Islam, Indonesia, Israel: Indonesian Perceptions of the Middle East and Middle Eastern Perceptions of Indonesia

In April, the Southeast Asia Center, along with the Stroum Center for Jewish Studies and the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies, welcomed Professor Muhamad Ali (UC Riverside, Religious Studies) and Giora Eliraz (Harry S. Truman Institute, University of Jerusalem) for a colloqium about Indonesian perceptions of the Middle East and Middle Eastern perceptions of Indonesia. Southeast Asia Center Director Laurie J. Sears moderated this unusual event, which brought out not only those from the UW community but also members of the public, who asked many thoughtful questions. Dr. Ali has published books, essays, and chapters on topics related to Islam, including violence and peace, gender, interfaith dialog and global education, Indonesian Muslims’ perceptions of Judaism and Jews, Indonesian Islamic liberal movements, and a modern history of Southeast Asia. His recent book is Islam and Colonialism: Becoming Modern in Indonesia and Malaya (Edinburgh University Press, 2015).Dr. Eliraz is the author of two publications about Islam in Indonesia: Islam in Indonesia: Modernism, Radicalism and the Middle East Dimension and Islam and Polity in Indonesia: An Intriguing Case Study. Dr. Eliraz holds several other research positions, including as Affiliated Fellow at the KITLV/Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies in Leiden, a Member of a research group at the Minerva Humanities Center at Tel Aviv University, a Research Fellow at the Institute for Counter-Terrorism at the Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) in Herzliya, and as a Visiting Writer at the Forum for Regional Thought.