From Pancasila to Ciputat: June 1, The Confluence of Islam, Nationalism, and Knowledge

By: Murodi, Arief Subhan, and Study Rizal LK*

June 1st is always commemorated as the birthday of Pancasila—a crucial moment in Indonesian history when Bung Karno delivered the speech that gave birth to our nation's foundational ideology. However, for Indonesian Islamic academics, June 1st also holds another equally important meaning: the birth of ADIA (Academy of Islamic Religious Service) on June 1, 1957, an institution that later evolved into UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta, one of the most prominent centers of modern and progressive Islamic thought in the contemporary Muslim world.

These two dates, though separated by 12 years, seem intertwined in a grand narrative about the endeavor to embed Islam within Indonesian nationalism. Pancasila became the ideological umbrella that allowed religious diversity to thrive within a national framework. ADIA—and subsequently IAIN and UIN—became a crucible for developing Islamic scholarship capable of dialoguing with culture, science, and modern state systems.

Amidst this narrative emerges the figure of Azyumardi Azra, one of the great intellectuals born from the womb of UIN Jakarta and nurtured in the intellectual tradition later known as the Ciputat School. This school is not merely a geographical name but a tradition of Islamic thought that is open, rational, and contextual. It represents the initial aspirations behind the establishment of ADIA: to produce Muslim bureaucrats, educators, and intellectuals who are not only spiritually devout but also resilient in addressing national social problems.

Azyumardi Azra is a reflection of the success of that project. As an Islamic historian, he demonstrated how the network of Nusantara ulama (scholars) since the 17th century had fostered intellectual communication with the global Islamic world, yet remained rooted in the local context. As a nationalist thinker, Azra affirmed that Pancasila is not only compatible with Islam but actually serves as a political expression of Islamic values as rahmatan lil ‘alamin (a mercy to all creation): divinity, humanity, social justice, and deliberation.

For Azra, questioning Pancasila in the name of Islam is ahistorical. In many of his writings, he explained that the nation's founders—including the ulama—had established Pancasila as a noble consensus that umbrellas all groups. Therefore, pitting Islam against Pancasila would betray the legacy of earlier ulama. This perspective is what made Azyumardi a continuous reference in the discourse of religious moderation in Indonesia.

In this context, the commemoration of June 1st should not only be a ceremonial state event but also an academic and spiritual reflection. The birth of Pancasila and the establishment of ADIA on the same date is not merely a calendar coincidence, but a historical marker that the relationship between Islam and the state in Indonesia has never been antagonistic; rather, it has been mutually supportive and enriching. Pancasila provides a framework for peaceful religious expression; while institutions like ADIA—now UIN Jakarta—provide an intellectual space to nurture an open, scientific, and critical religious rationality.

Now, more than six decades since ADIA was established, and eight decades since Pancasila was proclaimed, our challenges are becoming even more complex. Identity polarization, digital radicalism, and political pragmatism often erode the spirit of nationalism and inclusive Islamic values. In this situation, the intellectual legacy of Azyumardi Azra and the spirit of the Ciputat School find their relevance again: to ground Pancasila not merely through slogans, but by building a civilization of knowledge and public civility.

Therefore, June 1st is not just the birthday of Pancasila. It also becomes a contemplative moment to reaffirm commitment to the dialogue between faith and nationalism, knowledge and action, tradition and modernity. A long dialogue that began since ADIA was established, continued through generations of the Ciputat School, and now becomes our collective task to nurture and carry forward.

*** The authors are "Trio MAS" Lecturers at the Faculty of Da'wah and Communication Sciences, UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta.