The event was held, fittingly, in the auditorium of Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University’s (UIN) School of Social and Political Science, where Bahtiar served as its first dean. 

“It’s been almost a month since his passing, and we wanted to hold the event to remember him and to honor his contributions to Islam and political studies,” the school's dean, Ali Munhanif, said at the event on Tuesday morning.

Bahtiar, a champion of democracy, died on Nov. 21 after a 23-year battle with cancer.

Instead of mourning the loss, colleagues and friends filled the event with hopeful discussions about how to continue Bahtiar’s legacy.

One of Bahtiar’s friends, former religious affairs minister Lukman Hakim Saifuddin, said that in his final days, Bahtiar continued to express concerns about the state of Indonesia’s direct-election system.

In the 2019 presidential and legislative elections, the country saw discrimination against and intimidation of religious minorities, as well as rallies protesting the election results.

“He [Bahtiar] argued that our nation didn’t have any experience carrying out direct elections, so the government couldn’t anticipate the fallout. This issue was on his mind until his death,” Lukman said.

Lukman felt that it was the duty of fellow Muslim scholars to find solutions to this issue.

“Now that Bahtiar has gone, it is our time as Muslims to prove that we can also contribute to a better democratic system in Indonesia,” he said.

Born in Ambarawa, Central Java, on Dec. 10, 1956, Bahtiar gained prominence for his ideas about the relationship between Islam and democracy. His dissertation, Islam and the State in Indonesia, is considered a classic in the study of Islam.

His interest in Islam and democracy stemmed from his educational background.

He studied at the Pabelan Islamic boarding school in Magelang, Central Java, before pursuing an undergraduate degree in comparative religious studies at IAIN Jakarta, now called UIN.

In 1988, he flew to the United States to pursue a master’s degree in Southeast Asian studies at Ohio University. He later went to Ohio State University to obtain a master’s degree in political science in 1992 and PhD in political science in 1994.

Bahtiar wrote books and articles about the relationship between Islam, democracy and religious pluralism. He became known as a champion of democracy in Indonesia.

Colleagues who attended the event shared the view that Muslim scholars should continue Bahtiar’s legacy in Indonesia, a democratic nation with the largest Muslim population in the world.

“He has made so many contributions to political studies, and his successors should understand that continuing his study will help Indonesia create a better democracy in the future,” said Nazarudin Nasution, a UIN Syarif Hidayatullah lecturer.

Bahtiar’s dedication to the study of Islam and democracy manifested not only in his written work but also in the establishment of the School of Social and Political Science at UIN Syarif Hidayatullah.

Ali Munhanif, the dean of the faculty, said that Bahtiar convinced the university’s rector office to establish the school.

Bahtiar served as its dean from its establishment in 2009 to 2013. He composed its curriculum and hired top teaching staff to provide a world-class education for the students.

To honor Bahtiar’s contributions, Ali said that the auditorium where the event was held would be named Bahtiar Effendy Auditorium.

“He has gone, but his legacy at this university will last forever,” the dean said. (glh)

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