The International Qur’anic Studies Association (IQSA) and the Asosiasi Ilmu Al-Qur’an dan Tafsir se-Indonesia (AIAT) are happy to announce a new series of talks over Zoom: “Qur’anic Studies in Indonesia.”
Convenors: Johanna Pink and Lien Iffah Naf’atu Fina
Date and Time: October 14 – December 30, 2020. All talks will take place from 8–9pm Western Indonesian Time.
The remaining sessions from October 28 through December 30 will be accessible through this link: https://uni-freiburg.zoom.us/s/82700585905 Meeting ID: 827 0058 5905 Password: 478453898
Indonesia is not only the most populous Muslim-majority state but also one of the most multilingual ones. This is one of several reasons that make the field of Qur’ān translation in Indonesia highly interesting. Another, is the early and strong presence of reformist trends in the country that led, on the one hand, to sustained daʿwa activities centered on the Qur’ān and, on the other, to doctrinal debates on the permissibility of such activities, that mirrored those in Egypt. Rashīd Riḍā actually issued one of his fatwas on Qur’ān translation in response to a question from Indonesia. In the 1960s, the government of the newly independent Republic of Indonesia emerged as a strong actor in the field of religion, commissioning a national Qur’ān translation that still dominates the market. The government also promoted Bahasa Indonesia as a national language at the expense of the multitude of regional languages spoken by Indonesia’s citizens. In recent years, however, the Ministry of Religion has started to reverse that trend and published Qur’ān translations in more than a dozen regional languages. These translations often compete with existing works by local religious scholars.
Recognising the complexity and relevance of the field of Qur’ān translation in Indonesia, the Department of Islamic Studies at Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, Germany, and the School of Graduate Studies at the State Islamic University Sunan Kalijaga in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, organised the first conference on this topic. On July 30 and 31, 2018, dozens of scholars and students met in Yogyakarta to discuss the political, social and linguistic dimensions of Indonesian Qur’ān translations. The schedule allowed for plenty of time to discuss the twenty-three papers, including six given by students, that were delivered in two plenary sessions and several panels on politics and media, gender, education, and regional languages.
Some dominant themes emerged during the discussions: First, the dominant role of the authoritative Qur’ān translation published by the Indonesian Government. Owing to its wide distribution, it has been able to influence social and political debates but the scholars who produced it were also forced to react to social change, as is apparent in the evolution of the translation’s approach to gender. Another topic that was discussed a great deal was the question of script. At the beginning of the 20th century, the Arabic script competed with the Latin alphabet in qur’ānic exegesis and Qur’ān translation. For some languages, such as Javanese and Buginese, these systems, in turn, competed with traditional scripts such as Carakan and Lontara. Many papers touched upon this issue but it became apparent during the conference that a conclusive history of the rise and fall of different writing systems in Islamic literature, particularly during the 19th and 20th centuries, still remains to be written.
Several papers brought up unusual, little-known and unexpected facts, such as the existence of new prophets in Indonesia who base their message on the Qur’ān and their own translation of it, or the production of rhyming translations in traditional meters in languages such as Sundanese and Acehnese by traditional scholars. The field of qur’ānic translation in practice is clearly larger than is generally assumed, and includes interlinear translation, often considered a pre-modern phenomenon, is, in fact, thriving, both due to its roots in traditional Islamic schools and to a recent upsurge in interest in learning to read the Qur’ān in Arabic, as opposed to relying on stand-alone translations.
Participants at the First Conference and Workshop on the Translation of the Qur’ān in Indonesia
The conference was judged a great success by the participants and will hopefully lead to a publication that will make scholarship on Indonesia, particularly that conducted by Indonesians, more visible within the field of qur’ānic Studies. It will also help develop a theoretical framework for the study of Qur’ān translations that takes multilingual contexts, changes in writing systems, and the politics of translation into account.
International Conference and Workshop
“The Translation of the Qur’an in Indonesia”
Organised by Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, Department of Islamic Studies,
and Sunan Kalijaga State Islamic University, Graduate School
Yogyakarta, July 30-31, 2018
Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country, has brought forth an ever-growing number of Qur’an translations during the colonial period and after the nation’s independence in 1945. The formation of Bahasa Indonesia during the colonial period, its nomination as official language of the Indonesian Republic and its use as a standard medium of literacy after independence have been instrumental to that development. Even the Indonesian government has been active in the production of Qur’an translations. However, the translation of the Qur’an in Indonesia is not restricted to works in Bahasa Indonesia. The country is home to a great number of local languages and a variety of regional customs, a fact that is reflected in the substantial number of Qur’an translations into these languages.
