About the Author

Academic Experiences:

1. Postdoctoral research fellow:  Philipps-Universität Marburg (Department of Political

                                                     Science) and Otto-Friedrich-Universität Bamberg

                                                     (Department of Languages and Cultures of the Near

                                                     East, Islamic Studies and Jewish Studies)

                                                     Supervisors: Prof. Dr. Claudia Derichs and

                                                     Prof. Dr. Patrick Franke

                                                     Research Project: Religious Pluralism and Contested

                                                     Religious  Authority in Contemporary Indonesia

                                                     (2011 -2013)
2. Honorary teaching staff         :  Otto-Friedrich-Universität Bamberg 

                                                      (Master in Interreligious Studies)

                                                      Seminar:  Religiöser Pluralismus in Indonesien

                                                      (Winter Semester 2012/2013)

3. Faculty member                    :   State Institute for Islamic Studies, Salatiga, Indonesia

                                                      (since 2000)

Educational Background:

      1. Doctoral Degree       :  Rheinisch Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Germany

                                               (October 2006-December 2009)

                                               Qualification: Dr.

                                               Supervisors: Prof. Dr. Stephan Conermann and Prof. Dr. Eva

                                               Orthmann

                                               Doctoral thesis in English: magna cum laude

                                               Ph.D. defense in German, on 21 December 2009:

                                               magna cum laude,

                                               These zur Disputation: (a) die Latihan Kejiwaan der Subud-

                                               Bruderschaft  und der Begriff des Rituals; (b) die weibliche      

                                               Führung in der Tariqa  und der Subud-Bruderschaft;

                                               (c) Mahmoud Mohamed Tahas Konzept von Naskh;

                                               (d) Seyyed Hossein Nasr und die Gedankentradition

                                               Suhrawardis

2. Master’s Degree     : a. Universiteit Leiden, The Netherlands  (October 2003-March 2005)

                                                Subjects: Methods and Principles of Islamic Studies,

                                                Empirical Study of Islam in Contemporary Western Europe,

                                                Philology, Methods and Principles of the Sciences of Religion

                                                Qualification: M.A.

                                                Distinction: 8.5 (with the greatest pleasures of both faculties)

                                 
                                b. State Islamic University Sunan Kalijaga

                                         Yogyakarta, Indonesia

                                         (October 1999-July 2002)

                                             Subjects: Islamic Education, Islamic History,

                                             Sociology of Education, Philosophy of Education

                                             Qualification: M.Ag. (M.A. in Religious sciences)

                                               

2. Bachelor’s Degree  :  State Institute for Islamic Studies

                                      Surakarta, Indonesia

                                      (October 1994-March 1999)

                                              Subjects: Islamic Theology, Qur’anic Studies, Hadith Sciences,

                                      Islamic Mysticism, Javanese Mysticism, Islamic Philosophy,

                                      Islamic History, Islamic Jurisprudence

                                      Qualification: S.Ag. (B.A. in Religious sciences)

                                      Distinction: 3.8 (cum laude)

4.    Senior High School: Programmed Islamic Senior High School

                                        (MAPK-MAN 1 Surakarta)

                                        (1991-1994)

Scholarly Works:

1.  Ritual and Leadership in the Subud Brotherhood and the Tariqa Qadiriyya wa Naqshbandiyya

      (Doctoral thesis, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Stephan Conermann and Prof. Dr. Eva Orthmann)

      (Berlin and Hamburg: EB-Verlag, 2012)

2.   Seyyed Hossein Nasr on Science and the Reception of His Ideas in Indonesia

      (M.A. thesis, Universiteit Leiden, under the supervision of Dr. N.J.G. Kaptein and Prof. Dr. Md. Salleh Yaapar)

      (Salatiga: STAIN Salatiga Press, 2005. ISBN: 979-3549-15-7)

3.  “Religious pluralism and contested religious authority in contemporary Indonesian Islam”, in: Kees van Dijk and Jajat Burhanuddin (eds.), Islam in Indonesia: Contrasting Images and Interpretations, (Amsterdam University Press, 2013).

4.  “Reshaping the gendered dimension of Islamic spirituality: Silsila and the ‘problem’ of female leadership in the tariqa”, in: Bianca Smith and Mark Woodward (eds.), Gender and Power Indonesian Islam, (London and New York: Routledge, in press)

5.  “Spirituality amidst of the Uproar of Modernity: The Ritual of dhikr and its meanings among members of Naqshbandi Sufi order in Western Europe”, Al-Jami’ah: Journal of Islamic Studies, vol. 44 no. 2 (2006), p. 251-272. ISSN: 0126-012X

6.   “Naskh in the Thought of Mahmoud Mohamed Taha”, Ijtihad: Jurnal Wacana Hukum Islam dan Kemanusiaan, 1 (2001), p. 15-22. ISSN: 1411-9544

7.  “Al-Qur’an, Isu Perbudakan dan Tata Sosio-moral yang Egaliter” (The Koran, the Issue of Slavery and the Egalitarian Socio-moral Order), Profetika: Jurnal Studi Islam, vol. 7 no. 2 (2005), p. 184-198. ISSN: 1411-0881

8.  “Upaya Mencari Arti dan Fungsi Filsafat Ilmu dalam Pengembangan Pendidikan Tinggi Islam” (Attempts to Discover the Role of Philosophy of Science in Developing Islamic Higher Education), Attarbiyah: Kajian Agama Budaya Kependidikan, 2 (2005), p. 211-230. ISSN: 02159996.

Language Proficiency:

1. German (advanced)

2. English (advanced)

3. Arabic (advanced)

4. Indonesian (native)

5. Javanese (native)

Contact: asfa.widiyanto@gmail.com