Hefner Keynotes International Conference
On August 3, 2023, Robert Hefner, Professor of Anthropology and of International Relations at Boston University’s Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies and Director of the School’s Center for the Study of Asia, was invited to give a keynote presentation by the Executive Director of Nahdlatul Ulama, KH Yahya Cholil Staquf.
Nahdlatul Ulama is the world’s largest Muslim mass organization and, as with this event, it has launched major initiatives to reform Islamic legal and political traditions so as to align them with democratic institutions and human rights values. Hefner’s keynote presentation, entitled “A Transformative Moment in World Affairs: Nahdlatul Ulama and the R20 International Summit of Religious Leaders,” was to introduce a book launch conference for “Proceedings of the R20 International Summit of Religious Leaders.”
From August 7-8, 2023, Hefner also was one of two Western delegates at an Association of Southeastern Asian Nations (ASEAN) Conference hosted by the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Indonesian President Joko Widodo. At the conference, entitled “ASEAN Conference on Inter-Religious and Intercultural Dialogue – ASEAN Shared Civilizational Values: Building an Epictrum of Harmony to Foster Peace, Security and Prosperity,” Hefner gave remarks highlighting the centrality of religion in ASEAN politics, and its implications for our broader, “post-secularization” world.
Robert Hefner has directed 19 research projects and organized 18 international conferences, and authored or edited nineteen books. He is the former president of the Association for Asian Studies. At CURA, he directed the program on Islam and civil society since 1991; coordinated interdisciplinary research and public policy programs on religion, pluralism, and world affairs; and is currently involved in two research projects: “The New Western Plurality and Civic Coexistence: Muslims, Catholics, and Secularists in North America and Western Europe”; and “Sharia Transitions: Islamic Law and Ethical Plurality in the Contemporary World.” Read more about Professor Hefner on his faculty profile.