Despite the importance and – at times – highly contested nature of this genre of religious literature, it has received comparatively little scholarly attention. This conference invites scholars, researchers, and advanced students in Islamic studies, social sciences, literature or translation studies to contribute to the study of Qur’an translations both into Bahasa Indonesia and into local Indonesian languages. The event aims to elucidate and discuss, among other issues, the role of specific translations, the intentions of their authors, their social relevance, the linguistic dimension of transferring Arabic content into a local target language, and the emergence of conflicts focusing on the translation of the Qur’an.
Please submit your abstracts (approx. 1000 words) by February 28, 2018 to Professors Moch. Nur Ichwan (moch.ichwan@uin-suka.ac.id) and Johanna Pink (johanna.pink@orient.uni-freiburg.de). The abstracts should be submitted in English as a PDF file. The working language of the conference will be English.
You will be notified of the acceptance of your paper by March 31, 2018, at the latest. You will then be required to submit a draft of your paper by July 15, 2018. Your travel costs and accommodation during the conference will be fully funded.
All accepted papers will be considered for inclusion in an edited volume on the translation of the Qur’an in Indonesia that will be submitted to an international publisher.
I trust this message finds you well, and for those of us nearing the end of our academic year I wish you all the best of luck. Since our meeting in San Diego, the International Qur’anic Studies Association (IQSA) has successfully completed a number of important activities, and we continue to develop the organization to better serve our members and fulfill our mission and vision. The purpose of this message is to inform about our recent activity.
New Homepage & Welcome Video
To serve you better our landing page on IQSAWEB.ORG is now simpler than ever. Visitors are given a warm welcome and introduction to IQSA by watching leading members of the community speak on VIDEO. Furthermore, the number on the page has been reduced to include only what is essential—enjoy!
IQSA Membership & AM Registration
To become an official MEMBER of IQSA for 2015, and to receive exclusive mmber benefits, please GO HERE (http://members.iqsaweb.org). There is a flat $25 membership fee for 2015. (Note that if you became an IQSA member in 2014 you need to sign up once again for 2015)
2015 International Meeting (Yogyakarta, Indonesia)
Our much anticipated international meeting in Yogyakarta, Indonesia will take place August 4-7, 2015. We are very excited about this conference and the international scholarly exchange it will foster. We are also very pleased with the interest of our members and the public in attending this conference. For more information please GO HERE (https://iqsaweb.org/meetings/im2015)
2015 Annual Meeting (Atlanta, GA, USA)
The program for Atlanta is almost set and promises to be both informative as well as exciting. For more information please GO HERE (https://iqsaweb.org/meetings/) and do not forget to become a MEMBER and REGISTER (See above).
Be an IQSA citizen – nominate future officers
All IQSA members are encouraged to submit names of potential candidates for the following positions:
If you or a colleague are currently undertaking research as a faculty member or post-doc, working on a new project as a graduate assistant or would like to share information about an upcoming Qur’an related conference, workshop or service, please consider writing a blog post for us. Your blog post will receive one to two thousand views in the first week! Blog posts in languages other than English are acceptable. Blog contributions should be sent to Dr. Vanessa Degifis (vdegifis@wayne.edu)
Scholarly reviews should be submitted to RQR and academic articles to JIQSA (See above).
Needed: Two Grad Student Assistants
We are seeking two graduate students assistants to help out with editorial and online assistance. This is a great opportunity for networking, professional development and hand-on experience. Learn more about these positions HERE (https://iqsaweb.org/2015/03/16/iqsa_jobs_grad_assts). Applications are welcome anytime but an initial review of applications will take place by June 1, 2015.
Social Media
Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter @IQSAWEB and Like us on Facebook, search “International Qur’anic Studies Association.”
Special Thanks
IQSA’s continued success is not possible without the dedication and skill of its officers and employees. I would especially like to thank Irfana Hussain, Vanessa DeGifis, Mun’im Sirry, Sean Anthony, Catherine Bronson, Mehdi Azaiez, Gabriel Reynolds, Nicolai Sinai as well as all unit chairs, Michael Pregill, Holger Zellentin and Missy Colee and her team at SBL.
Finally, please do not forget to join IQSA by becoming a MEMBER and REGISTERING for our 2015 Atlanta annual meeting by May 22, 2015. That’s one month away!
On behalf of the Board of Directors, Standing Committees and our partners I would like to express our deepest gratitude to all IQSA members and friends.
