Pesantren and Social Resilience in Strengthening Religious Moderation in Contemporary Indonesia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.62731/rgjirs.v1i1.25Keywords:
Pesantren; Social Resilience, Religious Moderation, Islamic EducationAbstract
This study aims to analyze how pesantren build social resilience in strengthening religious moderation in contemporary Indonesia. The study responds to the growing need to understand religious moderation not only as a formal policy, but also as a lived social practice within Islamic educational communities. This research used a qualitative case study design conducted at selected pesantren in Jombang Regency, East Java, Indonesia, from October 2025 to December 2025. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, limited participant observation, and document analysis. The participants included kiai, ustaz or ustazah, pesantren administrators, senior santri, alumni, community leaders, and actors involved in pesantren-based social and religious activities. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis through data condensation, data display, and conclusion drawing. The findings reveal five main themes: moral leadership of kiai, communal habituation, deliberation and conflict mediation, community engagement, and digital religious guidance. These themes show that pesantren strengthen moderation by building trust, discipline, empathy, social responsibility, and critical religious awareness. The study contributes to Islamic education studies by linking pesantren, social resilience, and religious moderation within a qualitative framework. The findings imply that moderation programs should be rooted in daily pesantren culture, supported by community networks, and strengthened through digital literacy. Future studies may compare pesantren models across different social and regional contexts.
References
Abidin, A. A., & Murtadlo, M. A. (2020). Curriculum development of multicultural-based Islamic education as an effort to weaver religious moderation values in Indonesia. International Journal of Islamic Education, Research and Multiculturalism, 2(1), 29–46. https://doi.org/10.47006/ijierm.v2i1.30
Adeoye-Olatunde, O. A., & Olenik, N. L. (2021). Research and scholarly methods: Semi-structured interviews. Journal of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy, 4(10), 1358–1367. https://doi.org/10.1002/jac5.1441
Athoillah, M., Rahman, A. S., Firdaus, A. S., & Septiadi, M. A. (2024). Policies and practices religious moderation in pesantren. Jurnal Pendidikan Islam, 10(2), 387–396. https://doi.org/10.15575/jpi.v10i2.27543
Bakhruddin, M., Rusydiyah, E. F., Taufiq, M. A., Tualeka, M. W. N., Syaifudin, M., & Syaikhon, M. (2025). Religious moderation in Islamic boarding school-based international educational institutions in Indonesia. Muaddib: Islamic Education Journal, 8(2), 145–153. https://doi.org/10.19109/muaddib.v8i2.31795
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2023). Toward good practice in thematic analysis: Avoiding common problems and be(com)ing a knowing researcher. International Journal of Transgender Health, 24(1), 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1080/26895269.2022.2129597
Burga, M. A., & Damopolii, M. (2022). Reinforcing religious moderation through local culture-based pesantren. Jurnal Pendidikan Islam, 8(2), 145–162. https://doi.org/10.15575/jpi.v8i2.19879
Busetto, L., Wick, W., & Gumbinger, C. (2020). How to use and assess qualitative research methods. Neurological Research and Practice, 2, Article 14. https://doi.org/10.1186/s42466-020-00059-z
Campbell, S., Greenwood, M., Prior, S., Shearer, T., Walkem, K., Young, S., Bywaters, D., & Walker, K. (2020). Purposive sampling: Complex or simple? Research case examples. Journal of Research in Nursing, 25(8), 652–661. https://doi.org/10.1177/1744987120927206
Chotimah, C., Qudsy, S. Z., & Yusuf, M. (2025). Superficial implementation of religious moderation in Islamic educational management. Cogent Education, 12(1), Article 2442235. https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2024.2442235
Idris, M., & Putra, A. (2021). The roles of Islamic educational institutions in religious moderation. AJIS: Academic Journal of Islamic Studies, 6(1), 25–48. https://doi.org/10.29240/ajis.v6i1.2555
