DEPARTURE FROM PESANTREN

This is my greeting for you. I am Ujang Maman Khalilurrahman, abbreviated as U. Maman Kh. In the SCOPUS data, it is called U. Maman or Ujang Maman, in the Decree of appointment as a civil servant called U.Maman. I obtained the promotion of Professor on July 5, 2019 based on the Decree of the Minister of Research and Higher Education of the Republic of Indonesia Number: 24258 /M/KP/2019 in the field of communication and community development in the Agribusiness Post-Graduate Program, Faculty of Science and Technology of UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta. This promotion is in line with my Post-Graduate education in Communication for rural and agricultural development, at Bogor Agricultural University (IPB University), and Ph.D program in the field of development extension at the same university. Therefore, my main study is communication for rural and  agricultural development and the development of farming communities.

I need to tell that I was born and raised in a pesantren community and environment. I obtained a secondary education at Madrasah Tsanawiyyah  (Islamic Junior High School) at a pesantren in Sukabumi, West Java and at the Madrasah Aliyah Negeri Bogor (Bogor State Islamic Senior High School), West Java, Indonesia. In the day, I studied at the school; and in the night I learned the basic knowledges of Islam – like a santri (pesantren student) in general who studies the basic knowledge of Islam, especially learning the classical Islamic books, and recites holy verses of the Koran, and Arabic books.

Completion from Madrasah Aliyah Negeri Bogor (Bogor State Islamic Senior High School) (1983) I continued my studies at the Faculty of Literature (now the Faculty of Cultural Sciences), University of Indonesia, the specialty of historical studies. But after obtaining a bachelor’s degree, I did not continue my formal studies in history, but deepened the sciences of communication and agricultural development.

In line with my educational background, my interest has strengthened in the field of history, the life of the Prophet Muhammad (Siroh Nabawiyyah) as the process of Islamic low formation and the turmoil of the Holy Qur’an; the history of Islam and the Muslims society, and the process of the development of science inspired by the Holy verses of the Qur’an along the passage of Islamic history.

Based on the learning of Islam, it appears that this religion provides perspectives in solving various problems of life, especially in various issues related to the agricultural development and food supply. Therefore, my various research papers are built on the assumption that Islam provides comprehensive solutions to the various problems in the lives of humanity. ***