Former Chancellor Of UIN Semarang Ready To Show Evidence Of Plagiarism Allegations

Illustrations of the Islamic University of Walisongo Semarang. (ANTARA/HO-Humas UIN Walisongo/am.)

JAKARTA - The inactive Chancellor of the State Islamic University (UIN) Walisongo Semarang Prof. Imam Taufiq is ready to show a number of evidences to reject accusations of plagiarism that befell him and have the potential to tarnish his academic reputation.

"I am ready to prove and open all sections of research that are suspected of plagiarizing," he said as quoted by ANTARA, Thursday, December 28.

Imam was inaugurated as Chancellor of UIN Walisongo Semarang on July 23, 2019 with a five-year term until July 23, 2023. However, ahead of the rectorial election for the next period, he was reported on charges of plagiarism. Upon the report, he claimed to have received moral charges as an academic who upholds ethics.

The plagiarism reported concerns a scientific work entitled "Hilal Concept in the Perspective of Modern Al-Qur'an and Astronomy (Integration in Indonesian Context)". The work is considered similar to the thesis by MuhArif Royyani entitled "Combining the Hilal Concept in the Al-Qur'an Interpretation and Modern Astronomy" (Pascasarjana IAIN Walisongo, 2011).

The resemblance was first reported by one of UIN Mayorsongo's professors, Prof. Mujiyono, to the university's senate, which was then followed up by the UIN Walisongo Senate Meeting on September 13, 2023, which ruled on plagiarism.

The decision was made at the initiation of the UIN Walisongo Professor's Forum and was carried out without summoning and asking for information from Imam Taufiq.

"I don't even know the thesis in question when the initial proposal was submitted to research. However, before the rector election contestation, there were those who reported about the resemblance," he said.

When viewed materially, he said, the title made is quite identical, namely comparing modern astronomy with interpretation science, but with different methods.

In Imam Taufiq's work, apart from theories, field research was also carried out. Meanwhile, Arif Royyani's thesis is only conceptual. Imam Taufiq's referral book is seven interpretation books that are completely different from the four interpretation books used by Arif Royyani.

"As a result, the substance of the research is much different because the interpretation is nothing similar," he said.

The existence of this substance difference is evidenced by the work of the Walisongo UIN Verification Team formed by UIN in accordance with the Regulation of the Minister of Education and Culture (Permendikbud) Number 17 of 2010.

The head of the Verification Team, Prof. Moh Erfan Soebahar, said that his party had carried out chronological and substantive verification. As a result, both studies have different formal objects.

"MuhArif Royyani's thesis is purely normative, while Imam Taufiq's research is normative and empirical," he said.

Specifically, these inequalities include contextualization of the understanding of the hilal in interpretation books, research methods, reference sources, criteria for the hilal used, hilal data, field research, and the final results of research.

When these two studies were analyzed with artificial intelligence systems, the resemblance was 14-16 percent. As for the Plagiarism Checker X application, the similarity is 16-17 percent. Similarities occur in the translation of the Quranic verse, the terms used, the referrals of the book, and theoretical explanations.

"The similarity of that number is very natural, especially regarding translations and theories. There is no plagiarism," he said.