A Report on the International Seminar on Religions and Contemporary Development 25-28 Rabi' al Awwal 1413 / 23-26 September 1992 Ambarrukmo Palace Hotel, Jogjakarta, Java, Indonesia

Abstract

The International Seminar on Religions and Contemporary Development
was sponsored by the Sunan Kalijaga Stale Institute for Islamic
Studies, located in Jogjakarta, Java, Indonesia. This seminar was a major
event for scholars of Islamic studies in Indonesia, as it was opened by the
Indonesian Minister of Religious Affairs, Munawir Sjadzili. The conference
secretary, Rifa'i Abduh, and the conference chair, Burhanuddin
Daya, organized the conference in order to addres.5 the is.5ues of religious
fundamentalism, and Islam and development.
Peter Clarke (King's College, University of London, UK) spoke on
"Contemporary Problems of Religion in Europe." He stated that technology
has become a religion, for many Europeans actually believe in it.
In the same way that Christians believe that God can do anything and
everything, secularists believe that technology can do anything and everything.
Bert Breiner (Selly Oak College, Birmingham, UK), speaking on
the same is.5ue, said that religious groups in western Europe have tended
to accept the dominant epistemology of scientific empirical objectivity:
The major problem of religion in contemporary Europe is the
question of revelation. Unless religious thinkers can evolve an
understanding of religious truth in general, and of religion in particular
, which is independent of this particular epistemological
principle, it will have little to offer the development of contemporary
European civilization.
Martin van BNinessen (University of Leiden, the Netherlands) addressed
"Muslim Fundamentalism: Can It Be Understood or Should It Be
Explained Away?" He thinks that it can be understood and notes that violent
action in the name of Islam is not a direct result of radical religious
doctrines, but a consequence of certain social factors that may predispose
some people to militancy. How a person becomes a fundamentalist can
be explained by the religious climate in his/her family, the accessibility
of certain literature, and the frequency of contact with recruiting activists ...