2019-10-22 Tue

Held on October 22, National Santri Day is an official observance in Indonesia which honors one of the two groups of Javanese Muslims.

The Indonesian government officially recognizes only six religions (Islam, Roman Catholic Christianity, Protestant Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Confucianism) but the majority of Indonesians identify themselves as Muslim. American anthropologist and sociologist Clifford Geertz identified two groups of Muslim Population inhabiting the Indonesian island of Java, the santri and the abangan.

The abangan practice a syncretic version of Islam that incorporates elements of other faiths whereas the santri practice a more orthodox version of Islam with the reading of the Qur’an, praying in mosques, and following the Sharia law.

The santri played a key role in the Indonesian independence movement. In 1926 a group of the Santri split and formed Nahdlatul Ulama which is the world’s largest independent Islamic organization. Following the proclamation of Indonesian independence, its members declared that the fight against the Dutch colonial forces was a holy war and therefore obligatory for all Muslims.

To commemorate the anniversary of the proclamation of the holy war by Nahdlatul Ulama, the Indonesian government created National Santri Day in 2015. On 3rd October 2010, Indonesian Post issued a set of 6 stamps to commemorate this community.

The stamp depicts a Santri man sitting cross-legged and reciting a prayer. The stamp is designed with bright colors and depicts the man on the left with the denomination of 1,500 Indonesian rupiahs above him. The name of the country can be seen at the bottom right whereas the top right corner is inscribed with “dua” Taqaballahu Minna Wa minkum – (May Allah accept (good deeds) from us and from you).

Image Courtesy: https://colnect.com

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