Yogyakarta, Indonesia — In the often-overlooked academic corridors of Southeast Asia, a dissertation defense on July 18, 2025, sent ripples far beyond its modest ceremonial room. At the heart of the moment was Muhammad Mufti Al Achsan, a 31-year-old doctoral candidate at Sunan Kalijaga State Islamic University (UIN Sunan Kalijaga), who proposed a bold, original theory that is now attracting attention from global scholars of Islam.
His dissertation, titled “Post-Salafism in Yogyakarta: Indigenization, Politicization, and Localization”, does more than offer a detailed ethnographic study of Salafi movements in Indonesia. It introduces a new conceptual framework—Post-Salafism—that redefines how one of the world’s most rigid and scripturalist Islamic ideologies adapts to modern plural societies.
In an era where Salafism is often equated with extremism or political quietism, Mufti’s research uncovers a surprising evolution: Salafi groups in Indonesia, particularly those affiliated with the At-Turots network, are increasingly engaging in political discourse, embracing cultural nuances, and participating in civic life. They are not abandoning their creeds—but they are negotiating them with the demands of locality, democracy, and digital capitalism.
“Mufti’s work reveals a layer of contemporary Islamic life that the mainstream academy has largely ignored,” said Prof. Noorhaidi Hasan, Ph.D., UIN’s Rector and the dissertation’s principal supervisor.
“He doesn't merely interpret Salafism as an ideology, but as a set of social practices shaped by power, context, and compromise”
A Theory That Transcends Borders
What distinguishes this dissertation is not only its rigorous methodology—combining fieldwork, digital ethnography, and critical theory—but also its global resonance.
The highlight of Mufti’s doctoral defense, held on July 18, 2025, was the presence of Assoc. Prof. Stéphane Lacroix, Ph.D., Hab., from Sciences Po Paris, one of the world’s foremost authorities on Islamic movements. Lacroix, serving as external examiner, offered a rare and emphatic endorsement:
“This is a dissertation that pushes the boundaries of how we understand Salafism beyond the usual binaries—radical vs. moderate, political vs. quietist,” Lacroix said during the defense.
“It is deeply analytical, ethnographically grounded, and intellectually courageous. I am truly impressed.”
The endorsement was not merely ceremonial. All examiners reached a unanimous decision to award Mufti the highest academic distinction: "cum laude", signaling a level of scholarship that is as rare as it is commendable in Indonesia’s graduate institutions.
The Making of a Scholar
Mufti’s journey to this intellectual peak was forged under the PMLD Program (Advanced Student to Doctorate Program)—an accelerated track funded by Indonesia’s Ministry of Religious Affairs. In just 4.5 years, he completed both his Master’s and Doctoral studies, navigating complex terrain with an unusual combination of scholarly discipline and critical insight.
His fieldwork centered on Yogyakarta, a city known for its rich Islamic traditions and intellectual pluralism. There, he tracked the changing behavior of Salafi actors—not only in mosques and study circles, but also in political spaces, social media ecosystems, and cultural negotiation zones.
What he found challenged the prevailing orthodoxy. Salafi groups were not simply resisting modernity; they were co-opting it. They were building digital identities, participating in democratic elections, and subtly incorporating Javanese cultural codes into their public messaging.
It was not compromise out of weakness—it was strategy born of necessity. And perhaps, Mufti argues, out of evolution.
From Indonesia to the World
The significance of Mufti’s work lies in its glocal vision—deeply rooted in the Indonesian context but conceptually scalable to other Muslim societies. His framework of Post-Salafism opens up new intellectual terrain for understanding Islamic orthodoxy in the 21st century—not as a fixed dogma, but as a contested and dynamic field.
For UIN Sunan Kalijaga, Mufti’s success represents more than academic achievement. It signals the institution’s growing stature as a hub for Islamic intellectualism that is both critically engaged and globally conversant.
In a world often polarized by narratives of extremism and liberalism, the idea that Salafism can localize, adapt, and participate constructively in civil life is itself radical. Mufti’s dissertation invites scholars, policymakers, and religious leaders to take a closer look—not at the loudest voices of Islam, but at the most quietly transforming.
A Mind Ahead of Its Time
As global media continues to focus on the sensational and the sectarian, Mufti’s quiet revolution in thought reminds us that some of the most important transformations in Islam are happening not in the headlines, but in the margins—in classrooms, in manuscripts, and in the silent negotiations of everyday believers.
And sometimes, in a doctoral defense room in Yogyakarta, where a young scholar dares to ask a different question—and, against all odds, finds an answer the world is ready to hear.