Institutional Dialogue

Islamic and Christian theological institutions make important contributions to the progress of interreligious dialogue and relationships in Indonesia. The practices of lecture exchanges and resource sharing between Islamic and Christian academic institutions have become quite common. For instance, the Faculty of Theology of Duta Wacana Christian University and Sunan Kalijaga State Islamic University, both in Yogyakarta, have established a long-term formal cooperation in both teaching and research activities. It can be said that the reputation of the study of religions in those institutions depends heavily on the maintenance of their mutually constructive cooperation. Indeed their cooperation has attracted several universities abroad, not only to learn from them, but also to participate in the relationships.

Relationships between Muslim and Christian academic institutions have also transformed the approach of the study of religions employed in those institutions. Sunan Kalijaga State Islamic University, for instance, has been a pioneer in introducing critical textual study of the Koran and phenomenological study of religions. Figures such as Professor Mukti Ali, a former rector of that institution, and Professor Amin Abdullah, the present rector, contribute much to the development of such approaches within the Islamic academic circle. In the case of Duta Wacana Christian University, its Centre for the Study of Religions not only conducts collaborative research projects involving Muslim partners, but also the annual “Studi Institut Tentang Islam: SITT’ (Institute of Study about Islam), aiming at equipping Christian leaders with fresh knowledge on Islam learned directly from Muslim scholars and leaders. In 1996, the centre conducted a seminar, inviting other Christian theological schools in Indonesia, in which curricula regarding religious studies in Christian theological seminaries were reviewed, with a perspective on interreligious dialogue in mind.

Yahya Wijaya (Th.M., 1996)
Yogyakarta, Indonesia