Lukman Hakim Saifuddin (born 25 November 1962) is an Indonesian politician and Muslim scholar who was the Minister of Religious Affairs in the

Second United Indonesia Cabinet The Second United Indonesia Cabinet () was sworn in on 22 October 2009, two days after the inauguration of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono for the second term. The cabinet consisted of members from Yudhoyono's Democratic Party (Indonesia), Dem ...

of President

Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (born 9 September 1949), commonly referred to as SBY, is an Indonesian politician and retired Indonesian Army, army general who served as the sixth president of Indonesia from 2004 to 2014 and the second president of Ind ...

and Working Cabinet of President

Joko Widodo Joko Widodo (; born 21 June 1961), often known mononymously as Jokowi, is an Indonesian politician, engineer, and businessman who served as the seventh president of Indonesia from 2014 to 2024. Previously a member of the Indonesian Democratic ...

. Saifuddin is considered more moderate than his predecessor, Suryadharma Ali. As former

party whip A whip is an official of a political party whose task is to ensure party discipline (that members of the party vote according to the party platform rather than their constituents, individual conscience or donors) in a legislature. Whips a ...

of the

United Development Party The United Development Party (, PPP) is an Islam-based Al-Hamdi, Ridho (February 2017). ''Moving towards a Normalised Path: Political Islam in Contemporary Indonesia''. Jurnal Studi Pemerintahan (Journal of Government & Politics). Vol. 8 No. 1, p ...

(PPP) in the

People's Representative Council The House of Representatives of the Republic of Indonesia (, DPR-RI or simply DPR) is one of two elected chambers of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), the national legislature of Indonesia. It is considered the lower house, while th ...

, Saifuddin pulled the PPP closer to the political center.Alexander R. Arifianto, ''Indonesian Islamic Parties After the 2014 Elections''. Taken fro
ISEAS Perspective: Watching the Indonesian Elections 2014
pg. 129. Singapore:

Institute of Southeast Asian Studies An institute is an organizational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations (research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countries, institutes ca ...

, 2015. Also unlike Ali, Saifuddin has indicated a willingness as Religious Affairs Minister to extend recognition to the

Baháʼí Faith The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the Baháʼí Faith and the unity of religion, essential worth of all religions and Baháʼí Faith and the unity of humanity, the unity of all people. Established by ...

, a minority group in the country. Saifuddin also participated with

Indonesian Buddhists Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to: * Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia ** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago ** Indonesian ...

in a joint prayer in

Medan Medan ( , ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of the Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province of North Sumatra. The nearby Strait of Malacca, Port of Belawan, and Kualanamu International Airport make Medan a regional hub and multi ...

in November 2016. Conversely, he also urged Muslims in Indonesia to pray for the

Rohingya The Rohingya people (; ; ) are a stateless Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who predominantly follow Islam from Rakhine State, Myanmar. Before the Rohingya genocide in 2017, when over 740,000 fled to Bangladesh, an estimated 1.4 million Ro ...

minority in

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

in reaction to the 2016 Rohingya persecution in Myanmar, and stated that the

Government of Indonesia The term Government of the Republic of Indonesia (, GOI, sometimes also referred to as Government of Indonesia or the Central Government () especially in laws) can have a number of different meanings. At its widest, it can refer collectively ...

was monitoring the situation. Saifuddin also cautioned against follow-up protests to the

November 2016 Jakarta protests November 2016 Jakarta protests (also called Protests defending the Quran or 4 November protests) refer to an Islamist mass protest which took place on 4 November 2016 in Jakarta, Indonesia. It was attended by an estimated 50,000–200,000 proteste ...

against the Christian governor of Jakarta accused of blasphemy, stating that formal charges had been brought to a court of law and that there was no justification for further protests.Istman M. P.
Religious Affairs Minister: No More Rallies after Today
''

Tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given musical composition, composition, and is often also an indication of the composition ...

'', 2 December 2016. Retrieved 19 December 2016.

Early life, education, and early career

Early life

Lukman Hakim Saifuddin was born in

Jakarta Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...

, on 25 November 1962. His father,

Saifuddin Zuhri Saifuddin Zuhri (1 October 1919 – 25 March 1986) was an Indonesian politician, journalist, educator and Muslim cleric who was the Minister of Religious Affairs of Indonesia under President Sukarno and Acting President Suharto. Early life Zuh ...

