Auditorium of Prof. Dr. Suwito, MA SPs UIN Jakarta, SPs NEWS – The Graduate School (SPs) of UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta held the 1725th Doctoral Promotion Exam in the Auditorium Room of Prof. Dr. Suwito, MA Graduate School on Monday, August 24, 2026 with Iftitah promovendus.

Iftitah is a student of the Doctoral program in Islamic Studies with a concentration in Arabic Language and Literature. His dissertation is titled "Social Transformation in the Historical Realist Novel by Najīb al-Kīlānī: From Politics to Culture". Through this research, Iftitah dissects two monumental novels by Najīb al-Kaylānī, namely Mawākib al-Aḥrār and Dam Lifaṭir Ṣahyūn, to describe the dynamics of social change in Egypt and Syria in the 18th and 19th centuries.

The main focus of this research is to uncover how historical reconstruction, shifts in the constellation of power, and changes in patterns of political domination affect the structure of society. On the other hand, this work also highlights how cultural identity and forms of social solidarity have changed significantly over time.

Iftitah departs from the idea that the historical facts contained in the two novels are not just a passive background. More than that, historical narratives exist as a social-narrative structure that animates conflicts, moves the direction of the characters' lives, determines social relations, as well as triggers criticism of the authority of power and cultural transformation.

Using a qualitative method of library research with a historical realist approach, Iftitah researched the texts of the novels Mawākib al-Aḥrār and Dam Lifaṭir Ṣahyūn as primary data. This research is combined with secondary data that includes standard historical references, studies of modern Arabic literature, and the ingredients of three main theoretical frameworks.

Theoretically, Iftitah combines Georg Lukács's view of historicity which sees the historical novel as a reflection of social movements with Stephen Greenblatt's concept of meaning contestation. It does not stop there, the knife of analysis is sharpened using Ibn Khaldun's socio-historical thought, especially related to the ideas  of al-'umrān (civilization), al-'aṣabiyah (social solidarity), and al-mulk (power).

The analysis process is carried out through careful reading of narrative structures, mapping historical elements, and juxtaposition of novel texts in parallel with non-literary documents. The results prove that although the historical setting presented is very close to the reality of Egypt and Syria in the 18th and 19th centuries, the event has gone through a process of selection, interpretation, and reconstruction from the perspective of authors who carry certain ideologies.

From a political point of view, social transformation is evident from the shift in Mamluk-Ottoman authority, the entry of French colonialism, to the establishment of the power of Muhammad Ali Bāshā. This reading also shows how the pattern of domination over the people continues to be maintained through military power, tax instruments, propaganda, legal manipulation, and acts of silencing.

Meanwhile, in the cultural aspect, the study found a shift in inter-ethnic and religious relations, a reconfiguration of the identity hierarchy, a change in the position of women, and the dynamics of collective memory. All these processes lead to the strengthening as well as the formation of new fragmentation in community solidarity.

Through this dissertation, Iftitah makes an important contribution in the form of a critical-interdisciplinary reading formulation that connects the three dimensions of time: the narrated historical period, the period when Najīb al-Kaylānī wrote, and the current period of cutting-edge reading. This finding also strengthens the study of Samīrah ḤasanMuḥammad Zaydān and Moh. Wakhid Hidayat's view of the historical novel as a form of historical consciousness, is also in line with Marianne Hirsch's view that Najīb al-Kaylānī is a postgenerational author.

Iftitah successfully defended her dissertation under the guidance of Prof. Dr. Sukron Kamil, M.Ag, Prof. Dr. Achmad Satori Ismail, MA and Dr. Siti Amsariah, M.Ag, and was tested in front of a board of examiners consisting of Prof. Dr. Zulkifli, MA, Prof. Dr. Sukron Kamil, M.Ag, Prof. Dr. Achmad Satori Ismail, MA, Dr. Siti Amsariah, M.Ag, Prof. Dr. Hj. Amany Lubis,  MA, Prof. Dr. Idris Thaha, M.Si, Dr. Fuad Jabali, MA.

After paying attention to the writing of the dissertation, the comments of the examiner team and the answers of the promovendus, the examiner team determined that Iftitah passed with the predicate of Very Satisfactory.  Iftitah is the 1725th Doctor in the field of Islamic Studies, a doctoral program at the Graduate School of UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta. (Jay A)