Tempo-Aug 10

The incumbent has visited many Islamic boarding schools, or pesantren, in the run-up to the election year. He has claimed this is because he wants to know more about them, saying they are important in building the character of the nation. He also believes the pesantren economy needs developing.  Jokowi also gives the impression that he is enthusiastically embracing this group. In May, he asked Public Works and Housing Minister Basoeki Hadimoeljono to build a public housing complex at the Prof Dr. Hamka Pesantren in Padang. It is no coincidence that West Sumatra is one of five provinces where Jokowi came second to Prabowo Subianto in the 2014 presidential election-the others were West Java, Banten, Gorontalo and West Nusa Tenggara.

Read more at: https://en.tempo.co/read/news/2018/08/10/314920693/The-Islam-Factor

First published in: Tempo