Ministry of Religious Affairs to Crack Down on Illegal Pesantren

Minister of Religious Affairs Nasaruddin Umar has announced that the ministry will conduct a sweep of illegal pesantren (Islamic boarding schools). This move comes in response to a number of recent cases involving sexual violence and deviance within faith-based educational institutions.

Nasaruddin noted that many institutions operate illegally or merely claim to be pesantren without being registered with the Ministry of Religious Affairs. To address this, the ministry will tighten the operational definition of religious institutions to separate genuine pesantren from fraudulent ones.

“For example, we will first establish the definition of a pesantren, what the requirements are to be called a pesantren, and then what the requirements are to be called a kyai,” he said, as quoted from the ministry’s official website on Thursday, 9 July 2026.

Nasaruddin added that the ministry will maximise the role of the Majelis Masyayikh, an institution responsible for maintaining and improving the quality of pesantren education, as well as formulating regulatory instruments for the pesantren ecosystem.

“We will appoint pesantren figures. They will help provide a concept for an ideal pesantren ecosystem that can prevent sexual violence and other undesirable deviances,” he said. This body will develop standardisation for pesantren, targeting curriculum, institutional legality, and the conduct of administrators and teachers.

“The code of conduct does not only bind the students, but it also binds the supervisors,” he stated.

Nasaruddin warned all managers of religious educational institutions not to trifle with the law and urged the entire pesantren ecosystem to return to its fundamental values. “Do not let any deviations occur that contradict positive law, contradict sharia law, or contradict the principles of pesantren,” he said.

Should violations occur, Nasaruddin confirmed there will be zero tolerance. Aside from handing over the offending individuals to the criminal justice system, administrative sanctions such as the revocation of operational permits and the closure of the institution will be immediately imposed. He assured, however, that the educational rights of the students would remain protected.