The Politics of Purity and Religious Authority: Interpreting Conflict in Nahdlatul Ulama

Abstract

This article examines the escalating institutional conflict within Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) ahead of its Thirty-Fifth Congress in 2026, arguing that the crisis signifies more than a contest among competing elites. Rather, it reflects a profound renegotiation of religious authority within Indonesia's largest Muslim organization. We interpret this schism as a convergence of three interrelated tensions: the collision between deference-based spiritual guardianship and the expanding imperatives of bureaucratic governance; the symbolic transgression of a sacred moral boundary; and the structural frictions that emerge when accumulated religious prestige is converted into economic and political capital through extractive enterprise. The Syuriyah's vote of no confidence, the controversy surrounding the invitation of a pro-Israel academic, and disputes over coal-mining concessions each illuminate deeper anxieties concerning organizational identity, institutional accountability, and the foundations of legitimate leadership. Although NU's century-long history demonstrates remarkable institutional resilience through kiai-mediated reconciliation, kinship networks, and shared scholarly lineages, we argue that the current crisis places unprecedented strain on these traditional mechanisms of conflict resolution. Methodologically, this study adopts a discourse-centered analysis of public statements, media reports, and insider podcast accounts; consequently, our interpretations should be understood as heuristic and hypothesis-generating rather than definitive accounts of grassroots experience. We contend that the present conflict should not be understood as a simple opposition between tradition and modernity. Rather, it represents an ongoing struggle over the meaning and legitimacy of religious authority as NU seeks to reconcile its expanding bureaucratic, diplomatic, and economic aspirations with the moral authority rooted in its pesantren heritage.