Nahdlatul Ulama (NU): A Grassroots Movement Advocating Moderate Islam

Abstract

Pengurus Besar Nahdlatul Ulama (PBNU, the Central Board of Nahdlatul Ulama) claims to have 60 million members in Indonesia (Arifianto 2017: 257), and approximately 30 million more throughout the world. This makes NU the largest independent Islamic organisation across the globe. Its large number of members require extra attention from PBNU to adequately cater to their needs. In order to support services for the community, a broad range of institutions and infrastructures are necessary. To this end, NU boards have extended their exposure through Pengurus Besar (the central board) in Jakarta, Pengurus Wilayah (regional boards in provinces), Pengurus Cabang (branch boards in towns or districts), Majelis Wakil Cabang (councils of branch representatives in kecamatan or sub-districts), and Pengurus Ranting (twig boards in kelurahan or villages) across Indonesia. For overseas members, NU has launched Pengurus Cabang Istimewa (special branch boards) in many countries. In addition, NU has semi-autonomous organisations for women, university students, school or madrasa students, scholars, business people, and others, that extend from the central board to the twig boards. The services to the members and communities also require significant attention as they include formation, supervision, leadership on all levels, direction, visits, and other organisational necessities. The services also include organisational workshops and training in order to provide information regarding NU’s history, theology, activities, products, networks, political policies and strategies, and future projections. Equally important, NU also provides amenities such as hospital and health services, educational institutions from schools to universities, agricultural groups, and many more. NU provides services for nonmembers too, since leaders Ahmad Siddiq and Abdurrahman Wahid formally accepted “the official state ideology of Pancasila as its ‘sole basis’ ” (Fealy and Bush 2014: 546) at the movement’s National Congress in 1984. For a traditional socio-religious organisation like NU, it is a substantial commitment to provide such services across Indonesia and overseas. Moreover, all caretakers from the