, was a politician, journalist, educator and Muslim cleric, who was Minister of Religious Affairs under president

Sukarno Sukarno (6 June 1901 – 21 June 1970) was an Indonesian statesman, orator, revolutionary, and nationalist who was the first president of Indonesia, serving from 1945 to 1967. Sukarno was the leader of the Indonesian struggle for independenc ...

, from 1962 until 1967 while his mother was a woman named Solichah.

Education

As a child, Lukman Hakim studied religion from his mother. He went to SDN Jakarta for elementary school, and SMPN XI Jakarta for junior high school. After this, he entered the

Pondok Modern Darussalam Gontor Pondok Modern Darussalam Gontor Ponorogo (abbreviated as PMDG), also known as Pondok Modern Gontor, or simply Pesantren Gontor, is a pesantren (Indonesian Islamic boarding school) in Ponorogo Regency, East Java, Indonesia. Since its founding in 1 ...

Ponorogo Ponorogo Regency (; ) is an inland Regency (Indonesia), regency () of East Java Province of Indonesia. It is considered the birthplace of Reog, Reog Ponorogo, a traditional Indonesian dance form. The regency covers an area of , and it had a popu ...

East Java East Java (, , ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia located in the easternmost third of Java island. It has a land border only with the province of Central Java to the west; the Java Sea and the Indian Ocean border its northern ...

, graduating in 1983, at the age of 21. Following his graduation from Gontor, Lukman Hakim studied at the Faculty of

Da'wah ' (, , "invitation", also spelt , , , or ) is the act of inviting people to Islam. The plural is () or (). Preachers who engage in dawah are known as da'i. Etymology literally means "issuing a summons" or "making an invitation". Grammat ...

at As-Syafiiyah Islamic University in Jakarta. During university, Saifuddin exceled in the fields of study, training and research. It was also during this time that he became active in the management of the Nadhlatul Ulama (NU), a traditionalist Sunni Islamist movement. He graduated with a bachelor in 1990.

Early career

Even in university, he was active in managing the Nadhlatul Ulama. He was appointed Deputy Secretary of the Central Executive Board of the Nadhlatul Ulama Family Welfare Institution (LKKNU) from 1985 until 1988. Later he was involved in the Nadhlatul Ulama Research and Development Center (Lakpesdam) as Deputy Secretary, Head of General Administration, Study and Research Program Coordinator, Education and Training Program Coordinator, until he became Chairman of the Governing Body from 1996 until 1999.

Political career

People's Representative Council

Saifuddin became interested in politics in the early 1990s, and officially became a member of the

(PPP), an Islamist political party in early 1994. In the 1997 Indonesian legislative elections, Saifuddin was elected as a member of the People's Representative Council at the age of 35. As a member of the People's Representative Council, Saifuddin pulled the PPP closer to the political center. He was subsequently re-elected in the

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

, and

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

legislative elections, eventually becoming the Deputy Speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly.

Minister of Religious Affairs

Under Yudhoyono

At the end of 2014, he was appointed by president

as Minister of Religious Affairs, replacing Suryadharma Ali, who had been indicted in a corruption scandal involving illicit use of funds intended for the

hajj Hajj (; ; also spelled Hadj, Haj or Haji) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for capable Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetim ...

. As Minister of Religious Affairs in the

, he only served for three months at the end of Yudhoyono's term.

Under Joko Widodo

When Joko Widodo was elected as the new president in 2014, he was reappointed Minister of Religious Affairs in the 2014–2019 Working Indonesia Cabinet.

Personal life

Saifuddin is married to Trisna Willy, and together they have three children namely, Naufal Zilal Kemal, Zahira Humaira, and Sabilla Salsabilla.

Gallery

File:Lukman Hakim Saifuddin, Buku Kenangan Anggota Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat Republik Indonesia 1999-2004, p72.jpg, Saifuddin as a member of the People's Representative Council File:Lukman Hakim Saifuddin MPR.jpg, Saifuddin as Deputy Speaker File:Kabinet Kerja Lukman Hakim Saifuddin.jpg, Saifuddin as Religious Affairs Minister under Yudhoyono File:Lukman Hakim Saifuddin.jpg, Saifuddin as Religious Affairs Minister under Joko Widodo

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saifuddin, Lukman Hakim Indonesian civil servants Indonesian Muslims Living people 1962 births Working Cabinet (Joko Widodo) Government ministers of Indonesia United Development Party politicians