Khofifah: NU National Conference to Formulate Solutions for the People's Problems
East Java Governor Khofifah Indar Parawansa has stated that the 2026 National Conference of Religious Scholars (Munas Alim Ulama) and Grand Conference (Konbes) of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) will be a strategic forum for formulating religious perspectives while delivering solutions to various problems facing the people, the nation, and the state. Khofifah, who also serves as Chair of the Nahdlatul Ulama Executive Board (PBNU), emphasised that the Munas-Konbes NU is not merely an organisational consolidation event, but also a platform to strengthen NU’s role in responding to the challenges of the times.
“The message delivered by the Rais Aam serves as a reminder that safeguarding dignity is not enough by merely maintaining the organisation’s integrity and morality, but must also be realised through increasingly tangible service that provides direct benefits to the community,” Khofifah said in a statement received in Kediri on Sunday. According to her, the Rais Aam’s directives can serve as an important guide for the entire Nahdlatul Ulama family in strengthening the organisation’s role amidst the continuously evolving dynamics of society.
Khofifah expressed optimism that the consultative forum of religious scholars would produce decisions capable of reinforcing NU’s role in building social welfare, strengthening brotherhood, and addressing the various challenges currently faced by society. “May Allah SWT ease the entire series of deliberations and yield the best decisions that bring benefit to the people, the nation, and the state, while simultaneously strengthening Islamic brotherhood (ukhuwah Islamiyah), national brotherhood (ukhuwah wathaniyah), and human brotherhood (ukhuwah basyariyah),” she said.
She added that East Java, as a province with thousands of Islamic boarding schools (pondok pesantren), bears a significant responsibility to continue supporting the strengthening of pesantren and Nahdlatul Ulama’s role in human resource development, education, the people’s economy, and the reinforcement of national values. “We believe that pesantren and Nahdlatul Ulama have a very important role in preparing a generation that is not only intellectually superior, but also spiritually strong, morally upright, and possesses social awareness, as conveyed in the Rais Aam’s main message,” she said.
Khofifah also expressed appreciation to PBNU, the extended family of Al Falah Ploso Islamic Boarding School in Kediri, the kiai, students (santri), volunteers, and the entire committee who prepared for the organisation of the 2026 Munas and Konbes NU.
Meanwhile, PBNU Rais Aam K.H. Miftachul Akhyar asserted that Nahdlatul Ulama faces increasingly complex civilisational challenges, necessitating strategic leaps in carrying out its service to the people. According to him, there are three urgent needs that the NU community (jamiyah) must strengthen to meet present and future demands. First, reviving social consciousness (dhamir ijtima’i) among the people through concrete actions that have a direct impact on society. Second, building public opinion grounded in morality so that strong social control grows within community life. Third, enhancing leadership quality based on the spirit of jihad and ijtihad in order to deliver solutions to various contemporary problems faced by the people, the nation, and the state.
“Our organised community, in facing the demands of the present and the future, is in a condition that greatly requires these three important things,” said K.H. Miftachul Akhyar. He stressed that leadership within NU requires earnest struggle, breadth of knowledge, intelligence, and the ability to make appropriate decisions on various new problems developing within society.
Regarding jihad, K.H. Miftachul Akhyar explained it as the effort to devote all one’s ability and earnestness to attain obedience to Allah SWT, submission to His laws, and the execution of His commands. “This requires a long and arduous struggle (jihad) against everything that undermines that obedience,” he said. On the subject of ijtihad, he asserted that leaders of the community must possess formidable intellectual capacity to provide solutions to various contemporary problems. “Ijtihad means that the person leading this blessed organisation or community must have the ability to provide appropriate decisions or solutions to contemporary issues. He must also possess intelligence, activity, earnestness, and breadth of knowledge that is formidable and befitting of the position,” he said.
PBNU is holding the 2026 Munas and Konbes NU at Al Falah Islamic Boarding School, Ploso Village, Mojo District, Kediri Regency, from Saturday (20/6) to Monday (22/6). The event is attended by PBNU, PWNU, and PCNU officials from across Indonesia, as well as NU autonomous bodies and thousands of sympathisers from various regions.