Indonesia’s Police Chief Sets Hopes for New NU Leaders Gus Kikin and Kiai Miftach

Indonesia’s police chief has placed the country’s largest Muslim organization in a role extending beyond its own membership, urging its newly chosen leaders to protect interfaith tolerance.

General Listyo Sigit Prabowo said he hoped KH Abdul Hakim Mahfudz, known as Gus Kikin, and KH Miftachul Akhyar would bring benefits to around 90 million Nahdlatul Ulama members and to Indonesian Muslims more broadly. He spoke on Monday, Aug. 31, while accompanying President Prabowo Subianto at the closing of the organization’s 35th congress in Jombang, East Java.

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We hope NU can truly bring benefit to all people and also serve as the main guardian of religious life in Indonesia.

“ We hope NU can truly bring benefit to all people and also serve as the main guardian of religious life in Indonesia,” Sigit said. The organization, commonly known as NU, has also been expected to preserve relationships of tolerance among different faiths.

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The decisions were produced through deliberation and will certainly be a good thing for NU’s journey during the 2026-2031 period.

Sigit praised the congress, which ran from Aug. 27 to 31, describing it as smooth, successful and marked by a friendly atmosphere. He said decisions produced through sessions involving thousands of provincial, district and overseas NU members should provide the foundation for the organization’s next leadership period.

Miftachul Akhyar was selected as Rais Aam, or supreme religious leader, and Gus Kikin as general chairman for 2026-2031. Nine senior and prominent clerics belonging to the Ahlul Halli wal Aqdi council chose them through consensus.

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We certainly appreciate that the 35th congress was held smoothly and successfully, with a friendly atmosphere.