UNU Jogja Lecturer Awarded LPTNU Visiting Research Grant to Study the Invisibility of Maturidism in Indonesian Islamic Boarding Schools

Yogyakarta, Indonesia – Dr. Nur Hidayah, Lc., M.A., a lecturer in the Interdisciplinary Islamic Studies (SII) Department at UNU Jogja, has been selected as one of the recipients of the 2026 LPTNU Visiting Research Grant to Uzbekistan, organized by the Higher Education Institution of Nahdlatul Ulama (LPTNU). Through the program, she will conduct research at the Imam Maturidi Institute in Tashkent alongside fellow scholars from Nahdlatul Ulama universities across Indonesia.

Dr. Nur Hidayah is one of only two researchers assigned to the Imam Maturidi Institute. Her research project, titled "Present in Definition, Absent in Consciousness: The Invisibility of Maturidism in Indonesian Pesantren," examines the position of the Maturidi theological tradition within the Ahlussunnah wal Jamaah (Aswaja) tradition embraced by Nahdlatul Ulama.

Although Aswaja theology formally recognizes both the Ash'ari and Maturidi schools of thought, discussions of Maturidism in many Indonesian pesantren (Islamic boarding schools) have received relatively limited attention. As a result, Maturidism often appears only as part of a formal theological definition without being explored in depth within teaching and scholarly discourse.

Through this research, Dr. Nur Hidayah seeks to explain why Maturidism continues to be acknowledged as one of the foundations of Sunni theology while remaining relatively absent from the intellectual consciousness of Indonesian pesantren. The study employs the concept of epistemic injustice, developed by philosopher Miranda Fricker, to examine how a scholarly tradition can lose recognition despite its historical significance. It also applies Michel Foucault's genealogical approach to trace the power relations that shaped the development and transmission of Sunni theology from Central Asia to the Indonesian archipelago.

The research builds upon historical findings indicating that Maturidi thought played an important role in the intellectual Islamization of the Indonesian archipelago. One example is the existence of a sixteenth-century Malay translation of 'Aqa'id al-Nasafi, which influenced Islamic education in Aceh. Nevertheless, over time, Ash'ari discourse became more dominant, causing the intellectual identity of Maturidism to gradually merge into the broader framework of Ahlussunnah wal Jamaah.

Hamdi Ahmad Putra, Dean of the Faculty of Islamic Studies at UNU Jogja, said the grant reflects the growing international competitiveness of research conducted by the university's faculty members.

"This research addresses an important issue that has received relatively little scholarly attention—the place of Maturidism within Indonesia's Islamic intellectual tradition. Through collaboration with the Imam Maturidi Institute in Tashkent, we hope this project will generate new academic insights that enrich the study of Ahlussunnah wal Jamaah while strengthening the Faculty of Islamic Studies' international research network," he said.

He added that the faculty continues to encourage its academics to produce research that is not only academically rigorous but also contributes to the global development of Islamic scholarship.

"Dr. Nur Hidayah's participation in this program represents a strategic opportunity to bring the perspectives of Indonesian Islam into international academic conversations while reinforcing UNU Jogja's commitment to cross-border research collaboration," he added.

The LPTNU Visiting Research Program to Uzbekistan is part of a broader initiative to strengthen academic collaboration between Nahdlatul Ulama universities and leading Islamic research institutions in Central Asia. For UNU Jogja, which continues to expand its global academic partnerships, Dr. Nur Hidayah's participation is expected to produce not only scholarly publications but also stronger international research networks and new perspectives on the history and development of Islamic theology in the Indonesian archipelago. [Latifah]