KULIAH UMUM PENDIDIKAN AGAMA ISLAM (Santri Merawat Bangsa Mewarnai Dunia)

Summary

The public lecture presents the santri—students shaped by Islamic boarding-school life—as contributors to religious life, national development, and global society. Its central message is that santri values can be practiced by people who have never attended a pesantren, and that those values should accompany education and professional achievement.

Main Ideas

Pesantren as an Indonesian Educational Tradition

• The speakers describe pesantren as longstanding, locally rooted institutions that existed before the modern school and university systems introduced during colonial rule.
• The lecture cites Indonesia’s Law No. 18 of 2019 on Pesantren as formal recognition of these institutions.
• Pesantren are portrayed as bringing together people from different regions and social backgrounds, fostering community, simplicity, and respect for difference.
• The keynote speaker identified three functions of pesantren: education, religious outreach, and community empowerment.

Santri and the Nation’s History

• The lecture connects Santri Day with the struggle to defend Indonesian independence, especially the 1945 Jihad Resolution associated with Kiai Hasyim Asy’ari.
• It recounts how religious leaders urged people to defend the homeland during the post-independence conflict in Surabaya.
• The speakers explain that restrictions on adopting certain foreign customs during the colonial period were intended to resist colonial influence at that time—not to reject learning languages or cultures after independence.
• The broader lesson is that the form of service changes with the times. Today, contributing through education, work, civic responsibility, and responsible use of social media can be part of the struggle.

Santri Values Are Not Limited to Boarding-School Students

Being a santri is not only a matter of living in a pesantren; it also means practicing the values associated with santri life. A speaker outlined these values as avoiding wrongdoing, learning from and applying teachers’ guidance, continually improving oneself, pursuing what is beneficial, and encouraging good while discouraging harm.

Students at universities can therefore be “santri” in a substantive sense if they embody these values in daily life.

Faith, Learning, and Good Character Should Go Together

• Academic or professional competence (“hard skills”) should be supported by character and interpersonal abilities (“soft skills”).
• The speakers emphasized manners, honesty, discipline, perseverance, humility, and respect for teachers. One summarized the principle as “manners are above knowledge.”
• Students were encouraged to maintain religious practices, including obligatory prayer, additional prayers where possible, regular Qur’an reading, fasting on Mondays and Thursdays, and attending congregational prayers.
• At Jambi University, speakers also highlighted a policy requiring Muslim students to complete Qur’an recitation as part of their studies.

Pesantren Identity and Modernity

The lecture challenges the idea that Western-style clothing or appearance automatically means someone is modern, while sarongs and peci indicate backwardness. It argues that modernity depends more on a person’s outlook, knowledge, and ability to engage with the present and future than on clothing.

Pesantren graduates, the speakers said, can pursue careers in medicine, science, technology, economics, government, the military, business, and other fields while retaining their values.

The Role of Santri Today

• Santri are encouraged to enter a broad range of professions and contribute to society without abandoning their ethical and religious commitments.
• Their influence can extend internationally. The speakers cited examples of pesantren alumni and figures who contributed in national and global settings.
• Responsible online behavior is one contemporary form of service: share useful material, avoid spreading unverified or harmful content, and use social media constructively.
• The lecture’s theme—santri caring for the nation and coloring the world—means combining faith, good character, knowledge, and technology to benefit others.

Practical Points Presented

Daily Practices Associated with Santri Values

• Maintain obligatory prayers and, where possible, add sunnah prayers such as Duha and Tahajjud.
• Read the Qur’an regularly, even if beginning with a small daily amount.
• Consider regular practices such as fasting on Mondays and Thursdays.
• Attend mosque prayers and help make campus and community mosques active.
• Apply teachers’ guidance, reflect on personal shortcomings, and keep working to improve.
• Treat good conduct, service, and care for others as part of learning—not as separate from it.
• Before sharing information online, consider whether it is genuinely useful and reliable.

Pesantren Establishment and Structure

• The keynote speaker listed five basic requirements for establishing a pesantren: a kiai, at least 15 students, a mosque, a dormitory, and the yellow books used in traditional Islamic study.
• The lecture mentioned several forms of pesantren education, including formal equivalency programs, diniyah education, higher-level pesantren study, and schools or madrasas operating within a pesantren.
• The keynote speaker stated that Indonesia has more than 42,000 pesantren and approximately 6.2 million students.

Examples and Recognition

• The speakers named historical figures associated with pesantren backgrounds or influence, including Prince Diponegoro, General Sudirman, R.A. Kartini, Wahid Hasyim, and Kiai Wahab Hasbullah.
• The keynote speaker cited examples of long-established pesantren and argued that state recognition of pesantren has increased, including through the formation of a dedicated directorate general.

Questions and Responses

Participants asked whether non-pesantren students can practice santri values, whether Santri Day has meaning beyond ceremony, and how to change the stereotype that santri can only perform religious roles. The responses emphasized that santri values are open to everyone, commemorations should inspire practical service, and santri can succeed across professions while keeping their ethical commitments.

Speakers and Sources Featured

• Dr. H. Basnang Said — Director General of Pesantren at Indonesia’s Ministry of Religious Affairs; keynote speaker.
• Prof. Dr. Supian — Jambi University Islamic Religious Education coordinator and FKIP dean; speaker.
• Dr. K. A. Rahman — speaker and discussant.
• Prof. Dr. Revis Asra — Jambi University Vice Rector IV; delivered the university’s opening remarks.
• Helvina Eka Fumio — committee chair; delivered welcoming remarks.
• Wulan Safitri — moderator.
• Anim Fadila Sakob — master of ceremonies.
• Ustaz Syahrizal Fahlevi — led the opening recitation of Al-Fatihah.
• Mutia Hafizah Azharoh and Rosalinda — performed the Qur’anic recitation.
• Muhammad Khalifah Sukron, Ganda Trias Naupal, and Ahmad Arja Afriansyah — student questioners.

Sources and institutions referenced: Indonesia’s Law No. 18 of 2019 on Pesantren; the 1945 Jihad Resolution associated with Kiai Hasyim Asy’ari; Jambi University; and Indonesia’s Ministry of Religious Affairs.