Gus Mus: Ulema and pesantren must stand guard against religious-based violence

Jakarta, NU Online
The Supreme Council of the Central Board of Nahdlatul Ulama (PBNU) KH Mustofa “Gus Mus” Bisri said that both ulema and Islamic boarding schools (pesantren) must stand guard against any religious-based voelence committed by certain groups.

“The pesantren should take a proactive role,” Gus Mus said, adding that the Nahdliyin-based traditional educational institutions had not yet played expected roles in dealing with the violence.<>

The religion, he added, was most of the time used as such means to justify the violence by those claiming to be Muslims.

Speaking at a seminar taking up issues on the role of pesantren and ulema in preventing religious-based violence in the Jakarta’s Bintang Griyawisata Hotel on Monday, the poet said pesantren should take a stand firm and become more vocal in calling for an end to any violence in the name of religion.

Gus Mus was of view that violence perpetrated in the name of religion (Islam: read) did not come from pesantren mostly located in rural areas.

Instead, the caretaker of the Pesantren Roudlatut Thalibin, Rembang, Central Java said the violence and any unfriendly acts were often conducted by Islamic movements based in big cities such as Jakarta, Bandung, Surakarta, and so forth.

Gus Mus said pesantrens were a "community's hope" to stop religious violence and should be able to show its usefulness for people at large.

"People are interested in pesantren because they can sense their benefits. If people couldn't see the benefits, pesantren would not be of interest anymore," he said. (mkf/rif)