Humanitarian Islam: The Perspective from Indonesia. A Discussion with K.H. Yahya Cholil Staquf, General Secretary of the Nahdlatul Ulama Supreme Council

A wide discrepancy now exists between an ossified Islamic orthodoxy and the changing context of Muslims’ lived reality. Drawing on classical Islamic theology and jurisprudence together with the Indonesian historical experience, K.H. Yahya Cholil Staquf and several other young scholars and activists of the Nahdlatul ‘Ulama (Indonesia’s and the world’s largest Muslim organization) have embarked on a project of assembling an alternative Islamic orthodoxy under the rubric of Humanitarian Islam. In this talk, Staquf will introduce this project. He will discuss the context that had led to the project’s development, its roadmap, and the challenges it faces.

K.H. Yahya Cholil Staquf serves as General Secretary of the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) Supreme Council, the world’s largest Muslim organization with over 50 million members. Staquf was a member of Indonesia’s National Electoral Commission during the nation’s successful transition from authoritarian rule to democracy, and served as presidential spokesman to Indonesia’s fourth president Abdurrahman Wahid.

Moderated by Ismail Fajrie Alatas, Assistant Professor of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies, NYU.

Hosted by NYSEAN