Saudi Arabia and Indonesian Networks: Migration, Education, and Islam

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What is the relationship between Saudi Arabia and Indonesia For centuries, Indonesians have travelled to Saudi Arabia and have been deeply involved in education, scholarship and the creation of centres for Islamic learning in the country. Yet the impact of this type of migration has not yet been the focus of scholarly research and little is known about the important intellectual connections that now exist. This book examines Indonesian educational migrants and intellectual travellers in Saudi Arabia including students, researchers, teachers and scholars to provide a unique portrait of the religious and intellectual linkages between the two countries. Based on in-depth interviews and questionnaires, Sumanto Al Qurtuby identifies the Indonesian legacy in Saudi Arabia and examines in turn how the host country's influential Islamic scholars have impacted on Indonesian Muslims. The research sheds light on the dynamic history of Saudi Arabian-Indonesian relations and the intellectual impact of Indonesian migrants in Saudi Arabia.

Reviews

This book's accessible account contributes to studies in the history of Indian Ocean migration, transnational Islamic education, and the Middle East more broadly. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty. * CHOICE *

Author Bio

Sumanto Al Qurtuby is Associate Professor of Anthropology at King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. Previously he was Visiting Senior Research Fellow in the Middle East Institute of National University of Singapore and Visiting Professor and Research Fellow at Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame, Indiana, the United States. Al Qurturby has been awarded research grants and fellowships from numerous foundations and academic institutions and is the author of Religious Violence and Conciliation in Indonesia: Christians and Muslims in the Moluccas. His scholarly articles have appeared in International Journal of Asian Studies, Asian Journal of Social Science, Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations and Asian Perspective, among others. He holds a PhD in Cultural Anthropology from Boston University.