Diaspora Notes for the 35th NU Congress

There is one memory I still carry from my years serving on the Special Branch Board of Nahdlatul Ulama (PCINU) in Turkey. That memory is of the times we kept the study of classical Islamic texts (kitab kuning) alive, with venues constantly shifting. Sometimes it was held in the cramped living room of a student apartment, in the meeting room of the Indonesian Consulate General (KJRI), even in cafes. Although far from Indonesia, we remained faithful to the distinctive pesantren learning methods such as sorogan, bandongan, and discussions that continued late into the night. It was there that I understood that Nahdlatul Ulama is not merely an organisation centred in Java, but a jam’iyah whose pulse is felt from Yemen to Ankara, from London to Melbourne.

Therefore, when the 35th NU Congress is held at Bahrul Ulum Islamic Boarding School, Tambakberas, Jombang, on 27-31 August 2026, my memory returns to those study circles abroad. The Congress is the highest deliberative forum of NU, where the organisation’s khitah and direction are at stake. As someone who once served in an overseas NU branch, I wish to convey three important notes: first, about the leadership NU needs; second, about the stakes of independence it now faces; and third, about the place of the diaspora in that forum.

LEADERSHIP CRITERIA

The field of candidates for Chairman of the NU Executive Board (PBNU) ahead of the 35th Congress is increasingly crowded. At least eight names are circulating in the public sphere, from the incumbent Chairman KH Yahya Cholil Staquf (Gus Yahya), who has declared he will run again, Vice Chairman KH Zulfa Mustofa, Chairman of PWNU East Java KH Abdul Hakim Mahfudz (Gus Kikin), to Minister of Religious Affairs KH Nasaruddin Umar. I see the crowded field as an indicator that NU has been very successful in cadre development both culturally and structurally. Moreover, the abundance of candidate names is also evidence of a vibrant internal democracy. However, it must be remembered that a large number of candidates does not automatically guarantee the quality of leadership NU needs.

For example, the classic criteria as prerequisites for chairman must not be abandoned. A chairman must be faqih fi din, possessing deep understanding of religious knowledge. The good news is that all the names that have emerged have that capacity. Without depth of religious knowledge, they would not be able to maintain NU’s identity as a jam’iyah diniyah. This is because NU is not just an ordinary mass organisation. However, from my years of experience abroad, there is one criterion that often escapes public discourse: the ability to be ‘worldly literate’. The future NU leader must be able to read global currents and understand that the challenges facing Indonesian Muslims can no longer be confined by territorial lines.

Therefore, the future NU leader requires three capacities at once: first, depth of scholarly lineage (sanad keilmuan) that connects him to the pesantren tradition, an irreplaceable legitimacy in the eyes of grassroots nahdiyin; second, managerial ability to manage a giant organisation whose affairs stretch from the religious, educational, social, to the economic sectors of its congregation; and third, most relevant from the diaspora’s perspective, cross-cultural diplomatic skill so that NU is not merely a domestic force, but truly becomes a reference for Islam wasathiyah on the world stage.

Unfortunately, the third capacity almost never appears in debates about the current candidates. Public discussion is far more focused on who is closest to political power, who is closest to the founders (muasis) of NU, or who is able to consolidate the most branch votes. Yet, in today’s interconnected world, the inability to read global dynamics risks turning NU into a paper tiger on the international stage. It is true that PBNU leaders are often invited to and attend various international events, but with minimal substantive influence. A leader who cannot read the world beyond Indonesia’s borders will leave cadres abroad to struggle alone.

BUILDING THE UMMAH’S ECONOMY

There is one dimension that I believe is often campaign material for chairman candidates but fails in execution, even though it directly touches the lives of millions of nahdiyin: the economy of the ummah. NU leadership is not only about safeguarding the line of faith, but also about concrete responsibility for the welfare of its congregation. A NU leader, in that framework, is not merely a guardian of religious tradition, but also a bearer of trust for the economic fate of his congregation. There is a hadith that every NU cadre certainly memorises well: ‘Kaadal faqru an yakuuna kufran’ (poverty is close to disbelief). That warning is not merely a theological exhortation, but a signal that structural poverty left to fester can erode the faith and dignity of the ummah.

The problem is that NU’s mass base factually rests on the most economically vulnerable groups. Various surveys from credible research institutions such as Lingkaran Survei Indonesia, Alvara Research Center, and academic studies such as PPIM UIN Jakarta, consistently find the same pattern: NU congregations are concentrated in rural areas, working as farmers, fishermen, farm labourers, and informal sector workers, with lower average levels of formal education and income compared to the Muhammadiyah mass base, which tends to be more urban and dominated by the educated middle class. That fact should be the starting point for PBNU policy direction, not merely a sociological note left to gather dust on research shelves.

Herein lies NU’s greatest irony. The organisation with the largest mass base in Indonesia has not yet built economic infrastructure for the ummah commensurate with the scale of its congregation. Yet the potential is enormous, from the pesantren network that could become business incubation centres for santri, to NU-based MSMEs spread across