Private Islamic Universities in Indonesia

Abstract

Private Islamic universities have developed rapidly since their establishment in Indonesia in 1945. However, after almost eight decades, do they still maintain the primary goal of producing pious Muslim intellectuals – people who practice their religious knowledge and do public good, according to Islamic values? This chapter explores this question, paying particular attention to the Universitas Islam Indonesia (UII), Indonesia's first private Islamic university and a range of universities affiliated with either Muhammadiyah or Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), Indonesia's huge mass Muslim organisations. It argues that the last decade has seen significant institutional strengthening and improvement of educational services in private Islamic universities, through mergers, conversions and affiliations. Many have now received recognition from the government and international education rating agencies for their high quality. As for achieving their Islamic goals, the chapter shows that UII, Muhammadiyah-affiliated universities and NU-affiliated universities have designed their Islamic religious education teaching to emphasise character-building, carefully redesigning their curricula to reflect their chosen Islamic identities.