It is a “great honour” to be elected head of the movement,” Sais Agil Siradj said. “I shall not drag the NU into the political fray,”, he added, “nor shall I join a political party”, in what is not a subtle reference to outgoing NU leader Kiai Hajj Hasyim Muzadi, who was Megawati Sukarnoputri’s running mate in the 2004 presidential election.
Siradj (seen here with wife) will follow the line of former NU leader and former President Abdurrahman Wahid, also known as Gus Dur, who insisted that the organisation should not become a political party, a task that belongs to the National Awakening Party (PKB). NU members should thus keep politics and religion apart.
Finally, the NU’s new president reminded his audience, “None of the students staying at one of the organisation’s 14,000 boarding schools is tied to terrorism” and that he would fight to preserve the “pluralist spirit” that characterises the movement.
In directly addressing the issue of terrorism, the new leader responded to an appeal made by Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who during the five-day meeting of the organisation, called for a “joint effort” in the struggle against religious extremism and terrorism.
Siradj, who is a graduate of a Saudi university, will be joined by Kiai Hajj Sahal Mahfudz as his second in command at the helm of Indonesia’s largest Muslim organisation with some 60 million members.
Founded in 1926, the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), is a Sunni Muslim organisation known for its tolerance towards other Muslim groups and religious minorities.
Former President Abdurrahman Wahid was one of its most charismatic leaders. He played a key role in repealing laws that discriminated against the country’s Chinese minority.