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View all search resultsPrabowo courts Islamic leaders to support Board of Peace membership amid pushback
President Prabowo Subianto courts major Islamic organizations in an apparent attempt to ease opposition to Indonesia’s Board of Peace participation, amid doubts over Israel’s involvement and the initiative’s impact on Palestinian independence.
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United States President Donald Trump (center) gestures towards President Prabowo Subianto (right) and Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban, as they take part in a charter announcement for his Board of Peace initiative on Jan. 22, 2026, alongside the 56th annual World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland. (Reuters/Denis Balibouse)
T
he government on Tuesday looks to have won over Muslim groups that have been criticizing Indonesia’s involvement in the United States-led Board of Peace, following a “routine” meeting of high-ranking ulema at the Palace convened amid attempts to fundamentally shift public opinion on Gaza’s reconstruction and Palestinian statehood under Israeli occupation.
Close to 50 Islamic leaders were summoned to the Merdeka Palace in Central Jakarta on Tuesday by President Prabowo Subianto, including representatives from Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah, two of the biggest Islamic organizations in Muslim-majority Indonesia.
Also invited were leaders from the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), the country’s top Islamic scholarship circle, as well as clerics representing Islamic boarding schools from various regions.
State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi said before the meeting that one of the main issues the President wanted to discuss was Indonesia’s involvement in the Board of Peace, which has been roundly criticized over its exclusion of Palestinian representatives despite its aim to rebuild Gaza.
Among the project’s biggest critics were groups such as Muhammadiyah and the MUI, the latter having previously urged Indonesia to step down from the board considering Israel’s outsized role, which it said could prove contradictory to Indonesians’ support of the Palestinian struggle.
Indonesia maintains no formal relations with Israel as a matter of principle, but Prabowo attempted to break decades of foreign policy when he softened his tone on Israel and its “security needs” in his speech to the United Nations General Assembly in New York, the US, last year.
Since then, he has committed Indonesia to the Board of Peace despite the strong opinions of Indonesian Muslims and growing disbelief in the proposed US$1 billion fee that US President Donald Trump has offered to countries keen on joining Trump’s club on a permanent basis.
