The History Education Study Program at Universitas Negeri Semarang (UNNES) hosted an international guest lecture featuring Professor Khairudin Aljunied of the National University of Singapore (NUS) on Wednesday, bringing together 200 students to explore the historical spread of Islam, intellectual networks and the development of Muslim societies across Southeast Asia.
Held at the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (FISIP) in the C1 Building auditorium, the lecture, titled Islam in Southeast Asia, aimed to strengthen students’ understanding of Islamic history and equip future history teachers with broader regional perspectives.
Islamic history forms part of the History Education curriculum at UNNES, providing students with knowledge of the cultural exchanges, intellectual movements and social transformations that have shaped Muslim communities throughout the region.
History Education Study Program coordinator Andy Suryadi, S.Pd., M.Pd., welcomed the visiting scholar and participants, while FISIP Vice Dean for Academic and Student Affairs Dr.scient.med. Fadly Husain, S.Sos., M.Si., officially opened the event.
Aljunied, whose research focuses on Islamic intellectual history, reformist movements and Muslim networks in Southeast Asia, has extensively examined how religious ideas circulated across geographical and cultural boundaries.
His 2022 book, Shapers of Islam in Southeast Asia: Muslim Intellectuals and the Making of Islamic Reformism, explores the contributions of Muslim intellectuals to the development of Islamic reformist thought in the region.
The book introduces the concept of an Islamic reformist mosaic, highlighting the diversity of reformist ideas and the interconnected intellectual traditions that have influenced Muslim societies across Southeast Asia.
The lecture also featured an interactive discussion in which students raised questions about Islam in the Indonesian archipelago and the relevance of Islamic approaches to addressing psychological challenges among young people.
The discussion extended beyond conventional historical narratives to consider the relationship between religious thought, mental health and contemporary social issues.
The subject is closely related to Aljunied’s research on Zakiah Daradjat, an influential Indonesian scholar widely recognized for her pioneering contributions to Islamic psychology.
In his 2021 article, Islam as Therapy: Zakiah Daradjat and the Uses of Religious-Oriented Psychology, published in Indonesia and the Malay World, Aljunied examines how Daradjat integrated Islamic teachings, Muslim psychospiritual traditions and modern psychological knowledge into approaches to mental health and personal well-being.
Daradjat, a professor at the former State Islamic Institute (IAIN) Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta, now UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta, played a significant role in developing religious psychology in Indonesia, particularly in relation to education, mental health and the psychological challenges facing young people.
For UNNES history education students, the discussion offered an opportunity to examine Islam not merely as a religious tradition that spread across the archipelago, but also as an evolving intellectual and cultural force that continues to influence societies.
The insights gained from the lecture are expected to enrich students’ historical understanding and provide additional perspectives for developing teaching materials when they enter the teaching profession.
Beyond the student lecture, the academic engagement is also expected to support further professional development for UNNES lecturers through advanced academic writing training.
The proposed training will focus on helping lecturers structure research articles more effectively, develop stronger scholarly arguments and prepare manuscripts that meet the standards of internationally recognized academic journals.
