By Achmad Munjid*

For most people of pesantren (traditional Islamic boarding school), Nahdlatul ‘Ulama (NU) is not just an organization. NU is a genuine version of ahl sunnah wa al-jama’ah (or aswaja, means the People of Prophet’s Tradition and Community; the Sunni).

In the words of Abdurrahman Wahid, affectionately known as Gus Dur, aswaja basically means following: a) al-Ash’ary and al-Maturidi in theology; b) one of the fourmadzahib (schools of law): Shafi’i, Maliki, Hanafi or Hanbali in fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) ; and c) al Junayd and al-Ghazali in Sufism. With its long and rich tradition, for people of pesantren, NU is Islam itself.