South Tangerang, FAH Online News – The Faculty of Adab and Humanities (FAH) at Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University Jakarta successfully held an international webinar titled “The Digital Gateway to Islamic History: Exploring the Past, Envisioning the Future for SDGs”, conducted online via Zoom on Tuesday, July 15, 2025.

The webinar featured two distinguished international guest speakers Assistant Professor Verena Meyer from Leiden University, Netherlands, Prima Nurahmi Mulyasari, a Ph.D. candidate at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

This academic event was open to students, lecturers, and the general public, and was attended by more than 160 participants from various academic backgrounds.

In his opening remarks, Dr. Ade Abdul Hak, S.Ag., S.S., M.Hum., CIQnR., Dean of FAH, stated that the webinar marked the beginning of a series of international academic forums to be followed by a larger-scale international webinar scheduled for September 4, 2025. He expressed hope that this initial event would serve as both a meaningful starting point and a moment for reflection and evaluation. He also extended heartfelt appreciation to both speakers for their generous scholarly contributions.

In the first session, Verena Meyer delivered a presentation entitled “The Digital Gateway to Islamic History: Exploring the Past, Envisioning the Future”, which discussed how digital tools and approaches can open new avenues for Islamic historical studies and support the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The second session featured Prima Nurahmi Mulyasari, who presented her research titled “Facebook Accounts as Historical Sources in Transnational Research: Studying Indonesian Muslim Organizations in Taiwan.” Her presentation explored how social media platforms like Facebook can serve as valuable historical sources in contemporary transnational studies.

Although both speakers are proficient in the Indonesian language, all presentations were conducted in English to maintain the international scope of the forum. The participants’ enthusiasm was palpable, especially during the Q&A session, where both lecturers and students actively posed thoughtful and insightful questions, which were warmly and enthusiastically responded to by the speakers.

The event was moderated and convened by Prof. Usep Abdul Matin, S.Ag., M.A. (Leiden), M.A. (Duke), Ph.D., Vice Dean for Student Affairs, Alumni, and Collaborations, who guided the session with thoughtful commentary and coordination.

The webinar concluded with a group photo session and the official awarding of e-certificates of appreciation to both guest speakers, marking the end of a fruitful and inspiring academic exchange.

Written by: Rahmat Mubabroq

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