Ministry of Religious Affairs Holds Pesantren Breaking Fast Event, Discusses Future Santri Projections
Jakarta – The Ministry of Religious Affairs held a Breaking Fast for Pesantren (Takjil Pesantren) combined with a talk show and group recitation session with students at Al-Tsaqafah Islamic Boarding School, South Jakarta, as part of the Directorate of Pesantren’s Ramadan programme titled “San Trend Ramadhan”.
Secretary General of Indonesia’s Ministry of Religious Affairs Kamarudin Amin stated that santri are not only required to pursue deeper Islamic knowledge (tafaqquh fiddin), but must also understand and master the science of governance and nationalism in order to assume strategic roles across various sectors.
“Today’s santri, ideally, should not only aim for tafaqquh fiddin but also learn about governance so they can succeed in strategic positions,” Kamarudin said in a statement in Jakarta on Saturday.
At the same event, the principal of Al-Tsaqafah Pesantren, Said Aqil Siradj, noted that pesantren possess immense intellectual traditions, including through the yellow book (kitab kuning) corpus which forms the foundation of learning.
Kiai Said explained that pesantren’s intellectual framework rests on three main pillars: divine revelation (bayan ilahi) sourced from revelation, prophetic tradition (bayan nabawi) referring to the Sunnah, and rational interpretation (bayan aqli) developed through Islamic jurisprudence methods such as ijma and qiyas.
“Pesantren are wealthy in knowledge, particularly through their yellow book traditions. Within them exists divine revelation, prophetic tradition, and rational interpretation which produce ijma and qiyas as methods of legal deduction,” Said Aqil said.
Meanwhile, Director of Pesantren Basnang Said explained that this activity forms part of the “San Trend Ramadhan” series which includes pesantren breaking fast events, pesantren radio programmes, Ramadan insights, online group recitation sessions, and various other initiatives.
The Ramadan breaking fast activity was conducted using a thematic approach, and in its inaugural implementation at Al-Tsaqafah Pesantren Ciganjur, it adopted the theme “From Pesantren to the World: Future Santri Projections”.
At the event, Basnang emphasised that the chosen theme is not merely a slogan but rather a strategic direction for developing santri in future years. He stressed the importance of developing strong santri figures grounded in tradition, adaptable to change, and possessing firm commitment to nationalism.
“The future santri we are projecting are those deeply rooted in pesantren’s intellectual traditions as exemplified by Kiai Said, mastering classical Islamic heritage, yet remaining open to contemporary developments,” Basnang said.