Jakarta, November 27, 2024 – The Arabic Debate Team from the Faculty of Dirasat Islamiyah (FDI) at UIN Jakarta, consisting of Naufal Syafiq, M. Ali Dzulfikar I.U., and Mutiara Hikmah, successfully secured First Place in the Arabic Debate Competition at the 2024 Middle East Festival (FTT) held by Universitas Indonesia.The festival, organized by the Faculty of Humanities (FIB) UI from November 12 to 15, carried the theme “Celebrating Diversity, Unity, and Culture” with the tagline "Discovering Wonders in Diversity." The competition attracted teams from leading universities across Indonesia.

This year, the debate competition implemented a unique system. Unlike typical Arabic debate competitions, where participants are informed of the motions up to seven days prior, this time, participants were given only ten broad themes to prepare. The specific motion was revealed during the case-building session, just 15 minutes before the match started.

In this intense competition, the FDI UIN Jakarta team successfully navigated three challenging rounds. In the preliminary round, they defeated the STIPI Maghfirah Bogor team with a score of 677-649, leading by 28 points. In the semifinals, they secured another victory with a score of 584-540, a 44-point lead, after beating the Universitas Indonesia (UI) team. In the final round, they triumphed over the Universitas Al-Amien Prenduan team in a closely contested match, winning by a narrow margin of 728-725.

"Alhamdulillah, we are deeply grateful for this achievement. Although the competition's system initially made us anxious, we managed to handle it well. This accomplishment is undoubtedly due to the prayers and support of our parents, teachers, and friends. We extend our heartfelt thanks to everyone who helped us achieve this victory. Hopefully, this success will inspire us and our peers to continue honing our argumentation skills and mastering fluency in Fus’ha Arabic, as well as to achieve more in the field of Arabic debate," said Mutiara Hikmah, representing the team.

In addition to the trophy, the team received a cash prize of IDR 1,500,000 and a hajj voucher worth IDR 5,000,000, redeemable before December 1, 2025. The voucher can be used for a hajj pilgrimage through the GohalalGo travel agency.

This success demonstrates that students of the Faculty of Dirasat Islamiyah at UIN Jakarta are capable of competing at the national level, bringing pride to their alma mater.