“Fiqh peradaban” the religio-political developments of Nahdlatul Ulama in contemporary Indonesia

Abstract

This study explores the religio-political development of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) in contemporary Indonesia, focusing on the leadership era of Yahya Cholil Staquf (Gus Yahya). NU, as the largest Islamic organization in the world, with more than 60 million followers in Indonesia and 30 million worldwide, plays a significant role in harmonizing Islamic teachings with modern socio-political challenges through the concept of Fiqh Peradaban. This study uses an interdisciplinary approach that integrates the interpretation of Islamic legal theory (usūl al-fiqh), Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh), and social science analysis. The research methods include literature study and fieldwork, including interviews with important NU figures as well as analysis of related literature. The findings of this study show that NU in the Gus Yahya era, with the concept of Fiqh Peradaban, had a mission to bring a religious paradigm capable of addressing global issues. Fiqh Peradaban seeks to discuss actual issues relevant to the international context, such as the United Nation (UN) Charter and human rights, which are often overlooked in classical fiqh discourse. Additionally, this study found that NU's civilizational mission did not eliminate the characteristics of NU's traditionalist thinking, which still maintains the study of the yellow book (kitab kuning). This study argues that NU in the Gus Yahya era was different from previous leadership eras, which tended to focus on local and national issues. The concept of Fiqh Peradaban allows NU to play a more active role in global diplomacy without sacrificing its traditionalist principles. From a political perspective, this study also shows that NU's civilizing mission in the Gus Yahya era maintained the central role of the government, even though NU's close relationship with the government could give rise to internal conflict within NU itself.