THE 500 MOST INFLUENTIAL MUSLIMS - CESD

19DR KH SAID AQIL SIRADJChairman of Indonesia’s Nahdlatul UlamaDr KH Said Aqil Siradj is the newly-elected leader ofIndonesia’s largest independent Muslim organizationand one of the world’s most influential Islamic organizations,Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), or ‘Awakening ofScholars’. Succeeding former chairman Dr KH HasyimMuzadi, Siradj guides millions through his work withthe NU.Country: IndonesiaDate of Birth: 3 July 1953Source of Influence: Administrative,Political, EducationInfluence: Leader of approximately30 million members ofthe Nahdlatul UlamaSchool of Thought: TraditionalSunniRank: 2010:19Head of Expansive NetworkThe Nahdlatul Ulama boasts an expansive networkthat covers 30 regions with 339 branches, 12 specialbranches, 2,630 representative councils and 37,125 subbranchrepresentative councils across Indonesia. This network practices the doctrine of Ahlas Sunnah w’al Jama’ah, which is Arabic for ‘people of the Sunna (practices of the ProphetMuhammad) and the community’. They base their practices on the traditional sources ofIslamic jurisprudence—mainly the Qur’an, Hadith, and major schools of law.Among its aims are the propagation of Nahdlatul Ulama’s message and also an expansionof its already extensive network of members in Indonesia. This is the basis of many of theorganization’s social reform efforts. With a solid structure of central and regional boards,branch and special branch boards, and various advisory councils, Siradj sits at the top of thisincreasingly influential Sunni movement.Model of TraditionalismWith a mainly rural membership base, the Nahdlatul Ulama distinguishes itself from otherIslamic organizations in Indonesia by positioning itself as a premier organization of traditionalIslam—with an emphasis on education and political engagement based on Islamicprinciples.Social ServiceThe Nahdlatul Ulama has made substantial charitable contributions to Indonesian societyin the fields of educational development, health care, and poverty alleviation. Siradj, likehis predecessors, propagates the Nahdatul Ulama as an organization that is geared towardestablishing a secular nation-state based on a body of modern and moderate Muslims—withagenda items such as anti-corruption laws and social reform measures that are deeply rootedin Islamic principles.Human Rights ActivismPrior to his role as Nahdatul Ulama chairman, Siradj served on Indonesia’s National Commissionfor Human Rights. Only a few weeks into his position as chairman of the country’slargest Muslim political party, and after violent clashes erupted in different churches acrossthe country, Siradj made strong statements condemning the discrimination against Christianminority groups in Indonesia.Educational ReformSiradj has an extensive academic background in the Islamic sciences, and regards education64