THE INDONESIAN-NETHERLANDS CO-OPERATION IN ISLAMIC STUDIES (INIS)

The history of INIS dates back to 1969 when the first group of 17
lecturers of Indonesian Islamic State Universities (Institut
Agama Islam Negeri/IAIN) came to the Netherlands to expand the
dimension of their knowledge of Islamic studies by making use of
the rich archival, manuscript, and library resources in the
Netherlands and by profiting from the Dutch expertise available.
This first group was followed in 1978 by a second group, and in
1983/4 a third group arrived in Leiden. 

by Nico Kaptein

In 1987 this exchange with Leiden was provided with a more
structural basis when Professor Dr. W.A.L. Stokhof became
programme director. Following this 1987-8 course, in 1989 the
INIS programme was officially established. Initially the INIS
programme was set up to assist the Indonesian Ministry of
Religious Affairs to develop a nucleus of highly qualified staff
of IAIN lecturers. For the main part, the programme was financed
by the Dutch Ministry of Development Aid. Although INIS in this
phase of its existence was almost entirely focused on the
interests of Indonesia, it was apparent that Dutch Islamic
studies also profited greatly from this co-operation through the
intensive professional contacts with Indonesian colleagues.
In 1992 INIS went through a difficult period after the Indonesian
government decided it was no longer able to accept financial
assistance from the Netherlands. Because both the Indonesian and
the Dutch governments found the INIS programme very beneficial in
their own interests, the costs of the programme were taken over
by two donors: the Indonesian government started to pay for the
elements of the programme which were primarily beneficial to
them, while the Dutch Ministry of Education and Sciences financed
the Dutch side of the programme. 

ACTIVITIES AND PUBLICATIONS
Since 1989, each year a group of Indonesian IAIN lecturers has
come to Leiden within the framework of INIS. So far,
approximately 60 Indonesian lecturers, of whom a substantial
number succeeded in obtaining their doctorate in Indonesia, have
received MA or PhD training in Leiden. Besides these courses in
Leiden, since 1989 two Dutch experts have been teaching at the
IAIN in Jakarta and Yogyakarta. Apart from these teaching
activities, a large number of publications have appeared under
the supervision of an editor in Leiden, working in conjunction
with the representative of Leiden University and his staff in
Jakarta. This collaboration has produced 22 books (both
translations, as well as original compositions) in the series
INIS Materials, mainly in Indonesian, but also a few in English;
10 Newsletters, which include a bibliographical section and a
section on current topics within Indonesian Islam; 8 volumes of
the monumental Indonesian translation of the Advice of C. Snouck
Hurgronje (d. 1936); and 4 volumes of the Indonesian translation
of the collected works of this Dutch Islamologist.
New fellows are expected to arrive in September 1994. They will
follow a new M.A. course in Islamic Studies at Leiden University,
set up and executed in close co-operation between the projects
division of the Department of languages and Cultures of Southeast
Asia and Oceania, the Department of Religious Studies, and the
Department of Languages and Cultures of the islamic Middle East.

FOR INFORMATION ON THE INIS PROGRAMME OR FOR A LIST OF AVAILABLE
PUBLICATIONS PLEASE CONTACT:

Projects Division
Department of Languages and Cultures of Southeast Asia and
Oceania
P.O. Box 9515
2300 RA Leiden