Opportunities Grow as President, Faculty Travel to Indonesia

With the aim of celebrating and building upon strategic partnerships that bring students to Hartford, President Joel N. Lohr, Professor David D. Grafton, and Library Director Karla Grafton traveled to Indonesia recently to meet with government officials, academic leaders, and HIU alums.

President Lohr traveled to Indonesia first, in December of last year, at the invitation of the Grand Imam of the Istiqlal Mosque and Minister of Religious Affairs, Dr. Nasaruddin Umar. In addition to important meetings with government officials and other leaders, President Lohr met the President of Indonesia, Prabowo Subianto, at the ceremonial opening of the “Tunnel of Friendship.” This newly constructed underground tunnel connects the interior of Jakarta’s Istiqlal Mosque and St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral. President Lohr also attended and spoke at two graduation services, which included students who recently attended short course programs at HIU. 

This month, David and Karla Grafton set out for Indonesia, arriving in Yogyakarta on Feb. 13. They met with top leaders at a number of universities, including Duta Wacana Christian University, the Islamic University of Sunan Kalijaga, and Muhammadiyah University. The Graftons also met with Dr. Dicky Sofjan and other faculty and staff of the Indonesian Consortium of Religious Studies. Dr. Sofjan has visited HIU several times over the years and has close ties to the institution.

Dr. Grafton gave a public lecture on "Christianity and Dialogue with the Asian Religions" at Satya Wacana Christianity University in Salatiga. While there, he was accompanied by HIU alums, Regina Wijayanti '23 and Luthfi Rahman '15, and also met with Ph.D. candidate Muhammad Afdillah about his dissertation. The last stop in Yogyakarta was at the Mahathir Global Peace School of Muhammadiyah University to meet with researcher and scholar Dr. Hasse Jubba.

The Graftons then traveled to Jakarta, Indonesia’s capital, first visiting Jakarta Theological Seminary, a Christian institution, meeting with the rector, the seminary’s top official, and faculty members. Next, they traveled to PTIQ (Quranic Sciences University), where Dr. Grafton gave a lecture about HIU and also met with students who had attended HIU short course programs through the Istiqlal Mosque Ulama Cadre Education program (PKUMI). This was followed by meetings with leaders of the University of Darunnajah and a meal with HIU MAP alum Imbran Bonde '22.

On Feb. 19 President Lohr joined the Graftons. Their first stop together was the Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta, the third largest mosque in the world in a country that holds the largest Muslim population in the world. Later that day, President Lohr and the Graftons met with Jusuf Kalla, former Vice President of Indonesia; Dr. Hafid Abbas, Chairman of the National Commission of Human Rights and professor of education at State University of Jakarta, Indonesia; and Dr. Alwi Shihab, a former HIU Trustee, a leading authority on Christian-Muslim relations, and a former special envoy to Middle-East for Indonesia, among his many roles with the Indonesian government.

Their tour of the Istiqlal Mosque included Dr. Gugun Gumilar '14, who graduated from HIU with an MA in Religious Studies. Dr. Gumilar is now Special Staff of the Minister of Religious Affairs for Religious Harmony, Monitoring, and Foreign Cooperation, working closely with Imam Nasaruddin Umar. Later, the group had the honor of dining at Imam Nasaruddin's home, discussing peace, interfaith relations, and the continuation of the short course programs in Hartford for PKUMI and PTIQ University scholars. 

The next day, the group had breakfast with alum Jacky Manuputty '11, an internationally recognized peace advocate and interfaith leader who holds an Honorary Doctor of Divinity from HIU. He is the new head of the Communion of Churches in Indonesia. A meeting was also held at the Ministry of Religious Affairs Office with Professor Kamaruddin Amin (Secretary General) and Professor Arskal Salim, Secretary of the Directorate General of Islamic Education.

The Graftons and President Lohr, together and independently, proceeded to meet with many other leaders, including those from the Imam Bonjol State Islamic University, the Nahdlatul Ulama, the Leimena Institute, and Jakarta’s Institute of Democracy and Education. A special highlight of the trip was a visit to the Indonesian Islamic International University (UIII) campus, which included the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding. This MOU underscores the academic ties between the two institutions and looks to strengthen the partnership.

“Many scholars affiliated with HIU have made significant contributions that are of great interest to Indonesian scholars and beyond,” said Dr. Saiful Umam, Director of Research and International Collaborations at UIII.

The MOU will "facilitate joint research, faculty and student exchanges, and collaborative events that strengthen the shared mission of excellence and interreligious understanding."

In an interview published on UIII's website, President Lohr spoke about this connection with Indonesia and its special relationship with HIU.

"Indonesia is a very important country," he noted. "It is not only home to the largest Muslim population but also a vibrant multi-religious society. ... I love this country — not just for the warmth and sincerity of its people but also for the intellectual depth of its scholars."