Imron, A., & Syukur, F. (2021). Religious moderation in pesantren culture era post-truth for santri-college students of Unwahas and UIN Walisongo. Edukasi Islami: Jurnal Pendidikan Islam, 10(001), 199–218. https://doi.org/10.30868/ei.v10i001.1782
Johnson, J. L., Adkins, D., & Chauvin, S. (2020). A review of the quality indicators of rigor in qualitative research. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 84(1), Article 7120. https://doi.org/10.5688/ajpe7120
Khasanah, N., Hamzani, A. I., & Aravik, H. (2023). Religious moderation in the Islamic education system in Indonesia. QALAMUNA: Jurnal Pendidikan, Sosial, dan Agama, 15(1), 629–642. https://doi.org/10.37680/qalamuna.v15i1.4115
Lim, W. M. (2024). What is qualitative research? An overview and guidelines. Australasian Marketing Journal. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/14413582241264619
Lochmiller, C. R. (2021). Conducting thematic analysis with qualitative data. The Qualitative Report, 26(6), 2029–2044. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2021.5008
Ma’arif, M. A., Rokhman, M., Fatikh, M. A., Kartiko, A., Ahmadi, A., & Hasan, M. S. (2025). Kiai’s leadership strategies in strengthening religious moderation in Islamic boarding schools. Jurnal Ilmiah Peuradeun, 13(1), 23–48. https://doi.org/10.26811/peuradeun.v13i1.1168
Mtisi, S. (2022). The qualitative case study research strategy as applied on a rural enterprise development doctoral research project. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 21, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1177/16094069221145849
Mujahid, I. (2021). Islamic orthodoxy-based character education: Creating moderate Muslim in a modern pesantren in Indonesia. Indonesian Journal of Islam and Muslim Societies, 11(2), 185–212. https://doi.org/10.18326/ijims.v11i2.185-212
Naeem, M., Ozuem, W., Howell, K., & Ranfagni, S. (2023). A step-by-step process of thematic analysis to develop a conceptual model in qualitative research. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 22, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1177/16094069231205789
Nasir, M., & Rijal, M. K. (2021). Keeping the middle path: Mainstreaming religious moderation through Islamic higher education institutions in Indonesia. Indonesian Journal of Islam and Muslim Societies, 11(2), 213–241. https://doi.org/10.18326/ijims.v11i2.213-241
Priya, A. (2021). Case study methodology of qualitative research: Key attributes and navigating the conundrums in its application. Sociological Bulletin, 70(1), 94–110. https://doi.org/10.1177/0038022920970318
Qorib, M., & Umiarso. (2025). The religious moderation model based on the unity of theo-socio-anthropological values in Muhammadiyah and NU pesantren in Indonesia. Cogent Education, 12(1), Article 2584644. https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2025.2584644
Rozaq, A. K., Basri, B., & Indah, I. (2022). Kiai’s leadership in strengthening santri’s moderation attitude in Islamic boarding schools. Nidhomul Haq: Jurnal Manajemen Pendidikan Islam, 7(2), 284–294. https://doi.org/10.31538/ndh.v7i2.2322
Rozaki, A., & Izudin, A. (2025). Peacebuilding pesantren: The study of Madurese diaspora in reinforcing social resilience in post-ethnic conflicts West Kalimantan, Indonesia. Ulumuna, 29(1), 155–187. https://doi.org/10.20414/ujis.v29i1.1432
Saiin, A., Armita, P., & Rizki, M. (2020). Contribution of pesantren to prevent social conflict. Millah: Journal of Religious Studies, 20(1), 89–110. https://doi.org/10.20885/millah.vol20.iss1.art4
Sirojuddin, A., & Pramitha, D. (2025). Pesantren as a pillar of social resilience: Islamic education and disaster mitigation in East Java. Tarbawi: Jurnal Keilmuan Manajemen Pendidikan, 11(3). https://doi.org/10.32678/tarbawi.v11i03.12098
Subairi, Husni, M., & Zaironi, M. (2025). The internalization mechanisms of religious moderation values in Islamic boarding school. Scaffolding: Jurnal Pendidikan Islam dan Multikulturalisme, 7(3), 206–219. https://doi.org/10.37680/scaffolding.v7i3.7937
Widjaja, G., Bhattacharya, S., Ma’arif, M. A., & Aslan. (2022). Anti-radicalism Islamic education strategy in Islamic boarding schools. Jurnal Pendidikan Islam Indonesia, 6(2), 74–85. https://doi.org/10.35316/jpii.v6i2.405
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Abdullah Hafizh, Lina Khairunnisa, Ahmad Syafiq Anwar (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
