ABSTRACT
More Muslims live in Indonesia that in all Arabic-speaking countries combined. Islamic education is an important tool used by Indonesians for negotiating globalization and the modern world. I have been researching Islamic education in Indonesia since 1992 and have two major periods of research: November 1994–November 1995 and August 2008–March 2009. In my first research, I studied Islamic schools called pesantren. They are similar to madrasas in other parts of the Islamic world. I have been known to compare them to Hogwarts when needing to explain them to my children. In 2008–9, I was a visiting professor at the State Islamic Institute of North Sumatra and conducted research on Islamic higher education. My experience of fieldwork in this type of setting has changed over the years. I wished to communicate to the student the experience of hardship, sacrifice, and reward as well as the overall experience of welcome when working with Muslims.
