Dr Siti Sarah Muwahidah

Siti Sarah Muwahidah is an Alwaleed Fellow in Contemporary Indonesia as a Global Muslim Society, with research interests in new authority and transnational networks among Indonesian Shiʿi communities.

Sarah holds a Ph.D. in Religion (2020) from the Graduate Division of Religion, Emory University, Atlanta, USA. Her PhD dissertation examined Sunni-Shiʿi relations and the development of sectarianization in Indonesia. She obtained her MA in Religious Studies from Florida International University and her MA in Religious and Cross-Cultural Studies from the Center for Religious and Cross-Cultural Studies (CRCS), Gadjah Mada University, Indonesia. Her academic interests include interfaith dialogue, religious conflict and peacebuilding, political theology, and identity politics. She has conducted research in the Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia

Sarah was the recipient of a Fulbright Presidential Fellowship, an Asian Public Intellectual Fellowship from The Nippon Foundation, a graduate research fellowship from the Asian Research Institute, National University of Singapore, and an ELMO Fellowship from The Carter Center and Emory’s Institute of Developing Nations. She is an associate researcher and a former program officer of the Maarif Institute, Indonesia. In addition to her teaching and research, she played and led an Indonesian traditional music orchestra, Emory Gamelan Ensemble.

Selected Publications:

“National (In)Security and Identity Boundaries: The Rise of Muslim Conservative Propaganda in Indonesia.” Journal of Islamic and Muslim Studies 5, no. 1 (2020): 1–34. 

 “For the Love of Ahl Al-Bayt: Transcending Sunni-Shiʿi Sectarian Allegiance.” Journal of Shi’a Islamic Studies 9, no. 3 (2016): 327–58.

Interfaith Dialogue in Mindanao: Sharing A Common Hope and Mutual Fears.The Work of the 2009/2010 Asian Public Intellectual Fellow (2011): 39-50.

“Interfaith Dialogue at the Grassroots Level: A Case Study of an Interfaith Empowerment Program in East Java, Indonesia.” Political Theology 9, no. 1 (2008): 79–92.