Tuesday, November 8, 2022. The Faculty of Adab and Cultural Sciences invited Dr. Suryadi, MA., an expert in media culture studies at Leiden University, the Netherlands as a speaker at the 35th Bi-Weekly Forum. On this occasion, the theme entitled“Modern Sound” and Nusantara Muslimsand moderated by Nini Salwa Istiqamah, MIR., a lecturer of the Faculty of Adab and Cultural Sciences of UIN Sunan Kalijaga.

Dr. Suryadi stated that the study of sound is an interesting field research area, particularly in Islamic studies. The recent debate about the sound of the call to prayer (adzan) that made pros and cons among people is a compelling example of this study. On the one hand, the call to prayer is considered as a common sound in the public sphere of Indonesian society. On the other hand, some people argue that it is a part of the noise that should be prohibited.

The presence of modern sound, started from the 1880s, has affected Indonesian Muslims in practicing their religion. In the context of Indonesian Muslim history, for example, it caused a polemic among ulama with a fatwa from Sayyid Abdallah al-Zawawi in 1908. Sound-based Islamic studies, Dr. Suryadi suggested, will be has different nuance from vision-based studies. Hence, Islamic academics in Indonesia need to pay attention to this study. He recommended that one of the lecturers in the Faculty of Adab and Cultural Sciences work on this study as doctoral research.

This discussion was held online and attended by academics from UIN Sunan Kalijaga and other higher education institutions, from 1.30 to 3.30 p.m. WIB.