Ulama forum unites commitment to reject money politics at 35th NU Congress

The Forum Ulama Nahdliyyin (FUN), together with a number of syuriyah and tanfidziyah officials and pesantren leaders, has called for the rejection of money politics in the implementation of the 35th Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) Congress. “All PWNU and PCNU officials are obliged to fight AHWA bribery, without exception,” said NU figure and Chairman of the Indonesian Mosque Council (DMI) KH Abdul Manan Ghoni in a statement received in Jakarta on Sunday. The statement was delivered by Abdul Manan during the Halaqah Jam’iyyah Nahdlatul Ulama themed “Saving the Dignity of Syuriyah and the Honour of Ahlul Halli Wal Aqdi (AHWA)” in Jakarta on Friday (21/8). “Accepting bribes is the highest moral decay that should not be normalised by congress participants,” he said.

KH Samsul Ma’arif, one of the speakers, said the reconciliation process that previously took place between Rais Aam Kiai Miftahul Ahyar and PBNU Chairman Gus Yahya had not resolved the issues between the two. “The reconciliation was merely formalistic on the surface. To this day, there has truly never been reconciliation between the two. In fact, on one occasion with Gus Yahya, DKI was asked to step down as congress host, but I refused,” Samsul revealed. He assessed that the current PBNU leadership faces different challenges compared to the era of Kiai Said Aqil Siradj, particularly in terms of cadre development and educational institution growth.

Adviser to LBM PWNU DKI KH Mukti Ali Qusyairi said the criteria for AHWA candidates must consider aspects of religious scholarship and educational order. “He (Kiai Said) once accompanied four Rais Aam and everything went well, with no significant problems or issues like those occurring today,” he said. “The main purpose of the AHWA system is to avoid money politics, but now the opposite is happening,” he added. He said PBNU has issued Guidelines for Submitting AHWA Candidate Names containing five points. However, according to him, there are alleged procedural and substantive violations in its implementation. He said vote holders in PWNU, PCNU, and PCINU need to maintain the independence and honour of the organisation in facing the 35th NU Congress.

The 35th NU Congress is scheduled to take place on 27-31 August 2026 at Bahrul Ulum Islamic Boarding School, Tambakberas, Jombang, East Java.