NU: Islam Nusantara adaptable to cultures and tolerant to differences

Jombang, NU Online
Indonesia’s largest Islamic organisation, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) is preparing to become the beacon of moderate Islam as it discusses its programs for the next five years.
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In the Jombang's NU congress (muktamar) in early August, the Nahdliyin (NU members) have braced for a change of leadership that will mark a new era in their history as the country’s mainstream Muslim group for the past century.

NU holding its 33rd national congress on Aug. 1 to 5 in Jombang, East Java, took the theme “Reinforcing Islam Nusantara for Indonesia and for international civilization”.

“The real spirit of this ‘Islam Nusantara’ [Islam of the Archipelago] is to reinforce an Islam which is adaptable to cultures and tolerant to differences in this archipelago,” chairman of Nahdlatul Ulama KH Mohammad Imam Aziz, told reporters here recently.

The concept of Islam Nusantara, according to Imam, refers to the empirical, historical reality that Islam has been embedded in the culture, economy, politics and technology of the archipelago for a long time.

The idea is to bring forward tolerance among Muslims amid the strong influence of conservative and radical groups from Middle Eastern countries.

“We will develop programs [...] in line with Islam Nusantara at the upcoming muktamar. We want to strengthen the spirit of Islam Nusantara to protect minority groups that are often subject to violent attacks,” Imam said. (masdar)