ABSTRACT
Jombang is a region in East Java province, which is the most densely populated province in Indonesia. From a socio-religious perspective, the East Java province is recognised as being the heartland of the biggest Islamic organisation, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU). Since the 1999 general election, the NU-affiliated political party, Partai Kebangkitan Bangsa (PKB, National Awakening Party), has gained the greatest number of voters from this province. The majority of pesantrens in Indonesia have an affiliation to the NU organisation; in fact, two-thirds of the 8,445 pesantrens or 66.06 per cent of the total number of pesantrens are affiliated with NU. The number is even higher in East Java province, with 90 per cent of the pesantrens affiliated to the NU organisation. 3
