TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Race heats up for Nahdlatul Ulama chairmanship vote
After a year-long delay because of the coronavirus pandemic, the congress is set to be held on Dec. 23-25 in Lampung with limited attendance as per health protocols.
Change Size
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo (center, right) attends the 73th anniversary celebration of Muslimat NU, the women’s wing of the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), in Jakarta in 2019.
(Antara/Wahyu Putro A)
T
he race for the Nahdlatul Ulama’s leadership is heating up ahead of the organization’s 34th muktamar (national congress) next month, which will set the stage for members of the Muslim organization to elect its leaders for the next five years.
After a year-long delay because of the coronavirus pandemic, the congress is set to be held on Dec. 23-25 in Lampung with limited attendance as per health protocols.
Several prominent clerics have been mentioned as possible candidates for the next NU chairman, but two have emerged as leading contenders in the race, namely incumbent Said Aqil Siradj and Yahya Cholil Staquf – the older brother of Religious Affairs Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas.
The race has shed light on the internal power struggle in Indonesia’s largest grassroots Muslim organization, which has enjoyed a close political connection with the government, particularly after President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo chose to run with NU’s former supreme leader, Ma’ruf Amin, in the 2019 presidential election.
Speaking after his recent meeting with Jokowi, Said claimed that he had received support from senior clerics for his reelection and added that he was “ready” to join the race if he received widespread support from NU members, kompas.com reported on Oct. 6.
Said has a record of involving NU in the country’s political scene having publicly voiced support for Jokowi’s then-rival Prabowo Subianto during the 2014 presidential election. He also criticized the Job Creation Law, a key part of the agenda of Jokowi’s second term as president, as “oppressive” and argued that it only benefited the wealthy.
Despite such public stances, Said has been able to develop a mutual understanding between NU and the government in a relationship largely underpinned by shared concern over the rise of religious extremism and conservatism in the country.
