The History Of Nahdlatul Ulama Indonesia – Nahdlatul Ulama is an Islamic organization in Indonesia. Its membership estimates range from 40 million (2013) to over 95 million (2021), making it the largest Islamic organization in the world. NU also is a charitable body funding schools and hospitals as well as organizing communities to help alleviate poverty.
The NU was founded in 1926 by a ulema and merchants to defend both traditionalist Islamic practices (in accordance with Shafi’i school) and its members’ economic interests. NU’s religious views are considered “traditionalist” in that they tolerate local culture as long as it doesn’t contradict Islamic teachings. By contrast the second largest Islamic organization in Indonesia, the Muhammadiyah, is considered “reformist” as it takes a more literal interpretation of the Qur’an and Sunnah.
Some leaders of Nahdlatul Ulama are ardent advocates of Islam Nusantara, a distinctive brand of Islam that has undergone interaction, contextualization, indigenization, interpretation and vernacularization according to socio-cultural conditions in Indonesia. Islam Nusantara promotes moderation, anti-fundamentalism, pluralism and at some point, syncretism. However, many NU elders, leaders, and religious scholars have rejected Islam Nusantara in favor of a more conservative approach.
Nahdlatul Ulama follows the ideology of Ashʿarism, taking the middle path between aqli (rationalist) and naqli (scripturalist) tendencies. The organization identifies the Quran, the Sunnah, and the ability of the mind coupled with empirical reality as the sources of its thought. It attributes this approach to earlier thinkers, such as Abu al-Hasan al-Ash’ari and Abu Mansur Al-Maturidi in the field of theology.
In the field of jurisprudence, it recognizes the Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi’i, and Hanbali schools of law, but relies in practice on Shafi’i teachings. In matters of Sufism, NU follows the path of Al-Ghazali and Junaid al-Baghdadi. It has been described by western media as a progressive, liberal and pluralistic Islamic movement, but is a diverse organization with large conservative factions as well. The Nahdlatul Ulama has stated that it is not tied to any political organization.
History Of Nahdlatul Ulama
NU was established in 1926 as an organization for orthodox Ash’ari Muslims scholars, as opposed to the modernist policies of the Muhammadiyah and PERSIS (organization), and the rise of Salafi movement of the Al-Irshad Al-Islamiya organization in Indonesia, which rejected local customs influenced by pre-Islamic Javanese Hindus and Buddhist traditions at all. The organization was established after The Committee of Hijaz had fulfilled its duty and about to be dissolved. The organization was established by Hasyim Asy’ari, the head of an Islamic religious school in East Java. The organization expanded, but the base of its support remained in East Java. By 1928, the NU was using the Javanese language in its sermons, alongside Arabic.
In 1937, despite poor relations between the NU and other Sunni Islam organizations in Indonesia, the organizations established the Supreme Islamic Council of Indonesia (Indonesian: Majlis Islam A’laa Indonesia, MIAI) as a discussion forum. They were joined by most of the other Islamic organizations in existence at the time. In 1942, the Japanese occupied Indonesia and in September a conference of Islamic leaders was held in Jakarta.
The Japanese wanted to replace the MIAI, but the conference not only decided to maintain the organization, but also elected political figures belonging to the PSII to the leadership, rather than members of the non-political NU or Muhammadiyah as the occupiers had wanted. Just over a year later, the MIAI was dissolved and replaced by the Japanese-sponsored Masyumi (Consultative Council of Indonesian Muslims). Hasjim Asjari was the notional chairman, but in practice the new organization was led by his son, Wahid Hasyim. Other NU and Muhammadiyah figures held leadership positions.
In 1945, Sukarno and Hatta declared Indonesian independence. During the Indonesian war of independence, the NU declared that the fight against the Dutch colonial forces was a holy war, obligatory for all Muslims. Among the guerrilla groups fighting for independence were Hizbullah and Sabillilah, which were led by the NU
