this nation, side by side with modernity and the process of becoming Indonesia," said Prof. Nur Ichwan.
He added that contemporary perspectives such as decolonization and the decentering of social sciences have opened new opportunities to examine tradition in more critical and contextual ways. Tradition, he argued, should be viewed as dynamic and continuously reshaped through social interaction.
“Tradition is dynamic. Tradition always develops and becomes an integral part of Indonesian society, including in shaping Indonesian Muslims.”
Meanwhile, the Rector of UIN Sunan Kalijaga, Noorhaidi Hasan, stressed the responsibility of universities to provide open and critical spaces for academic dialogue, especially as Islamic studies increasingly develop across multidisciplinary and transnational frameworks.
The conference featured Verena Meyer of Leiden University as the keynote speaker. In her keynote lecture, “Asia as a Privileged Space of Inquiry in Islamic Studies,” she highlighted Asia as an important site for generating new perspectives in Islamic studies beyond the long-standing dominance of Middle Eastern-centered approaches.
The panel sessions brought together scholars from different institutions and disciplinary backgrounds. Mohammad Yunus discussed contemporary debates surrounding Sufi thought in his presentation “Mainstreaming Ibn Arabi: Ghurab (2021) and Discursive Polemics in Contemporary Sufi Discourse”.
Salamah Noorhidayati addressed issues of decolonization and the revitalization of Islamic authority structures through her paper “Decolonization and Revitalization: Reconfiguring Islamic Tradition Authority in the Contemporary Era".
Meanwhile, Wahyu Widodo explored the relationship between poetry, performance, and Islamic cultural traditions in his presentation “Performing Poetry, Defending Melody: Sung Poetry Performance into Tradition".
Prof. Nur Ichwan explained that the conference was also intended to encourage a stronger research and publication culture among graduate students. He emphasized the importance of presenting research in academic forums where scholars can exchange criticism and constructive feedback.
“Research must be discussed with other scholars in order to gain constructive criticism and input. That is important for improving the quality of students’ research,” said Prof. Nur Ichwan.
He further expressed hope that the papers presented during the conference would continue beyond the forum itself and eventually be published as part of broader academic development.
“We hope the papers presented here will not stop at the conference forum, but will truly be published as part of strengthening academic culture," Prof. Nur Ichwan remarked.
The graduate conference is expected to become an annual agenda hosted in rotation by partner institutions. Following previous events in Tulungagung and this year’s conference in Yogyakarta, the next meeting is planned to take place in Malang, with future possibilities for collaboration in the Netherlands together with Leiden University.