Rais Aam: Spiritual leadership has formed pesantren's color

Jakarta, NU Online
Spiritual leadership has formed its own color in educational institutions so-called pesantren (Islamic baording schools) in Indonesia. This leadership model should and will always be inherent in the pesantren and could be used as a favorable model in every educational institution or organization.

"The spiritual leadership of kiai (clerics) in pesantren has become the basic character since the establishment of the religious education institution.The spiritual leadership is very different from any leadership model we have known," the Supreme Leader (Rais Aam) of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) KH Ma'ruf Amin told NU Online in Jakarta on Monday (06/11).

According to Kiai Ma'ruf, as he is familiarly called, such kiai leadership is not only seen in the transfer of knowledge alone but has has gone beyond the physical boundaries.

"This leadership is no longer a relationship between teachers and students at schools or between lectures and their students in colleges. Rather, this leadership is like the relationship between parents and their children," he said.

Kiai Ma'ruf explained that kiai's influence was enormous in providing direction and guidance to santri and the wider community and would always be a role model for them.

"Sami'na wa atho'na (we heard and we obeyed) is what characterizes how the kiai's influence for santri and the wider community," he said.

Chairman of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) also called for the importance of always emulating the kiai with their soul of leadership that is always connected with the Prophet's teachings and always prayed for the good of their students and community.

"So the form of the so-called silatur ruhiyyah (spiritual relationship) between the santri and the kiai is at least reflected in various annual activities, which we are familiar with the term haul.This event becomes a bridge how the relationship will remain intertwined," he explained. (Masdar)