Hopefully NU not to be left by its followers

The great events organized by Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) such as National Assembly and Major Conference in Surabaya last month was great moments for all NU followers, namely numbers of board, ordinary people, ulemas, activists, preachers, businessmen, traveling salesmen, and so on. They have usually inundated the arena of the ulema meeting.

They all believe that the conference was really important to enrich their religious and social understanding because matters related to both religious and social issues were also discussed. The forum was also aimed at strengthening their commitment of NU. The tradition has been initially in continuation due to the initiatives of NU founding fathers that had deliberately and hardly called for NU followers and Muslim people in general to attend the conference in order to seek knowledge and strengthen their faith. This has been socially regarded as Islamic and NU preaching.

For that reason, KH Hasyim Asy’ari had always given his time to meet nahdliyin in the congress arena. It means that they had all of the time inundated the congress anytime and anywhere comfortably to come to ulemas. 

When a NU Conference held in Lampung for instance, NU followers of Riau, Palembang, and even East Java had gladly come there. It reminds us of the same event conducted in Bagu, a remote village in Lombok, West Nusatenggara (NTB). In the meantime, thousands of nahdliyin (NU followers) coming from Central Java, East Java, and West Java had attended the congress because they need such guidance, protection, and need to deepen their spirituality, also need to strengthen their commitment and love to the NU.

Moreover, NU boards from central to the sub branch representative council had called for their followers to be present at the ulema forum. A matter dealing with the distance had not been a problem due to the whipping up spirit of service to the NU so that they had been capable of overcoming the far distance.

While at a national ulema meeting of NU as held in Surabaya in 2006, the great occasion was practically attended by NU boards from the central, regions and numbers of Islamic clerics (kiai). There were no ordinary people. Imagine, NU followers whose militancy and creation from Surabaya, Gresik, and Sidoarjo, that usually make many souvenir of NU could no longer attend it. They all were absent from the event. As if they didn’t know that in their hometown there was a national ulema forum. Then, what about the NU followers coming from Central Java, West Java, and out of Java island. They likely didn’t hear that the conference had been conducted.   

That was not caused by such technical matters that the NU boards formerly had not informed their followers. Yet there was such a gap between them (boards and followers). The boards likely had no care to ummah. Recently they have not performed their leadership functions that are capable of guiding, instructing, serving and protecting the NU followers. The people have followed NU and ahlussunnah wal jamaah without relying on NU boards.

NU boards have been now busy to serve bureaucrats, businessmen, and other national elites.  They just have had a little time to their followers. Relationship between NU boards and their followers has broken.

At the same time, radical Islamic groups have found such momentum to evolve their lines of thought that would undermine the commitment of NU followers. NU figures and even Pesantren’s Kiais have involved themselves in regional elections (Pilkada) that become a battlefield of character and political assassination. Numbers of the NU prominent men and Kiais have been assassinated in the battlefield.

Consequently, their reputation has been strongly declining in the eye of their followers. Eventually, the NU followers have chosen their own way, while the NU figures at the same time have sunk in the power political mud by neglecting their ummat (followers). 

Furthermore, NU young activists talking more about NU have now involved themselves in liberalism. they have not possessed such patience to see NU old circles “enjoying” their own religious tenets. In addition to seeing demoralization within the leaders, these groups were also absent from the recent conference.

The absence of the NU followers from the Surabaya national ulema meeting has marked that within the NU body there have been big problems. That’s why, it is necessary to immediately take steps in order to protect the organization and followers of the NU. By its 80-year old career, NU should importantly have straightened out and reinstated its khittah (principles) orientations as a result of the stain of worldly encounter that could no longer pay more attention to religious values and moral as well.

Thus, the NU will not be left by its ummat or followers because the religious organization will b