Prof. Hefner travels to Jakarta, Indonesia for international conference of Muslim Scholars
During the first week of November Prof. Bob Hefner traveled to Jakarta, Indonesia for an international conference of Muslim scholars on “Nahdlatul Ulama and Humanitarian Islam.” With some 90-100 million followers in Indonesia, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) is the largest Muslim educational and welfare organization in the world, and for the past ten years the NU leadership has dedicated itself to bringing Islamic law and ethics into alignment with modern democracy and equal citizenship. In late 2023, Hefner was invited by the NU leadership to serve as the academic organizer for the international conference, preparing the conference rationale and inviting 24 speakers to the November 2024 conference. He also gave the confence’s opening and closing keynote addresses. The welcoming address was entitled “Humanitarian Islam: An Indonesian Movement for Global Ethical Reform.” The closing keynote address on November 6 was entitled, “Moral Leadership at a Critical Juncture: Nahdlatul Ulama, Democracy, and the Quest for a New Islamic Jurisprudence.” Both keynotes were given at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in central Jakarta and were attended by 500 Muslim scholars and activists from across Indonesia and other Muslim countries.
