Wijayanto (born December 27, 1968), colloquially known as Ustadz Wijayanto, is an

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 ...

preacher,

da'i A da'i (, ) is generally someone who engages in Dawah, the act of inviting people to Islam. See also * Dawah * Da'i al-Mutlaq, 'the absolute (unrestricted) missionary' * Hujja * List of converts to Islam The following is a list of notabl ...

and

ulama In Islam, the ''ulama'' ( ; also spelled ''ulema''; ; singular ; feminine singular , plural ) are scholars of Islamic doctrine and law. They are considered the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious knowledge in Islam. "Ulama ...

hailed from

Surakarta Surakarta (Javanese script, Javanese: , Pegon script, Pegon: ), known colloquially as Solo (Javanese script, Javanese: ; ), is a major List of regencies and cities of Indonesia, city in Central Java, Indonesia. The city adjoins Karanganyar Reg ...

Central Java Central Java (, ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia, located in the middle of the island of Java. Its administrative capital is Semarang. It is bordered by West Java in the west, the Indian Ocean and the Special Region of Yogya ...

. He often appears in religious studies and Islam related programs on national television. An alumnus of

International Islamic University, Islamabad The International Islamic University, Islamabad (IIUI) is an Islamic public university located in Islamabad, Pakistan.

, he is also noted as a lecturer of the department of management in

Gadjah Mada University Gadjah Mada University (; , abbreviated as UGM) is a public research university located in Sleman, Special Region of Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Officially founded on 19 December 1949, Gadjah Mada University is one of the oldest and largest institut ...

and as the Principal Supervisor of

Pesantren ''Pesantren'' is a traditional Islamic boarding school in Indonesia. It is taught either in private houses, a ''wiktionary:pondok, pondok'' or a mosque, the teaching includes classical Islamic texts and ''santri'' thought, taught by Kyai, ''kya ...

Bina Insan Anak Sholeh,

Yogyakarta Yogyakarta is the capital city of the Special Region of Yogyakarta in Indonesia, in the south-central part of the island of Java. As the only Indonesian royal city still ruled by Hamengkubuwono, a monarchy, Yogyakarta is regarded as an importan ...

Early life

Wijayanto attended from elementary to high school in Surakarta. During the elementary school years, he also studied at the Tafseer Diniyah Assembly, while during the junior high school years he participated in the Islamic boarding school, Al Islam. During his time in Surakarta, he began recognizing his talent in preaching. Subsequently, he continued his studies at the Sunan Kalijaga State Islamic University and graduated as a scholar of ''tarbiyah'' (Islamic education) in 1992. In the same year, he also completed a Bachelor's degree in Anthropology at

. He then went on to study at International Islamic University in Islamabad majoring in the Master of Sociology and graduated in 1997.

Career

Wijayanto is known as a prominent

in Indonesia, characterized by comical and entertaining preaching style. He is famous for his lectures with witty humor and critical comedy reflecting the reality and this is anticipated by his audiences. However, there are critics as well against his way of preaching and pop lectures on TV. Some call him "ustad artist" due to him utilizing his title as

ustad Ustad, ustadh, ustaz or ustadz (abbreviated as Ust., Ut. or Ud.; from Persian language, Persian ''ustād'') is an honorific title used in West Asia, North Africa, Central Asia, South Asia and Southeast Asia. It is used in various languages, incl ...

to speak and look charming. In addition to lectures and televangelism, Wijayanto also authors written works. One of his releases is titled ''Jodohku, Maunya Kamu'' (lit: I want you as my love of my life, until the end). The book is aimed at addressing the family affairs and social issues, utilizing his knowledge and degree in sociology, and aimed at combining the science of sociology and Islamic knowledge as a preacher in order to contribute to solving the problem.

References

{{reflist 1968 births 20th-century Muslim scholars of Islam Living people Indonesian Muslim missionaries Sunni clerics