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Sofjan, Dicky

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Biography
Dr Sofjan’s research and passion revolve around the study of political Islam and Muslim societies in Indonesia, Malaysia and Iran. He is an articulate and versatile intellectual, thinker-writer and social activist in various fields namely in inter-religious studies, religious freedom and literacy, human dignity, public diplomacy and sustainability. He has been deeply engaged in many inter-religious initiatives of the Government of Indonesia, namely with the Ministries of Religious Affairs and Foreign Affairs. Currently, Dr. Sofjan is currently the ICRS Course Director for the Executive Course on Islam and Religious Pluralism in Indonesia, which caters to diplomats and professionals working in the field of diplomacy and international politics. With his vast international network, Dr. Sofjan has worked and collaborated with the European Union, US State Department, Ford Foundation, Henry Luce Foundation, Globethics, Carnegie Council, Greenpeace, The Nature Conservancy, UNDP and other international organizations and development agencies. He was appointed as a Visiting Fellow in Iran, Japan, Malaysia, Bulgaria and Italy, and has spoken in over 80 international academic conferences, workshops and strategic international events. Dr. Sofjan’s interviews and quotes have been published and aired by international news outlets such as Forbes.com, Voice of America, The Economist, The Diplomat, Digital News Asia, Jakarta Post, Pakistan’s International Herald, Corriere della Sera, La Repubblica, and others.
Institutional profile
Dr Dicky Sofjan is Core Doctoral Faculty in the Indonesian Consortium for Religious Studies, located in the Graduate School of Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), Yogyakarta, Indonesia. ICRS is an international, interdisciplinary and inter religious Ph.D. program with three main areas of expertise, namely comparative hermeneutics, history of religions as well as religion and contemporary issues. He is formally trained in political science, international relations and public policy. His main research interests have been on Islam and politics, Sunni-Shia schism, religion and television, sustainability and spirituality. Dr. Sofjan’s journal articles have appeared in the Journal of Religions, Review of Faith and International Affairs, Al-Jami'ah, APN Science Bulletin, Journal of Hemispheres, Journal of South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, Asian Public Intellectuals (API) Quarterly and others. Titles of his books include: Why Muslims Participate in Jihad (2007); Sejarah dan Budaya Syiah di Asia Tenggara [History and Culture of the Shias in Southeast Asia] (ed) (2013); Religion and Television in Indonesia (2013). Religion, Public Policy and Social Transformation in Southeast Asia (ed) (2016/2017), Virus, Manusia, Tuhan (ed) (Virus, Humans, God) (2020). Themes of book chapters include: “The Heartware of Ecological Sustainability in Asia” (2020); “The Failure of the Indonesian Educational System and the prevalence of Anti-Intellectualism and Politico-Religious Conservatism” (2020), “Social Media and Community Discourse”, etc. For the past ten years or so, Dicky has been a member of the Educational Exchange Committee (EEC) and Bi-National Selection Committee for the American-Indonesian Exchange Foundation (AMINEF), which manages the Fulbright program in Indonesia. In 2022 he was appointed national director of the Globethics office in Indonesia, while serving since then also as member of Globethics Board of Foundation.

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Now showing 1 - 10 of 12
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    PublicationOpen Access
    Introduction Action Research: Transforming Knowledge into Action [Religion and Television in Indonesia: Ethics Surrounding Dakwahtainment]
    (Globethics.net India, 2013) Sofjan, Dicky
    In relation to the above, this monograph was written stylistically in a semi-academic form in the hope that this deliberate strategy would ensure greater accessibility and comprehensibility for readers interested in the subject matter. Hence, the monograph has been ‘translated’ into a more readable and accessible format for the benefit of non-academic readers. Elaboration on the relevant theories was also sparingly applied in order to capture the essence of the ethical problems and recommendations, without entering into the vast impenetrable forest of scientific arguments and moral philosophical reasoning
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    PublicationOpen Access
    Foreword [Religion and Television in Indonesia: Ethics Surrounding Dakwahtainment]
    (Globethics.net, 2013) Sofjan, Dicky
    This monograph stems from a research project entitled Religion and Gender in Indonesia, which was supported by the Netherlands-based Catholic Organisation for Relief and Development Aid (Cordaid). The grant was derived from carry-over funds from the conference on the Resurgence of Religions in Southeast Asia hosted by the Indonesian Consortium for Religious Studies (ICRS) in January 2011. The project started in February 2012 and officially ended in December the same year
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    PublicationOpen Access
    Democracy and Popular Culture [Religion and Television in Indonesia: Ethics Surrounding Dakwahtainment]
    (Globethics.net, 2013) Sofjan, Dicky
    The national parliament also rode on the wave of democratisation and decentralisation throughout the country, and quickly ratified the new Law No.40/1999 on the media, which effectively annulled the long-held policy of government censorship and media licensing. The new law sees the government as a mere facilitator and regulator to ensure a healthy exchange of information and communication as well as dissemination of public education. The central government was effectively stripped of its right to monitor and scrutinise what is published, aired or broadcast to the public. The reformed media law together with the regulation on regional autonomy facilitated the growth and development of local media and television networks at provincial and district levels, further complicating government control over media content. Despite the overwhelming political victory and sense of triumph on the part of democracy activists and media professionals, a number of problems emerged as by-products of this abrupt change, which many observers have described as being kebablasan (over the top).
