SPs Theater Room UIN Jakarta, SPs NEWS: The Graduate School of Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University Jakarta held the 2780th Thesis Exam at the SPs Theater Room of UIN Jakarta, on Friday, August 15, 2025 with candidate Rifqah Najwa Azizah.

Rifqah is a student of the Master of Islamic Studies study program with a concentration in Islamic Thought. Rifqah wrote a thesis entitled "Freedom and Religious Authority in the Thought of Mustafa Akyol".

This thesis specifically explores the concept of freedom in Islam, especially in relation to religious authority, which is dug up from the thought of the Turkish scholar, Mustafa Akyol. Rifqah highlighted how the intervention of religious authorities often limits individual freedom. This is the core of the problem raised in his research, an issue that is very relevant to today's social and religious dynamics.

Rifqah uses a qualitative approach with a literature study method. The data and analysis focus on Mustafa Akyol's works, such as Reopening Muslim Minds: A Return to Reason, Freedom, and Tolerance, Islam without Extremes: A Muslim Case for Liberty, and Why, as a Muslim, I Defend Liberty. To strengthen his argument, he also uses the theory of freedom and self-ownership from the famous philosopher Robert Nozick.

Rifqah found that Akyol placed freedom of thought and ijtihad as the main foundation in religion and socializing. According to Akyol, only by placing freedom as a basis can Muslims achieve progress. This view is contrary to Yusuf Qardhawi, who limited ijtihad to only certain individuals. This restriction, according to Rifqah, indirectly limits the potential of human reason itself.

Interestingly, this research is in line with the views of a number of academics, such as Saskia Schäfer (2019), Riadh el-Droubie (2016), and Badarussyamsi (2015). Riadh el-Droubie, for example, also emphasized the importance of freedom of thought in Islamic education. However, Rifqah firmly rejects the views of Abdullah bin Hamid Ali (2021) and Silmi Novita Nurman (2018), who stated that freedom in Islam must always be subject to sharia restrictions.

More than just a theoretical study, Rifqah's thesis states that religious authorities often intervene that limit freedom through authoritative fatwas. This view is different from Riadh el-Droubie who examines authority in Islam from the point of view of education, and also the opposite of Abdullah bin Hamid Ali who argues that freedom should be subject to sharia.

This study emphasizes that freedom is a fundamental right of every human being, which should not be interfered with by religious authorities, except in cases of violence and crime. Akyol's thought analyzed by Rifqah offers a more open and rational Islamic model, emphasizing individual autonomy and rejecting the domination of authority.

Overall, this study shows how complex the debate between freedom and authority is in Islam. The dialectic between rationality, sharia, and the demands of the times is an inseparable common thread in this debate.

Rifqah Najwa Azizah successfully defended her thesis under the guidance of Prof. Dr. Yusuf Rahman, MA, and was tested in front of a board of examiners consisting of Prof. Dr. Yusuf Rahman, MA, Prof. Dr. Media Zainul Bahri, MA and Dr. Kholid Al Walid, M.Ag.

After paying attention to the thesis writing, the comments of the examiner team and the candidate's answers, the examiner team determined that Rifqah Najwa Azizah graduated with the title of Very Satisfactory. Rifqah Najwa Azizah is the 2780th master in the field of Islamic Studies, in the master's program of the Graduate School of UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta. (JA)