Current challenges in law and religion in Indonesia

Abstract

2024 marks a pivotal year for Indonesia with the establishment of its visionary new capital, Nusantara, and the inauguration of President Prabowo Subianto and Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka. As the nation undergoes these historic transitions, there remains religious challenges facing Indonesia as the world’s largest Muslim-majority country.

Join us for an insightful seminar with Associate Professor Nadirsyah Hosen, Associate Professor in Law at Melbourne University and a distinguished scholar and CPICL Fellow, as he explores these pressing issues and their broader implications for Indonesia’s future.

About the speaker

Associate Professor Nadirsyah Hosen is Associate Professor in Law at Melbourne University, and internationally known for his expertise in Shari'a and Indonesian law.  Nadir is an Adjunct Professor at the Faculty of Law, Universitas Hasanuddin, Indonesia. Over two decades (2002-2022), he has produced more than 70 publications (books, edited books, book chapters, journal articles and book reviews), demonstrating outstanding productivity and drive to perform. He has consistently published his works in leading journals and publishers. He is also a member of editorial boards for two top legal journals in the field: The Asian Journal of Comparative Law (Cambridge University Press) and The Australian Journal of Asian Law (The University of Melbourne).

Professor Hosen has made a significant contribution to the understanding of the problems and the prospects of Indonesian law reform in four different areas: the constitution, politics, human rights and anti-corruption. As a strong defender of the rule of law and good governance, his research offers a new perspective beyond legal studies, where he also considers historico-cultural, socio-cultural and political aspects. Professor Hosen completed two PhDs: the first PhD (Law) was at the University of Wollongong and the second PhD (Sharia law) at the National University of Singapore.

On Sharia law, following his early publications on fatwas in Indonesian and Australian contexts in leading journals, he expanded his research by examining the role of Islam in modern states, law and religion, reform of Shari’a. Whenever he is invited to be a speaker in Indonesian universities and pesantrens, he spreads the message that religious traditional interpretation should be reviewed and revised in order to produce a progressive and modern interpretation of Islam.

He is the author of several seminal works on Indonesian Law including  Human Rights, Politics and Corruption in Indonesia: A Critical Reflection on the Post Soeharto Era, (Republic of Letters Publishing, Dordrecht, The Netherlands, 2010); Shari’a and Consttutional reform in Indonesia (Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore, 2007); a co-editor (with Joseph Liow) of Islam in Southeast Asia, 4 volumes, (Routledge, London, 2010),  and Modern Perspectives on Islamic Law (Edward Elgar, UK, 2013 and 2015) co-written with Ann Black and Hossein Esmaeili. His recent edited book is Research Handbook on Islamic Law and Society (Edward Elgar, UK) that covers around 22 countries, with 18 chapters from scholars worldwide, a strong demonstration of his global scholarly links.

He has also published best-seller books in Indonesian language (Bahasa) such as Tafsir al-Qur'an di Medsos; Islam Yes, Khilafah No (2 vols); Saring Sebelum Sharing; Ngaji Fikih. He is known in Indonesian communities as "Gus Nadir", a well-respected Muslim scholar and spiritual leader, amongst Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the largest Islamic organisation in Indonesia with more than 60 million members. His more than 450,000 Twitter X followers testify to the impact of his research.

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