Changing Images of Three Generations of Azharites in Indonesia

The focus will be on three different generations of Indonesian scholars and 'Ulama who have studied in Cairo, and in Al-Azhar in particular. Three different periods will be discussed: the colonial times when Islamic Reformism had a great impact and reactivated scholarship in the Middle East and the world of Southeast Asia; the immediate post-colonial period when Azharites played a paramount role in state functions; and the seventies and eighties when Islam was affirmed by the wealth of oil-producing countries in the Arab Gulf.