Leveraging Artificial Intelligence and Archaeology to Rewrite Islamic History, UIN Jakarta Convenes Premier Historiography Symposium With the Ministry of Culture

JAKARTA, UIN Online News – Modernizing classical historiography through cutting-edge technology and multidisciplinary research, the Faculty of Letters and Humanities (FAH) at UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta officially convened the Islamic History Symposium 2026 on Tuesday, July 28, 2026. Centered on the overarching theme "Rewriting Islamic History: Sources, Networks, and Social Changes," the high-level academic summit brought together leading historians, philologists, sociologists, and doctoral researchers to reframe Southeast Asian Islamic civilization.

Delivering the opening address, Dean of FAH UIN Jakarta, Dr. Ade Abdul Hak, M.Hum., emphasized that rewriting history does not alter historical facts, but enriches analytical frameworks through emerging digital tools.

"Rewriting Islamic history is an essential intellectual endeavor," Dr. Ade stated. "With the massive digitization of historical archives, our scholarship must evolve by integrating advanced digital humanities and artificial intelligence to offer more critical, comprehensive civilizational perspectives."

Delivering the keynote address on behalf of the Minister of Culture, the Director General for Cultural Protection and Traditional Heritage, Dr. Restu Gunawan, M.Hum., urged historians to move beyond conventional textual manuscripts. He highlighted recent physical archaeological finds such as 7th-century Islamic coinage discovered in Bungah, East Java, which fundamentally challenge long-held historical timelines regarding the early arrival of Islam in the Indonesian archipelago.

Furthermore, the Ministry of Culture formally invited university historians to serve as lead curators and narrative architects for hundreds of state museums currently undergoing modernization into technology-driven immersive exhibition spaces.

Reflecting the symposium's rigorous academic standards, enrollment was strictly restricted to scholars holding a minimum of a Master’s (M.A.) or Doctoral (Ph.D.) degree. The forum featured the inaugural doctoral cohort of UIN Jakarta's History of Islamic Civilization program alongside keynotes from Diponegoro University History Professor Singgih Tri Sulistiyono and UIN Jakarta Senior Historian Professor Jajat Burhanuddin.

By combining AI-driven digital humanities, groundbreaking archaeological evidence, and national museum curation policies, FAH UIN Jakarta positions itself at the global forefront of modern Islamic historiography.

(Mufid/Zaenal/Arifin)