Nahdlatul Ulama
Nahdlatul Ulama is an Islamic organization in Indonesia. Its membership numbered over 108 million in 2019
, making it the largest Islamic organization in the world. NU is also a charitable body funding schools and hospitals as well as organizing communities to help alleviate poverty.
The NU was founded in 1926 by the ulema and merchants to defend both traditionalist Islamic practices and its members' economic interests. NU's religious views are considered "traditionalist" in that it accepts local cultural traditions that do not conflict with Islamic law. By contrast, the second largest Islamic organization in Indonesia, the Muhammadiyah, is considered "reformist" as it takes a more literal interpretation of the Qur'an and Sunnah.
Many leaders of Nahdlatul Ulama are ardent advocates of Islam Nusantara, a distinctive variety of Islam that has undergone interaction, contextualization, indigenization, interpretation, and vernacularization according to socio-cultural conditions in Indonesia. Islam Nusantara promotes moderation, anti-fundamentalism, pluralism, and a degree of syncretism. Some NU elders, leaders, and religious scholars, however, have rejected Islam Nusantara in favor of a more conservative approach.
Ideology
Nahdlatul Ulama follows the Ashʿari and Maturidi schools, taking the middle path between aqli and naqli tendencies. The organization identifies the Quran, the Sunnah, and the abilities of the mind coupled with empirical reality as the sources of its thought. It attributes this approach to earlier thinkers such as Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari and Abu Mansur al-Maturidi in the field of theology.In the field of jurisprudence, it recognizes the Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i, and Hanbali schools of law, but relies in practice on Shafi'i teachings. Regarding Sufism, NU follows the path of al-Ghazali and al-Junayd al-Baghdadi. It has been described by Western media as a progressive, liberal, and pluralistic Islamic movement, but is a diverse organization with large conservative factions, as well.
The Nahdlatul Ulama has stated that it is not tied to any political organization.
The Nahdlatul Ulama believe that Islam should remain a religion and not be a vehicle for political radicalization. In a Wall Street Journal article, NU's president, Kyai Haji Abdurrahman Wahid, wrote, "The essence of Islam is encapsulated in the words of the Quran, “For you, your religion; for me, my religion.” That is the essence of tolerance. Religious fanatics—either purposely or out of ignorance—pervert Islam into a dogma of intolerance, hatred and bloodshed."
History
Origin
NU was established in 1926 as an organization for orthodox Ash'ari Muslims scholars, as opposed to the modernist policies of the Muhammadiyah and PERSIS, and the rise of Salafi movement of the Al-Irshad Al-Islamiya organization in Indonesia, which rejected local customs influenced by pre-Islamic Javanese Hindus and Buddhist traditions at all. The organization was established after The Committee of Hijaz had fulfilled its duty and about to be dissolved. The organization was established by Hasyim Asy'ari, the head of an Islamic religious school in East Java. The organization expanded, but the base of its support remained in East Java. By 1928, the NU was using the Javanese language in its sermons, alongside Arabic.In 1937, despite poor relations between the NU and other Sunni Islam organizations in Indonesia, the organizations established the Supreme Islamic Council of Indonesia as a discussion forum. They were joined by most of the other Islamic organizations in existence at the time. In 1942, the Japanese occupied Indonesia and in September a conference of Islamic leaders was held in Jakarta.
The Japanese wanted to replace the MIAI, but the conference not only decided to maintain the organization, but also elected political figures belonging to the PSII to the leadership, rather than members of the non-political NU or Muhammadiyah as the occupiers had wanted. Just over a year later, the MIAI was dissolved and replaced by the Japanese-sponsored Masyumi. Hasjim Asjari was the notional chairman, but in practice the new organization was led by his son, Wahid Hasyim. Other NU and Muhammadiyah figures held leadership positions.
In 1945, Sukarno and Hatta declared Indonesian independence, which NU supported.
During the early months of the Indonesian National Revolution the NU declared on October 22, 1945, that the fight against the Dutch colonial forces was a holy war, obligatory for all Muslims of the nation. Among the guerrilla groups fighting for independence were Hizbullah and Sabillilah, which were led by the NU.
