Indonesian Muslim Intelligentsia and Power

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The history of this book is the history of human compassion and mutual understanding. That the book originated from my Ph.D. thesis at the Australian National University, its presence in the “republic of letters” (respublica litteraria) would have been impossible without the support and contribution of many people and a number of institutions. I owe a lasting debt of gratitude to my lecturers at the Faculty of Asian Studies and the Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies (RSPAS) of the Australian National University (ANU) who generously provided counsel and encouragement. Specifically, I have to mention my supervisors, Professor Virginia Hooker, Professor James J. Fox, and Dr Greg Fealy who have always been ready to help solve my academic and non-academic problems. They also have welcomed my critical views even if these views were in contradiction to their intellectual preferences. During the writing of the thesis, Professor Hooker also gave me the opportunity to develop a new course called “Reading the Indonesian Media” for students of Indonesian Studies, which helped broaden my understanding of the importance of the media in the historical development of the Indonesian intelligentsia. I am also grateful to Dr Ann Kumar at the Centre for Asian Societies and Histories of the ANU and Professor John D. Legge at the History Department of Monash University who were helpful in reading most parts of the thesis. Their corrections on some points of historical matters and their suggestions on the organizational structure of the thesis were very valuable. In addition, Dr Gail Craswell at the Academic Skills and Learning Centre of the ANU and Achdiat Kartamihardja deserve my gratitude for their valuable assistance respectively in English writing and in Dutch translation. The writing of the thesis would have been impossible without the generous financial support I received from the Australian National University and the Australian Government, specifically the Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs. Both institutions awarded me an International xxiii 00 Indo_Intelligentsia Prelims 2/25/08, 3:47 PM 23 Postgraduate Research Scholarship that enabled me to attend a doctoral programme at the ANU. While studying at the ANU, I was also awarded a grant by the Australia-Indonesian Institute to conduct research on Islam and Democracy in Indonesia. The research on this issue provided valuable inputs for the writing of this thesis. I should also like to express my appreciation to the ANU library and the National Library of Australia in Canberra. Their rich collections on Indonesian and Islamic studies have greatly contributed to the enrichment of my knowledge. My access to these collections was made possible by the fine cooperation extended to me by their staff, who relentlessly assisted my incessant requests for literature and other information. Credit should also be given to the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) and the Paramadina University in Jakarta, two research institutions that I am affiliated with, for supporting my overseas study. Special appreciation has to be given to my senior colleagues in both institutions, especially Djoko Pitono, Lukman Hakim, Erman Aminullah, Taufik Abdullah, Mochtar Pabottingi, Dewi Fortuna Anwar, (the late) Nurcholish Madjid and Utomo Dananjaya, for their untiring encouragement and assistance. I would like to thank the administrative staff of the Faculty of Asian Studies, the RSPAS, and the International Education Office of the ANU, especially to Andrea Haese, Ludmila Mangos, Vera Joveska, Pamela WesleySmith , Heather Mann and Ann Bell for assisting me to deal with logistic difficulties and bureaucratic mechanisms. I would like also to express thanks to my colleagues in Canberra, Edward Chunk, Ros Matthews, Matthew Byrne, Ben Materne, Amanda Scott, Amrih Widodo and Indonesian students in Canberra, for warm friendship and exchanging ideas. Their presence surrounding me helped create a stimulating multi-cultural environment, which made my life in Canberra much more meaningful than just pursuing an academic title. In parallel, my colleagues in Indonesia, especially Idi Subandy Ibrahim, Ida Ayu Mustika Dewi, Tatat Rahmita Utami, Yudhie Haryono, Abdul Hamid, Yon Hotman, Indah Dachlan, Arief Haryadi and Ray Rangkuti deserve my appreciation for their assistance and stimulation. More than anyone else, my parents, wife (Linda Natalia Rahma) and children (Matahari Kesadaran, Cerlang Gemintang and Bening Aura Qalby) may lay claim to my lasting gratitude. Their continuous prayers and support have been a genuine consolation which reinforced my spirit to keep walking along the path of knowledge. My family has also borne the agony of writing this book. May God bless you all! xxiv Acknowledgements 00 Indo_Intelligentsia Prelims 2/25/08, 3:47...