INTRODUCTION Proc 2015 Commemorative Academic Conference

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I. INTRODUCTION

Many observers point out that since the events of WTC bombing in September 11, 2001, Islamic educational institutions, especially pesantren Islamic boarding schools, have received much attention. Pesantren, the oldest Islamic educational institution in Indonesia, has been accused of teaching radicalism and violence. 1 Since then, pesantrenhas been stigmatized as “fundamentalist schools,” “universitiesof jihad,” and suspected of fostering a medieval mind-set and violent militancy. 2 The attention and accusation towards pesantren Islamic boarding schoolsresults from the fact that some individuals involved in terror actions or terrorism networks, are related topesantren. The Bali Bombers, Mukhlas, Amrozi, Ali Imron, and Ali Ghufron who are family of pesantren al- Islam, Lamongan are examples of the involvement of pesantren in the issue of radicalism. Recently, it is reported that elite of ISIS Islamic State of Iraq and Syria movement in Indonesia is senior alumnus of al-Islam, Lamongan. 3 Another example is Fathur Rohman al-Ghozi. Al-Ghazi, the bomb-making expert alleged to be a member of Jemaah Islamiyah JI arrested in the Philippines, studied at Pesantren Al-Mukmin in Ngruki, Solo, Central Java from 1982 to 1989.Thus, pesantren Al-Mukmin in Ngruki which was founded in the late 1970s by Abu Bakar Ba’asyir and Abdullah Sungkar, was suspected toserve as the training ground for suspected terrorists. 4 International Crisis Group ICG in 2003 has evenreported that Pesantren Al-Mukmin in Ngruki as the center for a network of militant Muslims in Indonesia.Pesantren Al-Mukminwas also suspected to have a link with International terrorist network, al-Qaedaand as a terrorist hub in South-East Asia. 5 The Pesantren Al-MukminNgruki director,Wahyudin, was mentioned as the‘Head of JI School’. The network aims to establish an Islamic state in Indonesia. 6 This phenomenon raises a question. If the above information is right, can we generalize that all pesantrens in Indonesia are teaching radicalism? In this article, the writers are interested in studying educational system ofpesantren in contemporary Indonesia. Is it true that pesantren teaches radicalism and how pesantren nurtures the students to be able to live together in a pluralistic society? what curriculum does pesantren apply in its learning process? and how does pesantren deal with such issues as anti-radicalism, anti-violence, interfaith and inter- ethnictolerance? In doing so, in addition to applying library research, by consulting the nature of pesantren to several authoritative books and articles, the writers also conducted field research in two pesantrens, i.e. Pesantren Darussalam, Subang and Pesantren Darul Falah, Bandung, West Java. In the two pesantrens, the writers tried to see whether there are radical elements in their ideas, curricula, and activities. 1 Florian Pohl, “Islamic Education and Civil Society: Reflections on the Pesantren Tradition in ontemporary Indonesia”, in Comparative Education Review, vol. 50, no. 3, 2006., p. 389 2 Florian Pohl, “Islamic Education and Civil Society: Reflections on the Pesantren Tradition in ontemporary Indonesia”, p. 390 3 Badrus Sholeh, ISIS Indonesia: Ideologi, Peta Jaringan, dan Antisipasi Masa Depan, a Paper presented on June 11, 2015 at State Islamic University Syarif Hidayatullah, Jakarta, p. 3 4 Angel Rabasa, The military and democracy in Indonesia : challenges, politics, and power, 2002, p. 83 5 Florian Pohl, “Islamic Education and Civil Society: Reflections on the Pesantren Tradition in ontemporary Indonesia”, p. 389 6 Raihani, “Report on Multicultural Education in Pesantren”, in Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 42:4, 2012, p. 586 3

II. DISCUSSION