Transformation into Islamic political party
Following the recognition of Indonesian independence, a new party called Masyumi was established with the NU as a component of it. The NU leadership at the time had no political skills, and was awarded few influential cabinet positions, with the exception of chairman Wahid Hasyim, who was appointed religious affairs minister. The NU was unhappy with its lack of influence within Masyumi, especially after a decision at the 1949 party conference changed the party's religious council, on which the NU held several positions, into a powerless advisory body.Two years later, a dispute over the organization of the Haj pilgrimage led to Prime Minister Natsir's opposition to the reappointment of Hasyim as religious affairs minister in the next cabinet. In the ensuing cabinet crisis, the NU made a series of demands, including the retention of Hasyim, and threatened to leave Masyumi. On 5 April 1952, a few days after the announcement of a new cabinet without Hasyim, the NU decided in principle to leave Masyumi. Three months later it withdrew all its members from Masyumi councils, and on 30 August it established the Indonesian League of Muslims, comprising the NU, PSSI and a number of smaller organizations. It was chaired by Hasyim.
During the liberal democracy era, NU members served in a number of cabinet posts. In the first Ali Sastroamidjojo Cabinet, the NU held three seats, with Zainul Arifin appointed second deputy prime minister. However, following the fall of this cabinet, some NU members were opposed to the NU joining the new cabinet, to be formed by Burhanuddin Harahap Cabinet, believing that if he was unable to form a cabinet, the NU would be invited to try. It was finally pressured into participating, and was awarded the interior and religious affairs portfolios in the cabinet, which was sworn in on 12 August 1955.
On 29 September 1955, Indonesia held its first parliamentary elections. The NU came in third, with almost 7 million votes, 18.4% of the total, behind the Indonesian National Party and Masyumi. It was awarded 45 seats in the People's Representative Council, up from only eight before the election. The NU was the largest party in its East Java base, and 85.6% of its vote came from Java. There was a clear division between Masyumi, representing outer-island, urban voters and the NU, representing the rural Javanese constituency. Three months later, elections were held for the Constitutional Assembly, which was tasked with drawing up a permanent constitution. The results were very similar, with the NU winning 91 of the 514 seats.
In the 1950s, the NU still wanted to see Indonesia become an Islamic state, and expressed its disapproval of a 1953 presidential speech in which Sukarno rejected this. Three years later, it also argued against Sukarno's "conception" that would eventually lead to the establishment of guided democracy, as this would mean PKI members sitting in the cabinet. On 2 March 1957, the Permesta rebellion broke out. Among its demands was the restoration of Mohammad Hatta to the vice-presidency. The NU supported these calls.
Meanwhile, in the Constitutional Assembly, the NU joined Masyumi, the Indonesian Islamic Union Party, the Islamic Education Movement and other parties to form the Islamic Block, which wanted Indonesian to become an Islamic state. The block made up 44.8% of total seats. However, with none of the blocks able to command a majority and push through the constitution it wanted, the assembly failed to agree and was dissolved by Sukarno in a decree on 5 July 1959 that also restored the original 1945 Constitution, which declared the state to be based on the Pancasila philosophy, not Islam.
In 1960, President Sukarno banned Masyumi for alleged involvement in the Permesta rebellion. However, the leadership of NU saw the pro-poor Communist Party of Indonesia, which was close to Sukarno, as an obstacle to its ambitions, and competed with it to win support from the poor. Five years later, the coup attempt by the 30 September Movement took place. In 1965, the group took sides with the General Suharto-led army and was heavily involved in the mass killings of Indonesian communists. However, the NU later began to oppose Suharto's regime.
In 1984, Abdurrahman Wahid, the grandson of NU founder Hasyim Asy'ari, inherited the leadership from his father, and was later elected President of Indonesia in 1999. He formally apologized for NU's involvement in the events of 1965. He also stated that "Nadhatul Ulama is like Shiite minus Imamah; similarly Shiite is NU plus Imamah." There have been many similarities between the two, such as the position and role of kyai. The main contrast between them is that in NU, the concept is visible in the form of accepted culture, while in Shia, it takes the form of theology.
Following the deposing of Sukarno, the New Order regime under President Suharto held elections in 1971. Despite manipulation of the NU by the government, which caused it to lose much credibility, the NU managed to maintain its 18% share of the vote from the 1955 poll. However, in 1973, it was obliged to "fuse" into the new United Development Party. The PPP came second, after the government sponsored Golkar organization in the elections of 1977 and 1982, but in 1984, the new NU chairman Abdurrahman Wahid, the son of Wahid Hasyim, withdrew the NU from the PPP because of dissatisfaction with the NU's lack of influence. As a result, in the 1987 election, the PPP vote collapsed from 28% in 1982 to only 16%. From then on, it was expected that the NU would concentrate on religious and social activities.