The World of Pesantren in
Indonesia
Pesantren, madrasah, Sekolah
• santri = student
Pesantren = a place for students (to learn Islam),
Islamic boarding school, primarily private
– Traditional: generally in rural areas, traditional
Islamic knowledge, boarding school, full-time,
traditional leadership
– Modern: traditional Islamic knowledge and
modern knowledge (math, science, computer,
etc), boarding school, modern style of
management, more in urban centers
• MADRASAH
– Modern, combination of the
religious and the nonreligious,
not boarding school
– a generic term for Islamic
school, more popularly used in
Singapore and the Philippines
• SEKOLAH
– Private and Public: mostly
modern subjects, with weekly
two-hour obligatory religious
subjects
Other related terms/names
• pondok (travelers’ inns, in parts
of Indonesia, but particularly in
Malaysia and Cambodia)
– Pondok Pesantren
• surau (in Sumatera)
• dayah (in Aceh, Sumatera)
History of Pesantren
– emerged since the 16th century
– Transmission of Islamic knowledge (from Arabia
and Egypt, some cases India) to Southeast Asia
– Houses, mosques, and pesantren
• In the colonial time:
– Growing, but mostly independent
– Centers for anti-colonial resistance (e.g. the
Acehnese War, the Javanese War)
– Competing with missionary schools and colonial
schools
Pesantren after Indonesia’s
independence (1945-present)
• Nation-building --- efforts for integrating many into
the national education system
– include non-religious subjects
– Include civic education (Pancasila and the 1945
Constitution)
• Include skill-oriented subjects (agriculture, crafts,
business, etc)
• Until the 1910s, pesantrens were male institutions,
although some girls received religious instruction.
But in 2001/02, girls’ enrollment equals or exceeds
boys.
The number of Pesantren (today)
• Now about 13,000 pesantrens in Indonesia
(about 2,000 in the Philippines, nearly 1,600 in
Thailand, 500 in Malaysia, several hundred in
Cambodia, and about 10 in Singapore)
• Pesantren Darul Istiqamah, Pesantren Nurul
Hidayah, Pesantren Sunan Drajat Medali,
Pesantren Al-Urwatul Wutsqaa, Pesantren
SMP Salman Al-Farisi, Pesantren
Darunnajah,Pesantren Darul Furqan,
Number of Enrollments (2002)
Pesantren
2,500,000
Madrasah
5,698,143
School
38,368,947
Note: Madrasah enrollments increase during the
junior secondary school (grades 6-9): 21% of
the student population
-- Indonesian parents think that religious
education will help children during their teen
years (which are seen as a time of potential
turmoil)
Pesantren and non-Pesantren
Education
Teaching: Morality (akhlak) --- Rationality (akal)
Foundation: Islam ----- Indonesian Nationalism
Goal: Absolute Truth --- Relative Truth
Method: Memorization --- Discussion/Analysis
Orientation: Hereafter ----- this World
Attitude: sacred --- profane
Leadership: charismatic --- rational
The Basic Elements of Pesantren
and Their Role
• mosques (Masjid)
• religious teachers/leaders
(Kiyai, alim/ulama, ustaz)
and Nyai (female), Tuan
Guru (in Lombok)
• religious books (Kitab, Kitab
Kuning/yellow book)
• dormitory (pondok,
asrama) : gender separated
Languages used in the pesantren
• Arabic -- written and oral
• Malay and other local languages as the base
language -- mostly oral
• Indonesian language (governmental curricula)
• English, sometimes French and other foreign
language
Organization
• Foundations (YAYASAN) : community-based
– (waqf, endowment) and zakat fund
– Additional sources (cafeteria, bookstores/supplies,
laundry services, guest houses), sponsors
• Government Subsidies
• Support from certain NGOs or political parties
• International funding:
– Middle East, and “the West”
An Example of the Organizational
Structure of Pesantren
Endowment/Foundation
Leader/Kiyai/
Pengasuh
Formal
Education
Teachers
Students
Community
Non-formal
Units in the Pesantren Organization
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Dormitory
Co-operative
Boy-scout/girl-scout
Information and documentation
Exercise and sports
Health and environment
Library
Human relations
Postal
Skills
Transportation
Cleanliness
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Entrepreneurship
Water
Electricity
Equipment
Guest reception
Etc
Nahdlatul Ulama (NU)and
