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The Seventh Al-Jami’ah Forum:“Religious Authority, Piety and Activism: Ulama in Contemporary Muslim Societies”Yogyakarta, 28-30 November 2014By and large, ulama play key roles in the development of Muslim societies, not only in religious life but also in economic, social, political and cultural ones. There are ulama who are actively engaged in particular political parties, Islamic economics, people’s empowerment, cultural activities, and humanitarian reliefs, but there are also those who take distance from “worldly lives”. However, their roles are not measured merely by their direct involvement in various activities, but also by their absent in or even rejection to them. Both their activism and passivism have certain impact on Muslim societies. Morevover, their roles are different from one Muslim society to another. Ulama in majority Muslim societies, for instance, have different roles from those in minority Muslim societies. This is also true for ulama living and serving in urban and rural areas. Even in one society, ulama’s role has been very dynamic. The impact of media and globalization on their role has been also significant; people can just surf on the internet for seeking particular religious information. The involvement of certain ulama in some political or economic misconducts has also certain impact of people’s perception of ulama in general. It is important, therefore, to study the dynamic of ulama’s roles in various Muslim societies, either in Indonesia or in other countries.This seventh al-Jami’ah Forum will bring together scholars and researches from various scientific and nationality backgrounds to share their research interests and findings pertaining to the role of ulama in different Muslim societies. The forum deals with, but not be restricted on, some issues, such as:Ulama, State and PoliticsUlama, Islamic activism, and Counter-RadicalismUlama and Shari‘a EconomicsUlama, Women, and Gender IssuesUlama and Social-Humanitarian ActivitiesUlama, Culture and New MediaAnyone interested in participating the conference, please send abstract of presentation (150 – 300 words) and short CV to forum@aljamiah.orgImportant dates:Abstract submission deadline: 22 August 2014Announcement of selected abstract: 1 September 2014Deadline for full paper submission: 15 November 2014Promising papers, after the process of peer reviews, will be published by al-Jami’ah: Journal of Islamic Studies in the next year edition.Dr. Moch Nur Ichwan, The convenor of the Seventh Al-Jami'ah Forum