Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the world’s largest Islamic organization, is facing an existential crisis after its international “Humanitarian Islam” project fueled a domestic backlash. The controversy, centered on the organization’s ties to neoconservative figures and pro-Israel networks, led to the brief dismissal of PBNU Chairman Yahya Cholil Staquf in late 2025 and forced a public re-evaluation of the group’s foreign engagement strategy ahead of its 2026 centennial congress.
The Berkowitz Affair and the Limits of Institutional Diplomacy
The internal turmoil within Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) accelerated in August 2025 following a lecture by Peter Berkowitz, a former Director of Policy Planning at the State Department under the Trump administration. According to reports, Berkowitz’s presence at the National Leadership Academy (AKN NU) and a subsequent forum at Universitas Indonesia sparked immediate criticism due to his history with neoconservative and pro-Israel foreign policy networks.
The backlash was swift. NU’s supreme spiritual leader, Rais Aam Miftachul Akhyar, demanded the suspension of the organization’s memorandum with the Center for Shared Civilizational Values (CSCV), the American secretariat that facilitated the lecture. While PBNU Chairman Yahya Cholil Staquf—known as Gus Yahya—initially apologized for the invitation, the incident triggered a formal effort by the Syuriah oversight council to remove him from office in November 2025. Although a later plenary reversed this dismissal in early 2026, the episode exposed a deep rift between the clerical leadership and the executive board.
Did you know?
The “Humanitarian Islam” framework was not born from a grassroots theological movement within Indonesia, but was developed by C. Holland Taylor, a former North Carolina telecommunications executive, in collaboration with Gus Yahya.
Ideological Contradictions in Global Outreach
The crisis stems from a deliberate strategy to brand NU as a moderate, pluralist alternative to Salafi-jihadism. However, this outreach has frequently collided with the organization’s domestic values. As noted by scholar Ahmad Rizky M. Umar, the “Humanitarian Islam” framework has been susceptible to instrumentalization by foreign actors.
- China: A 2019 PBNU-backed delegation to Xinjiang led to a public denial of detention camps, drawing widespread condemnation from human rights groups and forcing a subsequent, damage-control reversal.
- India: The inclusion of BJP General Secretary Ram Madhav in the R20 summit provided a platform for a leader associated with Hindu nationalist ideologies that stand in direct contrast to NU’s pluralist branding.
- Saudi Arabia: Accepting funding from the Muslim World League forced PBNU to suppress an internal recommendation to formally reject Wahhabism, creating a conflict between international financial ties and historical theological commitments.
The Gaza War and the Erosion of Grassroots Legitimacy
The most significant catalyst for the current instability is the widening gap between the PBNU leadership’s diplomatic overtures and the sentiments of its grassroots base. While former president Abdurrahman Wahid maintained personal ties to Israeli figures while firmly supporting Palestinian statehood, the current leadership’s response to the war in Gaza has been perceived as muted and inconsistent.
In July 2024, five young NU activists met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, an event that occurred against a backdrop of documented years of collaboration between PBNU leaders and neoconservative figures. This diplomatic path, once viewed as a way to gain global prestige, has become a political liability. The crisis highlights a fundamental lesson: religious organizations that rely on domestic legitimacy for their authority cannot sustain foreign policies that contradict the core values of their constituency.
When analyzing the influence of religious NGOs, look for the distinction between “branded” international frameworks and actual grassroots theological shifts. Often, these projects are designed for foreign policy audiences rather than domestic members.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the “Humanitarian Islam” framework?
It is a branding strategy developed by the PBNU leadership and the Bayt ar-Rahmah Foundation to position NU’s theological tradition as a global, moderate, and pluralist model of Islam, specifically designed to appeal to Western counterterrorism and religious freedom policy circles.
Why is the 2026 Muktamar significant?
The 35th Muktamar (national congress) marks the 100-year anniversary of Nahdlatul Ulama. It is expected to be a decisive moment for the organization’s future leadership, as Gus Yahya seeks to recontest the chairmanship amidst ongoing internal divisions over governance and foreign policy.
How did foreign partnerships affect NU’s domestic standing?
Engagement with partners like the RSS in India or neoconservative networks in the U.S. created a perception of hypocrisy. These partnerships, intended to boost NU’s international influence, ultimately alienated the nahdliyin—the organization’s grassroots base—who increasingly viewed these ties as being at odds with the group’s founding mission.
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