The Islamic Rational State and New Religious Foundations for an Islamic Liberal Theory
The Islamic Rational State and New Religious Foundations for an Islamic Liberal Theory
Mohammad Firdaus Ashabul Kahfi Susanto Husniyatus Salamah Zainiyati A. Saepul Hamdani Kusaeri a Department of Islamic Religious Education, Al-Amien Prenduan University, Indonesiab Department of Linguistics, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, Scotlandc Department of Islamic Religious Education, Sunan Ampel University, Indonesiad Department of Mathematics Education Study Program, Sunan Ampel University, Surabaya, IndonesiaMohammad Firdaus is a Ph.D. student at Sunan Ampel State Islamic University in Surabaya, Indonesia. He currently serves as a lecturer at Al-Amien Prenduan University, Indonesia, where he fulfills the three pillars of higher education responsibility: teaching, research, and community service. His scholarly work includes publications in both national and international journals focusing on Islamic religious education, Islamic studies, teacher competency development, and educational technology. Since 2021 to 2025, he has been an educational book reviewer for the Ministry of Religious Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia. Additionally, he has served as a facilitator for the School Movement Program under the Ministry of Education and Culture of the Republic of Indonesia from 2022 to 2024.Ashabul Kahfi Susanto works as a lecturer in English Department, Faculty of Language and Literature, at Universitas Negeri Makassar, Indonesia. He is a PhD candidate in Linguistics at the University of Aberdeen, UK. Ashabul’s research interests include applied linguistics, interactional sociolinguistics, and language and identity.Husniyatus Salamah Zainiyati holds a doctorate from IAIN Sunan Ampel Surabaya (2013) and currently serves as the Head of Master’s Program in Islamic Education at UIN Sunan Ampel Surabaya (2018-2022). She is also the Vice Chair/Treasurer of the East Java Terrorism Prevention Coordination Forum (2020-2022). Her academic leadership includes former positions as Vice Dean of Administration, Planning and Finance (2014-2018) and Department Chair of Islamic Education (2009-2013). Her notable publications include works on educational integration models, particularly the “Integrated Twin Towers” paradigm for Islamic universities, and the widely-cited “Curriculum, Islamic Understanding and Radical Islamic Movements in Indonesia” (2016) in the Scopus-indexed Journal of Indonesian Islam. She has authored several books, including “Pengembangan Media Pembelajaran Berbasis ICT” (2017).A. Saepul Hamdani, M.Pd., is a lecturer at the Mathematics Education Department of UIN Sunan Ampel Surabaya. His research interests focus on Social Sciences and Education. He has contributed to academic literature through Scopus-indexed publications, demonstrating his commitment to scholarly research and educational advancement. Dr. Hamdani continues to enhance the academic environment at UIN Sunan Ampel Surabaya through his teaching and research activities. For further information and academic inquiries, he can be reached via his verified institutional email at UIN Sunan Ampel Surabaya (uinsa.ac.id).Kusaeri, M.Pd., serves as the Head of Doctoral Program in Islamic Education at the Postgraduate School of UIN Sunan Ampel Surabaya. He has established a significant academic presence through his Scopus-indexed publications, including “Unraveling social and economic problems: what basics of critical thinking skills are needed?” (2025) and “The Use of Stocking-Lord and Haebara Methods in Horizontal Equating: A Case of Indonesian Madrasah Competence Assessment” (2024). His research contributions also extend to Islamic education with works such as “Istighātha Dhikr Practices Toward Human Well-Being: An Implication for Islamic Education” (2024).