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View all search resultsWhen Prabowo elevates Nahdlatul Ulama's political philosophy
The President’s praise for the philosophy of the country's largest Muslim organization signals a vital reminder for the current leadership: True politics is defined not by the mere pursuit of power but by public welfare.
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President Prabowo Subianto delivers a speech while attending the closing ceremony of the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) National Conference of Religious Scholars and Grand Conference at the Syaichona Mohammad Cholil Islamic Institute (IAI) in Bangkalan, East Java, on June 23, 2026. (Antara/Moch Asim)
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resident Prabowo Subianto’s attendance on Tuesday at the closing ceremony of the Ulema National Conference and Grand Conference (Munas-Konbes) 2026 of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) in Bangkalan, East Java, was far more than a ceremonial gesture. It signaled that he views NU not as an ordinary mass organization but as a formidable political and moral force.
The forum came at a strategic juncture for NU, as it gathered its scholars and leaders to deliberate the future leadership and national contributions of the country’s largest Muslim organization.
In this context, Prabowo’s assertion, “if one wants to learn politics, one must learn from Nahdlatul Ulama”, was no mere flattery. It demonstrated a sophisticated understanding of NU’s intricate political tradition.
To digest this message, one must first grasp how the organization conceptualizes politics.
For NU, politics transcends the pursuit of power, electoral victories or state offices. The NU tradition divides political engagement into two distinct categories: al-Siyāsah al-‘Ulyā (high politics) and al-Siyāsah al-Suflā (low politics). The former addresses the pursuit of public welfare, justice, national harmony and the common good, whereas the latter is confined to the pursuit of power, position and narrow factional interests.
When Prabowo urged politicians to learn from NU, he was pointing to this deeper, principled tradition.
NU’s political wisdom lays not just in its sheer survival through shifting political tides but in its consistent capacity to elevate national interests above short-term competition: a legacy that remains profoundly relevant for contemporary Indonesia.
