Surakarta, October 30, 2025 - The Faculty of Ushuluddin and Dakwah (FUDA) of UIN Raden Mas Said Surakarta successfully held an International Seminar entitled “Islamic Philosophy and Local Wisdom with Strengthening Religious Moderation” on Thursday, October 30, 2025 at the Hall of the Faculty of Ushuluddin and Da'wah UIN RMS Surakarta. This scientific activity is part of an academic friendship visit from the Faculty of Ushuluddin and Adab UIN Sultan Maulana Hasanuddin Banten to UIN Raden Mas Said Surakarta, in order to strengthen academic collaboration and exchange of ideas across campuses.
This seminar presented three cross-country and cross-disciplinary speakers, namely:
- Dr. Masykur, M.A.Hum (Dean of FUDA UIN Sultan Maulana Hasanuddin Banten) talked about “Gotong Royong (Collective Solidarity) Culture as an Implementation of Humanitarian Hermeneutics”
- Dr. Andi Rosa, M.A. (Head of Hadith Science Study Program of UIN Sultan Maulana Hasanuddin Banten)
“Strengthening Religious Moderation through the Contextualization of Hadith Studies in Contemporary Society” - Prof. Dr. Hisanori Kato (Chuo University, Tokyo, Japan) “Intercultural Dialogue and Islamic Philosophy in Building Global Humanitarian Values.”
Gotong Royong as Hermeneutics of Humanity
In the first session, Dr. Masykur, M.A.Hum explained that the culture of mutual cooperation is a concrete reflection of humanitarian hermeneutics in Islam. He explained that the values of togetherness and social solidarity that live in Indonesian culture have strong roots in the teachings of Islam which emphasize the importance of social solidarity. ukhuwah insaniyyah (brotherhood of humanity).
“Gotong royong is not just a cultural heritage, but a living interpretation of Islamic teachings that emphasize cooperation, help, and social responsibility. When people work together, they are interpreting the values of the Qur'an socially,” he said.
Furthermore, Dr. Masykur invited participants to place Islamic philosophy not only in the space of discourse, but also in social praxis. “Humanitarian hermeneutics demands that we read sacred texts in the context of social life. That is where Islamic philosophy finds its relevance,” he said.
Meanwhile, in the second session, Dr. Andi Rosa, M.A., emphasized that the strengthening of the religious moderation needs to be supported by a contextual understanding of the hadith. In his presentation, he highlighted the importance of living hadith - Hadith meanings that live and operate in the social practices of the community.
According to him, “The Prophetic Hadiths contain many universal human values, such as justice, compassion, and balance. When these values are realized in social life, we are actually implementing religious moderation.” Dr. Andi Rosa also cited the Islamic tradition of the people of Banten, which is full of values of tolerance, togetherness, and the spirit of gotong royong as living proof of the principle of religious moderation. rahmatan lil ‘alamin. He emphasized, “Religious moderation does not mean moderating religion, but enforcing religion fairly and humanely.”
The third session was presented by Prof. Dr. Hisanori Kato from Chuo University Tokyo, who provided a global perspective on the role of Islamic philosophy in building intercultural dialogue and universal human values.
In his presentation, Prof. Kato explained that the world is currently facing serious challenges in the form of a humanitarian crisis and identity polarization. Islamic philosophy, according to him, has a major contribution to build intercultural understanding because it emphasizes the balance between reason, ethics, and spirituality.
“Dialogue between Islamic philosophy and Indonesian local wisdom, such as gotong royong, is a real form of intellectual and moral synthesis that can strengthen religious moderation and global peace,” Prof. Kato said.
Scientific Synergy and Religious Moderation
Dean of the Faculty of Ushuluddin and Da'wah UIN Raden Mas Said Surakarta, Dr. H. Kholilurrohman, M.Si. in his speech said that this activity is a concrete form of cross-university and cross-country academic cooperation in developing Islamic studies that are moderate, open, and rooted in human values.
“Through this collaboration, we want to strengthen the Islamic paradigm that has a global outlook but is based on local wisdom. Religious moderation must become an academic value as well as a social value,” he said.
This international seminar activity ended with an interactive discussion session and the handover of souvenirs between representatives of FUDA UIN Raden Mas Said Surakarta and the Faculty of Ushuluddin and Adab UIN Sultan Maulana Hasanuddin Banten. The enthusiasm of the participants shows that the synergy between Islamic philosophy and local wisdom become an important bridge in strengthening human values and global brotherhood. (Esafa)
