Budhy Munawar-Rachman (born 1963) is an Indonesian progressive Islamic scholar. He is a lecturer of

Islamic studies Islamic studies is the academic study of Islam, which is analogous to related fields such as Jewish studies and Quranic studies. Islamic studies seeks to understand the past and the potential future of the Islamic world. In this multidiscipli ...

Paramadina University Paramadina University () is an Islamic university in Indonesia. It was established by Nurcholish Madjid in 1998. Paramadina University has three campuses on Java: Cipayung, Kuningan, and Cikarang. It has a particular emphasis on science and techn ...

and an editor of

Islamic Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

journal ''Ulummul Qur'an''.Kersten, Carool. ''Islam in Indonesia the Contest for Society, Ideas and Values.'' (2015) C. Hurst & Co. He is influenced highly by the renowned Indonesian Islamic scholar

Nurcholish Madjid Nurcholish Madjid (March 17, 1939 – August 29, 2005), in Indonesia affectionately known as Cak Nur, was a prominent Indonesian Muslim intellectual. Early in his academic career, Nurcholish was a leader in various student organizations. He soon b ...

and considered as the successor of Madjid's strand of progressive Islamic thoughts, namely Islamic neo-modernism.

Early life

Munawar-Rachman received the higher education at STF Driyarkara, majoring in

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

. STF is an acronym for Indonesian Higher School for Philosophy, which is a unique type of higher educational institution which offers no degrees or qualifications. It is considered that this uncommon educational background equipped him a distinct perspective in his intellectual outlook.

Career

Munawar-Rachman served in multiple positions, including the director of the Center for Islamic Studies at

for 12 years from 1992 to 2004, the director of the Institute for Religious Studies and Philosophy (LSAF) from 1992 to 1995, and the founder and the director of Project for Pluralism and Religious Tolerance, the Center for Spirituality and Leadership (CSL) since 2004. Currently, he works at the Program Officer of Islam and Development at

The Asia Foundation The Asia Foundation (TAF) is a nonprofit international development organization focused on improving lives across Asia. Its programs operate in various sectors, including governance, women's empowerment and gender equality, inclusive economic gr ...

, aside from his professorship at Paramadina University. He is also the founder of Nurcholish Madjid Society (NCMS). He also authored more than fifty publications, including ''Islam Pluralis'' (Pluralist Islam, 2003), ''Fiqih Lintas Agama'' (Interreligious Fiqh, co-author, 2003) and ''Membaca Nurcholish Madjid'' (Reading Nurcholish Madjid, 2008). He also has experience on editing multiple encyclopedias related to Islam, namely ''Ensiklopedi Nurcholish Madjid'' (Encyclopedia of Nurcholish Madjid, 2007).

Views

While Munawar-Rachman succeeds Madjid's position on progressive Islam, he is also grounded on Islamic orthodoxy and highly regard the importance of

fiqh ''Fiqh'' (; ) is the term for Islamic jurisprudence.Fiqh
Encyclopædia Britannica ''Fiqh'' is of ...

study. He is included in the number of Muslim intellectuals who do not see the conflict between Pancasila ideology and Islam, and seeking to elevate the discourse regarding Islam to more substantive ethical level. He is also inspired by Harun Nasution's neo-Mutazilite thought, leading to his view on the rationalization of religion. He coined the term 'progressive Muslim intellectuals' within the context of Indonesian Islamic intellectual landscape, which aimed at transcending the more conventional traditionalist-modernist dichotomy. 'Progressive Muslim intellectuals' in his definition is broadly defined by the Muslim intellectuals who opposed the 2005 fatwa against pluralism, liberalism, and secularism by

Indonesian Ulema Council Indonesian Ulema Council (, , abbreviated MUI) is Indonesia's top Islamic scholars' body. MUI was founded in Jakarta on 26 July 1975 during the New Order era. The council comprises many Indonesian Muslim groups including Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), ...

(MUI).Riyadi, Ahmad Ali. ''Dekonstruksi Tradisi: Kaum Muda Tradisi Merobek Tradisi''. (2007) Yogyakarta:Ar-Ruzz, pp.165-8.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Munawar Rachman, Budhy 1963 births 20th-century Muslim scholars of Islam Indonesian Muslims Living people Indonesian Muslim scholars of Islam Muslim reformers Academic staff of Paramadina University