*CIREBON REGENCY’S HISTORICAL ROOTS MAKE IT WORTH FIGHTING FOR HOSTING THE 35TH NU CONGRESS*
By: H. Adlan Daie
Political Analyst, Secretary General of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), Indramayu Regency.
The Cirebon Regency PCNU, on the joint initiative of the Cirebon City PCNU and the Indramayu Regency PCNU, West Java, has offered the Greater Cirebon area to host the 35th NU Congress in August 2026—certainly worth considering.
It’s even more than worth fighting for, especially since the Cirebon Regency PCNU has sent an official letter to the Congress committee and PBNU, as reported by the media outlet “Kabar Cirebon” yesterday (May 21, 2026).
This isn’t just about technical matters and a strategic location easily accessible by various modes of transportation and adequate accommodation facilities, but also about revitalizing the historical roots of Cirebon Regency, an iconic and historic regional entity that serves as the strongest cultural anchor for Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) in West Java.
This was the moment for the PBNU (National Board of Nahdlatul Ulama) to kick off the first NU Congress in NU’s second century. Cirebon Regency and its surrounding area, known as “Greater Cirebon,” had never hosted an NU Congress in NU’s first century as a “jam’iyah.”
Cirebon Regency is the “Jombang” of West Java—at least that’s the perspective of the author’s cultural imagination in constructing a reading of Gus Dur’s essay “Pesantren as a Subculture” (1974), confirmed in the research standards for Dr. Zamakhsyari Dhofir’s doctoral dissertation, which was later published as a book entitled “Pesantren Tradition” (1982).
In Jombang Regency, East Java, there are “historical” Islamic boarding schools (pesantren) that represent NU’s cultural heritage: Tebuireng, Tambak Beras, Denanyar, and Paterongan. The 33rd NU Congress was held in these subcultural locations in 2015.
Now it’s Cirebon Regency, West Java, for the 35th NU Congress in 2026. This is where the “cultural pillars” of NU exist and thrive, namely the Babakan, Buntet, Kempek, and Arjawinangun Islamic boarding schools—without, of course, pretending to neglect the “Gedongan” Islamic boarding schools and other NU Islamic boarding schools in the Greater Cirebon area.
The comparative perspective above highlights the similarities in the “gestures” of Islamic boarding schools in both Jombang Regency, East Java, and Cirebon Regency, West Java. It highlights the “resilient” and acculturative nature of Islamic boarding schools, better known for their “local geographic” identity, where they were born and grew, rather than their Arabic names, such as “Nurul Islam.”
From Gus Dur’s perspective, this demonstrates the “resilient” stance of NU kiai in positioning Islam within the local cultural spectrum. Islam is not in a “vis-a-vis” position with local culture, but rather, according to Gus Dur, the two are in a relationship. “Complementary,” overlapping and complementing each other. This is what Gus Dur called the “Indigenization of Islam” concept.
The point is that affirmative support for Cirebon Regency (Greater Cirebon) is worth fighting for to host the 35th NU Congress in August 2026 to affirm its historical roots:
First, that NU, as a “jam’iyah,” as an Islamic organization, was founded not following the theory of “global modernism,” nor merely based on structural organizational formalism and the “dictates” of formal rules. NU’s cultural strength lies in the Islamic boarding schools (pesantren), which preceded the establishment of its structural strength.
Second, NU’s founding as an Islamic organization stems from the socio-cultural ecosystem and spiritual atmosphere of NU members within the subculture of the Islamic boarding school ecosystem, structured by considerations of its relationship with the state as a “nation state.” Therefore, NU’s strength lies in the Islamic boarding school subculture.
This is where the transformative epicenter lies, placing the 35th NU Congress in Cirebon Regency as NU’s strongest cultural anchor in Java. West Java, a province in the research of Marcus Metzbner and Burhanuddin Muhtadi (2018), where 46% of its residents identify as part of the NU religious culture, is highly vulnerable to “intolerant” attitudes.
In other words, championing Cirebon Regency as the host of the NU Congress, the highest forum of NU organizations, sends a symbolic message that NU’s future structural work projections are not merely about strengthening NU’s external attributes, but also about “cultural” consolidation, strengthening the social ecosystem, and protecting the religious understanding of the NU “congregation” from the doctrines narrated by NU’s structural elites.
The author firmly believes that the Cirebon Regency PCNU, with its well-established pesantren “subculture” base, adequate human resources, and credible intellectual quality, with the backing infrastructure of the Greater Cirebon region, is not merely capable of hosting the 35th NU Congress in August 2026.
Furthermore, the momentum of the NU Congress in Cirebon Regency marks a turning point. This kicks off how NU, as an organization, is not only adept at “politicking” but also strengthens its historical roots in balancing the challenges of modernity, where progress is not always measured solely through the “black and white” lens of the Western modernist paradigm.
Wassalam
Indramayu, May 22, 2026
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