Publication

This commentary discusses the 2015 conference of the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), Indonesia’s largest Muslim organization, including the leadership contests that took place at the meeting and some of the key issues of debate over theology. More specifically, the authors focus on 1) discussion over Islamic teaching at the conference, including the debate over whether to adopt the concept of Islam Nusantara - referring to the application of Islamic teaching in the Indonesian socio-cultural context - to combat radicalism and terrorism in Indonesia; and 2) the tussle over two senior leadership positions in NU: that of general chairman, who leads the management of NU, and that of the supreme leader, who has the final say on theological matters within the organization.