Minister of Religious Affairs RI Inaugurated Arskal and Oman

Jakarta, UIN News Online – Minister of Religious Affairs (Menag) RI officially inaugurated two lecturers of UIN Jakarta to fill the positions of directors and expert staff within the Ministry of Religious Affairs (Kemenag) RI. They are Prof. Dr. Arskal Salim GP MA to fill the position as the Director of Islamic Higher Education (Diktis) Directorate General of Islamic Education and Prof. Dr. Oman Fathurahman M.Hum, to fill the position as an Expert Staff (Sahli) of Communication and Information Management Department, Ministry of Religious Affairs (Kemenag) RI.

Both were inaugurated along with 28 echelon I, II, and other Officials of State Religious Higher Institution at HM Rasjidi Auditorium Ministry of Religious Affairs, Jalan Thamrin Jakarta, Friday (12/22/2017). Also present in the inauguration event, ecretary General Kemenag Prof. Dr. Nur Syam and Director General of Islamic Education Kemenag Prof. Dr. Kamaruddin Amin.

Menag in his speech hopes that the new officials can undergo various programs and activities of Ministry of Religious Affairs RI in order to to serve the life of the ummah. He also advised the officials to put the position of trust from the God and country.

“I am very optimistic that the inaugurated officials today are civilian apparatus who already served for a dozen of years and have a great understanding on bureaucracy. Keep the trust that has been given by this country and God," said Lukman.

Known, both Arskal and Oman are two lecturers of UIN Jakarta who have a brilliant achievement in their respective scientific career. Arskal is a professor of Islamic Law and Politics, the Faculty of Sharia and Law (FSH). After completing his doctoral program at Melbourne Law School, University of Melbourne, Arskal was awarded a post-doctoral fellowship at the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, Germany (2006-2009). Furthermore, Arskal is believed to be the Assistant Professor at the Aga Khan University's Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilizations (2009-2012).

Since 2012, Arskal has been appointed Senior Research Lecturer at the University of Western Sydney, Australia. However, his position must end in 2015 because he was appointed as Director of LP2M (Center for Research and Community Engagement) UIN Jakarta until finally appointed as Director of Diktis Kemenag RI.

In addition to teaching at FSH and Graduate School (SPs) of UIN Jakarta, Arskal writes a number of books and a collection of journals published by national and international accredited publishers. Some of his works are Contemporary Islamic Law in Indonesia: Sharia and Legal Pluralism (Edinburgh University Press, 2015), The Shift in Zakat Practice in Indonesia: From Piety to an Islamic Socio-political-economic System (Silkworm Books, 2008), Challenging the Secular State: The Islamization of Law in Modern Indonesia (University of Hawaii Press, 2008), Shari'a and Politics in Modern Indonesia (ISEAS, 2003).

As for Oman, besides teaching at the Faculty of Adab and Humanities and the Graduate School of UIN Jakarta, he also served as the Chairman of Masyarakat Pernaskahan Nusantara (Manasa) as well as senior researcher at PPIM UIN Jakarta. Previously, he earned his doctorate degree in Philology from the Faculty of Cultural Sciences, University of Indonesia (UI).

In addition to writing dozens of national and international journals, he also writes many many important reference books in Islamic philology studies of the archipelago. Some of them are Shattariyah Lineage in Aceh, Java and the Lanao Area of Mindanao (ILCAA-TUFS, Tokyo, 2016), Tarekat Syattariyah di Minangkabau: Teks dan Konteks (2008), Khazanah Naskah: Panduan Koleksi Naskah-Naskah Indonesia Sedunia (Henri Chambert-Loir, 1999), Tanbih Al-Masyi: Menyoal Wahdatul Wujud: Kasus Abdulrrauf Singkel di Aceh Abad 17 M (Mizan, 1999).

Responding to their inauguration, Rector of UIN Jakarta Prof Dr Dede Rosyada MA congratulate them and hopes that they can carry out their respective duties with full responsibility. "May each given fluency in performing tasks that have been entrusted," he prayed. (usa)