NU boosts Islam Nusantara to go international

Jakarta, NU Online
Nahdlatul Ulama, the Indonesia's largest Muslim organization is committed to preserving and developing the so-called Islam Nusantara. One of its main targets is to make Islam Nusantara go international in 2026.<>

"Islam Nusantara is a moderate Islamic concept. It is always fair and seeking for peace," general chairman of NU, KH Said Aqil Siradj or popularly known as Kang Said, said at the NU's 89th anniversary celebration on Saturday, January 31.

He said that NU was ready to push the Islamic character to go global. He claimed that the world had already seen Islam Nusantara as a model for modern Islam for being capable of compromizing between democracy and moderate lines of thought.

The model preserved and developed by NU has made it recognized internationally following several awards on global peace achieved by the Islamic organization. NU recently won awards from a US organization, Global Peace, and from South Korea as a peace keeper in conflicting countries.

Vice President Jusuf Kalla, who attended the ceremony, said that NU had a moral duty to make Islam Nusantara as a role model for the world.

"It is a challenge for NU," Kalla who is also member of the NU Advisory Board said.

NU currently has some 84 million members, surpassing any other Islamic organizations in other countries. JK said that it was a big achievement for the organization. However, he reminded that NU faced several other challenges especially in education, culture and politics.

Editing by Sudarto Murtaufiq