Vice President: Santri Movement Becomes Inspiration for National Revival

Serang, wapresri.go.id – Vice President (VP) K.H. Ma’ruf Amin narrated that the santri (student of Islamic boarding school) movement in Indonesia that inspired the national revival against Dutch colonialism did not actually begin with the Jihad Resolution of October 22, 1945 in East Java which then generates the events of November 10, 1945.

However, the spirit of the fighting was already triggered at the end of the 19th century in Banten, with one of the historical events called the Cilegon Geger. Historian Sartono Kartodirdjo recorded this event as a religious revival.

“In my opinion, what is more appropriate is not religious revival, but the revival of santri. It is led by Kiai Wasyid and other kiai (Muslim community leader) and students,” said the VP while attending the 2022 National Santri Day Commemoration event, at An-Nawawi Tanara Islamic Boarding School, Serang Regency, Banten Province, Friday (10/28/2022).

Furthermore, the VP explained that with the spirit of hubbul wathan minal iman (love for the homeland is part of faith) which was imprinted on the students, a national agreement was also agreed to form the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia.

“I call it al-mitsaq al-wathani, a national agreement that we must maintain as a glue for the unity and integrity of the Indonesian nation,” the VP stated.

Therefore, added the VP, October 22 was designated as Santri Day to reward the services of the ulama and santri in seizing and defending independence.

“Students are national warriors. Commemoration of the National Santri Day is a tribute to the scholars who fought for this country, but also serves as an example for the students to emulate now,” he explained.

Previously, Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno, explained that santri have great potential to be empowered in developing Indonesia considering that in Indonesia there are more than 27 thousand Islamic boarding schools as of January 2022 with a total of around 5 million students.

“West Java, including Banten, contributes the most number of Islamic boarding schools to more than 8,300 or about 31 percent of the national santri. Therefore, we chose to gather at the Abah (VP’s addressing) Islamic boarding school because in terms of quality we have qualified human resources,” said Sandiaga.

For information, this event with the theme “Digital Santri for Indonesia Rise” was held by the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy in an effort to commemorate National Santri Day 2022 in collaboration with the An-nawawi Tanara Islamic Boarding School, the Dewa Dewi Indonesia Foundation, and other related parties.

Attending this event were, the Acting Governor of Banten Al Muktabar, Head of the National Counterterrorism Agency Boy Rafli Amar, The Leaders of the Annawawi Tanara Islamic Boarding School, The Board of The Dewa Dewi Indonesia Foundation, and representatives of students from various Islamic boarding schools in Indonesia.

Meanwhile, the VP was accompanied by the Head of the Vice President’s Secretariat Ahmad Erani Yustika, Special Staff for the VP for Communication and Information Masduki Baidlowi, Special Staff for the VP for Poverty Reduction and Regional Autonomy Muhammad Imam Aziz, and the Expert Team of the VP Farhat Brachma. (NN/LHS, BPMI-Setwapres)