Research on Resilience of ‘Pesantren’ to Radicalism

For a long time, pesantren (Islamic boarding schools) had been recognized as the foundation of Islamic moderation that upheld humanity, tolerance, inclusiveness, and peace. Pesantren were known to be committed to implementing national values, Pancasila and the Constitution. At least it was proven by the fact that pesantren were affiliated with mainstream Muslim organizations, such as Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah. However, there had been a phenomenon of rising intolerance and indications that there was a desire from certain groups to establish an Islamic state. And that apparently occurred in newly-established pesantren that were not affiliated with any mainstream Muslim groups. This research, conducted by CSRC, focused on the re-examination on whether pesantren still had a commitment to religious moderation, Pancasila, and the Republic of Indonesia. Data of this research were collected from 41 pesantren, which adopted traditional, modern/reform and Salafism ideologies, in 8 provinces. The result showed that each category of the pesantren had their respective aspects of resilience and vulnerability.

DOWNLOAD