Publication

This paper examines the reform of higher education in Indonesia, with a particular focus on developments during the Suharto era (1970-1998). It argues that the Indonesian state under Suharto was more concerned with the challenge of controlling potential domestic opposition than foregrounding an Islamic reform project per se. The author explains, however, that as a result of the reforms Suharto introduced, Indonesia has become one of the few Muslim countries in the world where a scientific approach to Islamic studies has been established.