Globalizing Nahdlatul Ulama : religion, diplomacy, and the politics of representation

Abstract

This study critically examines the globalization efforts of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), particularly through the narrative of Islam Nusantara and Humanitarian Islam, its role in the Religion 20 (R20) forum, and the transnational activities of its diaspora networks (PCINU). As the world’s largest Muslim organisation, NU is frequently portrayed as an actor offering a culturally rooted articulation of Islam that contrasts with more politicised or scripturalist expressions often dominant in global Islamic discourses. However, such claims have yet to be empirically and theoretically examined, particularly in relation to power dynamics, epistemic production, and center-periphery relations within global Islamic networks. Drawing on postcolonial frameworks and representation theories, this study explores whether NU’s global project constitutes a genuine epistemic transformation or merely reproduces domestic logics within a symbolic global framework. By analyzing formal narratives, diasporic practices, and the tensions between NU’s structural and cultural domains, the article identifies the limitations of NU’s epistemic infrastructure, the fragmentation of its global diaspora, and the disarticulation between the institution and its intellectual diaspora. The study argues that NU’s globalization cannot be read as a horizontal, grassroots expansion but rather as a project shaped by national interests, elitedriven initiatives, and state-mediated representational logics. In doing so, it offers a critical reading of religious globalization from Indonesia’s organizations, revealing how such efforts may become trapped in reproducing power through globally legible, yet epistemically hollow, forms.