Unveiling the Logo for the 35th NU Congress: Who Created It?

Jakarta — The Executive Board of Nahdlatul Ulama (PBNU) has designated the logo of the 35th Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) Muktamar as the official identity of the organisation’s highest deliberative forum. The logo is the work of M Shofa Ulum Azmi, an alumnus of Pondok Pesantren Langitan in Tuban, East Java.

The selection of the logo is noteworthy for extending the record of contribution of Pondok Pesantren Langitan, founded in 1852, which has produced scholars and cadres consistently serving the organisation from before NU’s founding through to its second century.

M Shofa Ulum Azmi, designer of the 35th Muktamar logo, explained in a statement in Jakarta on Sunday that the visual design began as a simple sketch that then developed into a symbol of harmonious leadership within NU.

“This logo began as a rough sketch that formed two circles as its main construction. I interpret the two circles as a symbol of the Syuriah and Tanfidziyah working in harmony in carrying out the service of Nahdlatul Ulama,” he said.

Shofa added that the design, representing a mutually strengthening relationship akin to that of a father and son, was completed in a single night before being refined through several finishing stages.

The choice of a Langitan alumnus’s work also recalls the strong historical relationship between the pesantren and NU, as two principal founders of the organisation — Hadlratussyaikh KH Hasyim Asy’ari and KH Abdul Wahab Chasbullah — were students of KH Ahmad Sholeh, the second leader of Pondok Pesantren Langitan.

This tradition of service was passed down through successive leaders of the pesantren, from KH Muhammad Khozin in NU’s early years, to KH Abdul Hadi Zahid, and KH Abdullah Faqih, who once served as Mustasyar of PBNU.

Today, that legacy of service is continued by KH Ma’shum Faqih, who holds the post of Deputy Secretary-General of PBNU, while also making history as the first kiai from Pondok Pesantren Langitan to sit on the PBNU Tanfidziyah.

PBNU Deputy Secretary-General KH Ma’shum Faqih viewed the selection of the logo as proof that the pesantren, located in Widang subdistrict, continues to make tangible contributions to the organisation across various fields, including through the creative works of its alumni generation.