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🇮🇩 Indonesia /Culture & Society

Gontor’s 100-year secret, according to Hamid Fahmy Zarkasyi: a holistic education

From Republika · () Indonesian

Translated from Indonesian and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

In-depth Named sources Context piece
  • Pondok Modern Darussalam Gontor is marking 100 years of educational work and alumni influence in Indonesia.
  • Hamid Fahmy Zarkasyi identified its defining principle as a holistic model that combines religious studies, modern sciences, languages and character formation.
  • He traced the model to the school’s three founders, who created an alternative to the divide between traditional Islamic boarding schools and colonial schools.

“Holistic” is the one-word answer Hamid Fahmy Zarkasyi gives for Gontor’s survival and growth across a century.

Hamid, chairman of the committee organizing Gontor’s centenary celebrations and the son of one of its founders, offered the explanation at a forum in Jakarta. He said students receive a broad education at the institution, which has produced thousands of alumni who now contribute across Indonesian society.

Holistic.

· Hamid Fahmy ZarkasyiHe identified the central principle behind Gontor’s century-long development.

Gontor was founded on Sept. 20, 1926, in a village in Ponorogo, East Java. At the time, Islamic education in Indonesia stood divided between traditional pesantren that focused on classical religious texts and Dutch colonial schools that separated education from religious roots.

The school’s founders, KH Ahmad Sahal, KH Zainuddin Fananie and KH Imam Zarkasyi, chose what Hamid presented as a third path. Gontor combined religious and general knowledge under one institution, curriculum and educational outlook, rejecting the idea that religious and worldly learning had to remain separate.

People gain many things there.

· Hamid Fahmy ZarkasyiHe described the breadth of education students receive at the pesantren.

That approach took formal shape through Kulliyatul Mu’allimin Al-Islamiyah, or KMI, a six-year secondary-level curriculum designed to train Islamic teachers. Students were expected to learn Arabic and English, understand modern science, develop religious conviction and build strong character.

“The idea behind Gontor’s education began with the founders’ desire to create a different educational model from the pesantren tradition of that time,” Hamid said. “They wanted to produce scholars with intellectual ability who could keep pace with the times without losing their religious foundation.”

The idea behind Gontor’s education began with the founders’ desire to create a different educational model from the pesantren tradition of that time. They wanted to produce scholars with intellectual ability who could keep pace with the times without losing their religious foundation.

· Hamid Fahmy ZarkasyiHamid explained the founders’ educational aims.
About this summary

Originally published by Republika in Indonesian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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