Muhammadiyah affiliations
• Most pesantrens are affiliated with the NU
• Muhammadiyah run mostly madrasah or
sekolah agama (religious schools, generally
private, but modern)
• Other pesantren are called “SALAFI Pesantren”
– Mostly “moderate” and few “hard-line”
The Culture of Pesantren:
Closed and Open
• Teacher- Student relationship: charisma,
blessing (baraka), strong loyalty, respect
• Student- student relationships: friendship –
networking
• Pesantren and the surrounding community:
mutually beneficial
Arts, Music,
Performances,
Popular
Culture
• Poetry,
Literature
(novels), Films,
• Facebook, etc
The Curriculum by the Department
of Religious Affairs (1982)
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The Qur’an and the Hadith
Islamic Thought (theology, philosophy, Sufism)
Fiqh (Islamic Law) and Social Institution
Islamic History and Civilization
Language: Arabic grammar, Arabic literature
Islamic Education (Tarbiyyah)
Islamic Mission (Dakwah)
Modern Thought in the Islamic World
Curriculum
• Religious Knowledge (Ilmu Agama):
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Qur’an
Hadith
Morality (akhlak)
Islamic Law and Jurisprudence (sharia, fiqh)
Arabic grammar
Islamic History (tarikh)
Sufism (tasawwuf)
Logics (mantiq)
• Modern/General Knowledge (Ilmu Umum): Natural Sciences
(biology, physics, chemistry) Social Sciences (history, sociology,
Geography, etc), under the Department of National Education
• Vocation/skills: foreign language, computer, agriculture, crafts
Islamic Philosophy of Education
– God-centered,
– volunteerism,
– community-base and orientation,
– simplicity,
– controlled freedom,
– independence,
– practicing knowledge
Pedagogy in Pesantren
• Halaqah (sitting in a semi
circle around a seated
teacher)
• Memorization
• Reciting and Memorizing the
Qur’an and the Hadith
• Memorizing Arabic grammar
and conversation
• Questions and answers
Daily Schedule of Modern
Pesantren
• 04:00 am: wake-up, shower, morning prayer,
reading/memorizing the Qur’an, reading
books, breakfast, preparing for class
• 05:30-06:30 am: exercise
• 07:00-12:30: going to classroom: modern
subjects and religious subject (government
curricula)
• 12:30-14:00: noon prayer and lunch
Daily Schedule (continued)
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14:00 -15:30: classroom, additional subjects
15:30- 16:00: late afternoon prayer
16:00 – 18:00: exercise, light activity,
18:00 -19:00: dinner, sunset prayer, reading
the Qur’an
• 19:00-19:30: evening prayer
• 19:30-21:00: learning religious subjects
• 21:00-23:00: in the dormitory, self-study,
going to sleep
The Role of Pesantren
• Producers of students well informed in Islamic
studies well versed in their original, Arabic sources
• Producers of the would-be ulama
• The graduates have become increasingly diverse in
study fields and professions: teachers, social
activists, politicians, journalists, writers,
governmental officials, businessmen, etc
The Impact of Pesantren
• Religiously, preservation of faith of Islam and its
“traditional” branches of Islamic knowledge
• Socially, reform of society
• Economically, community-based micro-economy
• Politically , Islam becomes increasingly public
• Globally , the dissemination of knowledge of
Indonesian Islam, global cooperation for
tolerance and peace
Contemporary Problems and
Challenges facing Pesantren
• Havens for terrorism?
• Rigid and anti-modern?
• Competition with government schools --Reform amidst modernity and globalization
• Islam and Social problems: corruption,
inequality
Opportunities for Pesantren
• Renewed Popularity of Pesantren among the
Indonesian population at large: Positive
Images of the graduates as public figures,
popular culture (novels, films)
• Modified Forms of Pesantren in urban areas:
– Pesantren Kilat (Short Training)
• More public and international supports –
exchange programs, scholarships,
Concluding remarks
• Pesantren has its intellectual, but primarily
religious and moral goals
• As one of the diverse and dynamic types of
school, pesantren continues to serve as an
alternative education for many
• In Indonesia, as in other parts of Southeast
Asia, “educational dualism” remains, but the
future is shaped by both diversification and
integration