Theater Room SPs UIN Jakarta, SPs NEWS: The Graduate School of Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University Jakarta held the 2761st Master's Thesis Exam at the SPs Theater Room of UIN Jakarta, on Thursday, July 10, 2025 with candidate Muhamad Ikmal Wafa.

Muhamad Ikmal Wafa is a student of the Master of Islamic Studies study program with a concentration in Arabic Language and Literature. Muhamad Ikmal Wafa wrote a thesis entitled "Arab Nationalism and Political Criticism (A Study of Nizār Qabbānī's Matá Yu'linūn Wafāt al-'Arab Poetry)"

This research offers a new perspective on the meaning of Arab nationalism that transcends geographical and political boundaries. Ikmal focuses on analyzing the meaning of Arab nationalism and political criticism in Nizar Qabbani's controversial poem, "Matā Yuʿlinūna Wafāta al-ʿArab," written in 1994. This research uses a literature method, with the main sources coming from Nizar Qabbani's poetry and prose  entitled al-Aʿmāl al-Nathriyyah al-Kāmilah and al-Aʿmāl al-Shiʿriyyah al-Kāmilah, supported by various other secondary sources.

To uncover the meaning contained in the poem, Ikmal uses two comprehensive approaches to literary analysis: Michael Riffaterre's semiotics and Terry Eagleton's literary sociology. The combination of these two approaches allows researchers to unravel the complex layers of meaning in Nizar Qabbani's work.

The main argument of this thesis asserts that Arab nationalism cannot be defined only as a geographical entity or political boundary rooted in a particular ideology. Moreover, Arab nationalism also encompasses personal experiences, collective memories, and all aspects of history and culture that have a deep emotional attachment to the Arab nation.

This research emphatically rejects the idea of Arab nationalism which has been developed as a rhetorical discourse that only glorifies the glory of the past without being accompanied by a concrete strategy to face modern challenges. The defeat of the Arabs in the 1967 Six Day War against Israel is clear evidence of the failure of such nationalism. This event, which was the biggest defeat of the Arab nation, sparked deep anger and disappointment and had a significant impact on Arab geopolitics.

Through his vulgar, sarcastic, and symbolic, poetry, Nizar Qabbani clearly exposes the depravity of the authoritarian, corrupt, and manipulative Arab rulers. According to Qabbani, these rulers were the main cause of the Arab defeat over Israel. On the other hand, Qabbani also offers the concept of nationalism that prioritizes humanist, reflective, and inclusive values, which provide space for freedom of expression.

Nizar Qabbani's idea of Arab nationalism has become very relevant in an effort to revive the spirit of unity and solidarity between Arab countries in the midst of various contemporary challenges.

Muhamad Ikmal Wafa successfully defended his thesis under the guidance of Yeni Ratna Yuningsih, MA, Ph.D, and was tested in front of a board of examiners consisting of Prof. Dr. Yusuf Rahman, MA, Yeni Ratna Yuningsih, MA, Ph.D, Dr. Cahya Buana, MA and Dr. Rizqi Handayani, MA.

After paying attention to the thesis writing, the comments of the examiner team and the candidate's answers, the examiner team determined that Muhamad Ikmal Wafa graduated with the title of Very Satisfactory. Muhamad Ikmal Wafa is the 2761st master in the field of Islamic Studies, in the master's program of the Graduate School of UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta. (JA)