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    Ethical Problems in Contemporary Indonesian Television Programmes [Religion and Television in Indonesia: Ethics Surrounding Dakwahtainment]
    (Globethics.net, 2013) Sofjan, Dicky
    During Suharto’s New Order, television comedies were an outlet to escape from the intense securitisation, if not indeed militarisation, of society. The macho performances of men in military uniform, especially the army, parading with their rifles and artillery were a common feature on television. The prevalence of the military was also evident in weekly television musical performances such as Aneka Safari in which the venue more often than not was a military base. As if the location were not enough, it was common for the female hosts, obviously not military personnel, to don the military’s official green camouflaged uniform together with its green, black or red beret, depending on which military unit sponsored the weekly programme.
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    Dakwahtainment and its Discontents [Religion and Television in Indonesia: Ethics Surrounding Dakwahtainment]
    (Globethics.net, 2013) Sofjan, Dicky
    Discontent with Dakwahtainment in Indonesia begins with the way it systematically mixes spiritual enlightenment and entertainment, which creates a dumbing-down effect. This is often at the expense of the substance of the religious message. Asa concept and practice, dumbing down originated in American popular culture. It was seen as consistent with the way capitalism and the free market generally operates, focusing solely on the supply of the goods the consumers demand with very little consideration for making them smarter. It assumes that cultural products need not be intellectually heavy, if the intended goal is to achieve accessibility, comprehensibility and marketability.
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    PublicationOpen Access
    Religion and television in Indonesia : ethics surrounding dakwahtainment
    (Globethics.net, 2013) Sofjan, Dicky
    This monograph provides a critical overview and assessment of dakwahtainment or Islamic televangelism in post-reform Indonesia. Dakwah is an Indonesian word based on Arabic that means propagation of Islam - a religious duty for all Muslims. This monograph looks at what happens to Islamic propagation when, against the background of an increasingly materialist, consumerist, nihilistic and voyeuristic culture of celebrity that is engulfing Indonesia, it is turned into media entertainment. The monograph stems from an action research project on religion and gender in Indonesia, which was supported initially by the Catholic Organisation for Relief and Development Aid and extended with support from the Faculty of Dakwah of the State Islamic University of Sunan Kalijaga and Globethics.net. It is written in a semiacademic style to make the research more accessible and comprehensible for readers.
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    Muslim religious ethics and environmentalism
    (Globethics.net, 2020) Sofjan, Dicky
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    PublicationOpen Access
    The Values and Ethics of International Collaboration for Teaching Interreligious Studies
    (Globethics.net, 2022) Sofjan, Dicky; Martens, Paul
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    PublicationOpen Access
    Conclusion and Recommendations [Religion and Television in Indonesia: Ethics Surrounding Dakwahtainment]
    (Globethics.net, 2013) Sofjan, Dicky
    Following the reformasi era, the KPI is confronted by a Herculean task of making broadcasting serve the public interest (kemashlahatan masyarakat). It also aspires to encourage broadcasting companies to support national integration and essential character (jati diri bangsa) building, to educate the nation, to advance general social welfare and to help shape a society that is autonomous, democratic, just and prosperous. Based on the findings and insights deriving from the action research, this study therefore proposes a set of recommendations for the various stakeholders of Dakwahtainment programmes: