Rafiqa Qurrata A’yun’s Interdisciplinary Approach to Indonesian Law
Rafiqa Qurrata A’yun is an Assistant Professor in Criminal Law at Universitas Indonesia and an Associate at the Centre for Indonesian Law, Islam and Society (CILIS), University of Melbourne. Her work focuses on Indonesia’s blasphemy laws and the relationship between law, religion and politics.
Through an Australia Awards Scholarship, she undertook a PhD at Melbourne Law School starting 2019. Her studies exposed her to interdisciplinary approaches that encouraged her to examine law in its broader historical, political and social context. This experience significantly reshaped her research and teaching, enabling her to investigate not only what the law says, but also why certain laws are created, how they are enforced and whose interests they serve.
“I was brought up in a legal tradition that explains problems normatively. What I gained in Melbourne was a more open approach, not looking at things only through the normative lens,” she said.
Her doctoral research developed into the book Law and Politics of Blasphemy in Indonesia: The Sacred, the State and the Ballot Box, published by Routledge in 2026. The book provides the first comprehensive analysis of Indonesia’s blasphemy laws from a political economy perspective, demonstrating how the law has been used as a tool for political mobilisation and power struggles.
Contributing to Legal Research and Public Understanding
Since returning from Australia, Rafiqa has applied her interdisciplinary perspective to Indonesian legal scholarship. Her publications have appeared in several international journals, including the Journal of Contemporary Asia, Indonesia, Third World Quarterly and the Australian Journal of Asian Law. Through these publications, she has contributed Indonesian perspectives to global discussions on religious freedom, legal institutions, democracy and the political use of law.
Rafiqa also continues to contribute to research on Indonesian law through archival and empirical work. In 2024, she received an Asia Study Grant from the National Library of Australia, allowing her to conduct archival research on historical Indonesian newspapers. The materials supported the historical analysis in her book and strengthened understanding of how blasphemy laws developed over time.
Her work has also influenced legal education. As a lecturer at Universitas Indonesia, she brings the analytical approaches developed in Australia into her teaching and encourages students to examine law beyond legal texts. Her research demonstrates the value of combining doctrinal legal analysis with history, politics and sociology.
Sustaining International Collaboration
A significant contribution of Rafiqa’s post-study work has been the continuation of academic networks developed in Australia. She remains connected with Melbourne Law School, CILIS, former colleagues and fellow researchers. She is co-authoring a journal article with Professor Tim Lindsey on expert witnesses in Indonesian blasphemy cases and continues to engage in comparative and international research.
“If I need information about a specific institution or context in another country, I can reach out. That kind of network is hard to build from behind a desk,” she said.
Her book launch, podcast appearances and international speaking engagements have helped communicate Indonesian legal issues to wider audiences. In late 2025, she was also appointed a Mellon/Scholars at Risk Academic Freedom Fellow at New York University, where she began a new research project. Through her scholarship, teaching and international collaborations, Rafiqa continues to strengthen critical legal research and promote deeper understanding of how law operates within Indonesia’s political and social landscape.
