Nahdlatul Ulama's Endless Conflict Is A Mirror Of The Turbulence Of Indonesian Political Elites

JAKARTA The repeated conflict that occurred within Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) occurred because organizations with a spiritual value base were involved in politics and business.

The polemic in NU's body broke again after circulating the minutes of the Sharia Daily Meeting of the NU Executive Board. In the minutes there were five points of decision, one of which stated that the deliberation between Rais Aam and Deputy Rais Aam decided that Yahya Cholil Staquf had to resign from his position as Chairman of PBNU.

The beginning of this conflict occurred because Yahya was considered to have violated the values and teachings of Ahlussunah wal Jamaah An Nahdliyah and contradicted Muqaddimah Qanun Asasi NU for inviting pro-zionist figure Peter Berkowitz to the Nahdlatul Ulama National Leadership Academy (AKN NU) activities.

Political observer Adi Prayitno assessed that the issue that emerged to the public about PBNU was only part of the bigger dynamics.

The issue that has surfaced to the present is that PBNU's frontman is considered pro-Zionist, because he invited a US academic known as pro Israel, Peter Berkowitz in AKN NU. In addition, there are allegations of organizational financial governance problems led by Yahya.

Regarding NU's closeness to Zionists, this is not a new issue. In mid-July 2024, five NU sympathizers or Nahdliyin met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog amid the rising conflict between Gaza and Israel.

Furthermore, in 2018, Yahya Staquf himself met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu while attending a forum in Jerusalem.

"I went to Israel in 2018. I met Netanyahu, I met with the President of Israel, I met various elements there in various forums," said Yahya.

He emphasized that his visit to Israel at that time was never a problem within NU. The proof is that the majority of NU administrators elected him as General Chair at the 34th NU Congress in Bandar Lampung 2021.

Even before the current accusations by NU pro-Zionist, the Fourth President of the Republic of Indonesia, Aburrahman Wahid, were criticized for opening diplomatic relations with Israel. The heavy criticism leveled at Gus Dur made the plan canceled.

In the midst of repeated conflicts, a number of observers believe this is more than just an ordinary chaos. Even the issue of NU's closeness to Zionists is only a small part of the internal problems of these mass organizations, as said by political observer Adi Prayitno.

Starting from the pro-Zionist issue, the polemic widens because PBNU is a large organization with broad political, social and cultural influences. This means that every internal friction automatically becomes the subject of discussion, especially regarding the chair of the general chairman.

"There are also those who associate it with many things, starting with the issue of mining management permits, succession of leadership, and others. Its name is public, there is a lot of speculation," he said.

NU was in the spotlight when they asked for mining permits after religious community organizations received a red carpet from the Seventh President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) in managing mines. This is Government Regulation (PP) Number 25 of 2024 concerning Amendments to Government Regulation (PP) Number 96 of 2021 concerning the Implementation of Mineral and Coal Mining Business Activities.

"Nahdlatul Ulama is ready with qualified human resources, complete organizational apparatus, and a strong enough business network to carry out these duties and responsibilities," said Yahya at the time.

With this, he also hopes to provide the widest possible benefit to the people.

NU's decision to accept this mining concession was then in the spotlight. Not a few traders responded negatively. They reminded about the impact that would occur if religious organizations accepted mining concessions from the government.

Mining business is believed to have destructive power, both to the environment and to humans themselves. Religious organizations actually have to criticize mines, not the other way around, instead of becoming mining actors.

For political observer Rocky Gerung, the current prehara reflects the classic NU dilemma, between staying in the path of religious culture or plunging deeper into the puddle of political pragmatism.

Indeed, Peter Berkowitz's invitation caused controversy that led to Yahya's push back. But according to Rocky's belief, the root of the problem is actually deeper and more complex. He also mentioned the polemic of the mining concession of the era of the Seventh President of the Republic of Indonesia, Joko Widodo, whose fate is reportedly still hanging today.

These problems are accumulated now in competition between figures. Some receive mining business as a potential mass organization, some suspect that there is an exchange and personal interests will benefit more from NU organizations themselves," explained Rocky.

"So it's not just about one wrong invitation. There is a long history and interests that are piled up behind it," he continued.

He suspects that there is internal competition within NU that also underlies the chaos of the organization. However, according to him, the existence of internal competition or competition within NU is a natural thing, especially in the world of Indonesian politics, where many figures have been born from NU.

Rocky said the repeated conflict in NU was like an organization's "historical fate" which was founded with a strong spiritual value base but was involved in politics and business. Nahdlatul Ulama, he said, will always be in a prahara condition.

"This is a dilemma between choosing to become a religious-based cultural organization or a cultural organization that has a political direction. Organizations designed to maintain ethical values but are involved in political-pragmatic issues," said Rocky.

NU turmoil, however, is a reflection of the national political elite turmoil. And this anxiety, he confirmed, will affect the dynamics of national politics," he concluded.