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View all search resultsNU internal rift deepens as Yahya rejects dismissal
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A man holds a flag showing the logo of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), Indonesia's largest Islamic organization, during a parade for 'santri' (students of Islamic boarding schools) in Kediri, East Java, on Nov. 2, 2025. (Antara/Prasetia Fauzani)
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power struggle within Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the country’s most influential Islamic organization, has continued as chairman Yahya Cholil Staquf rejected a letter from the group’s council of senior clerics declaring his removal from office and he pressed on with his official duties.
Yahya, who leads the country’s largest Islamic organization, is facing pressure to resign from the NU’s supreme council, the Syuriah, after inviting United States scholar Peter Berkowitz who is known for supporting Israel’s bombardment of Gaza to an internal leadership training program in August.
On Tuesday, the council issued a circular letter, signed by Syuriah deputy Afifuddin Muhajir and secretary-general Ahmad Tajul Mafakhir, declaring Yahya had been dismissed per Nov. 26 and was no longer authorized to use any titles, facilities or privileges associated with the NU chairmanship.
The letter, which has spread widely on social media, stated the NU’s leadership would be temporarily held by the group’s supreme leader (Rais Aam) Miftachul Akhyar. The council also mandated a plenary session to be convened soon to appoint a new chair.
But the council’s letter was rejected by Yahya, who called it “unconstitutional” and insisted the council did not have the authority to remove him. He also asserted any changes in NU leadership must follow established organizational procedures.
“As one mandated to lead the group, I cannot be removed except through a muktamar [national congress],” Yahya said in a press briefing on Wednesday. “So as of today, constitutionally, I remain in my position as chairman and continue to carry out my duties.”
Read also: NU’s Israel debacle intensifies as Yahya, supporters push back
