Indonesia's biggest Islamic group asks chief to resign over invitation

22/11/2025 12:08

Indonesia's biggest Islamic organisation, Nahdlatul Ulama, has asked its chief to resign for inviting a U.S. scholar known for his support of Israel during the Gaza war to an internal event in August, according to meeting minutes reviewed by Reuters.



The leadership of NU, which is also the world's biggest Islamic organisation with around 100 million members and affiliates, has given Chairman Yahya Cholil Staquf three days to offer his resignation or be removed from his post, according to the minutes from a meeting on Thursday.



NU cited Staquf's invitation to a person "affiliated with an International Zionism network" for an internal event and alleged financial mismanagement as reasons for his ouster.



Staquf, who has been NU's chairman since 2021, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.



NU official Najib Azca told Reuters the decision was linked to Staquf's invitation to former U.S. official and scholar Peter Berkowitz for an August training event.



Staquf has apologised for the invitation and called it an oversight as he had not carefully checked Berkowitz's background, adding that he condemned Israel's "brutal genocidal acts in Gaza".