Anyone concerned about the future of this nation must pay close attention the congress of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), Indonesia's largest Islamic social organization, in Makassar this week. No one can afford to underestimate the contribution NU has made since its founding in 1926, from Indonesia's independence struggle through the early years of the young republic, to the present-day modern Indonesia.
As a network of Islamic boarding schools and their charismatic leaders, NU's biggest contribution perhaps has been in building the character of this nation of 230 million of mostly Muslim people.
Together with Muhammadiyah, the other large Islamic organization in the country, NU has helped define and shape the Muslim society that has evolved in Indonesia. Such characters as tolerance, openness, moderation and more pluralistic views are unique to Indonesia, if not across Southeast Asia, among Muslims around the world.
NU today faces tremendous challenges. How it handles them will have bearings on the future of society, especially considering that up to 70 million people in this country have family connections or have had their upbringing with the organization.
One major challenge that NU has to address is the question of how far or how deep it should be involved in day-to-day politics. NU has always been the subject of an internal struggle between those who feel that, through its political parties or its leaders, they should be active in the political decision-making process, and those who feel that NU should concentrate on its social missions in education, healthcare and promoting the economic welfare of its members.
Another issue is the ongoing ideological debate in a society caught in the modern dichotomy of conservatism versus liberalism. For an organization deeply steeped in Islamic teachings and rural traditions, NU has surprised many with some of the most liberal thoughts emerging from the group, including, most importantly, the influence that its previous chairman, the late Abdurrahman Wahid, had in this debate.
The direction NU chooses to go will depend on who the congress elects to head the executive board. Many feel outgoing chairman Hasyim Muzadi has pushed NU far into the political arena these last 10 years, continuing an earlier trend begun by his predecessor, Abdurrahman Wahid, who served briefly as the nation's president from 1999 to 2001.
NU is mature, wise and independent enough to know what it needs to do, and what is good for society without outside intervention. The group has its own internal dynamics that have helped the organization survive and flourish into what it is today. NU not only helped shape this republic, it even preceded it. We wish the NU leaders a successful congress.