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View all search resultsAnalysis: Power play shakes NU leadership
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Indonesia's largest Islamic organization Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) Yahya Cholil Staquf greets journalists after his inauguration as a member of the Presidential Advisory Board (Wantimpres) at the State Palace in Jakarta on May 31. (Antara//Wahyu Putro A.)
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ndonesia's largest Muslim organization, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), is facing another severe rift among its leadership after chairman Yahya Cholil Staquf was dismissed by the organization's supreme council, the Syuriah. Although his close associations with pro-Israel figures have been publicly cited as the cause, the underlying motive behind the firing appears to stem from intense political rivalry among NU elites.
According to the minutes of the Syuriah meeting held on Nov. 20 in Jakarta, 37 of the 53 board members requested that Yahya resign from his position. The meeting notes stated that if he failed to step down within three days, the body would move to sack him altogether. This decision effectively shifts NU's leadership to Miftachul Akhyar.
The Syuriah is NU’s advisory and supreme council composed of senior scholars and led by the rais aam (supreme leader), a position currently held by Miftachul. Yahya, meanwhile, chairs the Tanfidziyah, the executive body responsible for NU's core programs and day-to-day operations.
The primary grounds cited for Yahya's dismissal include suspected violations of financial governance protocols and, most notably, his engagement with figures allegedly affiliated with international Zionist networks.
Yahya has long been known as an Indonesian Muslim figure with ties to Israel. He famously accompanied several figures to a meeting with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, a move he defended as part of reconciliation efforts even as the Israeli government showed no indication of halting its attacks on Palestine.
Earlier this year, Yahya invited Peter Berkowitz, an intellectual known for supporting Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories under the pretext of self-defense, to an NU leadership program. Leveraging his position as a member of the Board of Trustees, Yahya also recommended that the University of Indonesia invite Berkowitz to speak on campus.
Following backlash, Yahya admitted he had failed to conduct adequate background checks before inviting a pro-Israel figure to Indonesia. His opponents in the Syuriah have used these missteps as the catalyst for his removal.
