Santri and Intolerance
From the past until now, Pesantren has been trusted and consistently in educating santri in religion. So it is not surprising that more and more pesantren have been established, both at the suggestion of the community and the initiative of religious leaders in certain places. As a result, the number of santri from year to year also increases.
Based on statistical data on the Indonesian Ministry of Religion website, the current number of Pesantrens is 27,722, with a total of 4,175,555 santri. This figure does not represent a whole number of pesantren in the country because the Ministry of Religion data is the result of the registration of each pesantren. Nevertheless, it shows that the development of Pesantrens in Indonesia is massive. It also means that there is great hope for the Indonesian state for a capable regeneration in the field of religious knowledge. At least the millions of santri who are scattered in the archipelago become essential to be able to answer all questions that are closely related to religion.
Intolerance has recently been very rampant. However, it is also part of the santri’s duty not to let go. Because after all, it is undeniable that the polemics that occur always start from inter-religious and fellow-religious issues.
Suppose the issue of religion is not given to the expert, in this context, the santri, then, of course. In that case, it will cause another polemic in addressing the perspective in solving the problem, as was the case with the question of saying Merry Christmas. It should not happen if the knowledge of religion is extensive and vice versa.
The santri’s perspective is elegant and comprehensive in dealing with problems since their lives are used to the conditions of differences in cultures and regions. Therefore, they do not feel trapped in disagreements, let alone differences in the law perspective. For this reason, it is not excessive if santri is said to be sufficient in understanding religious knowledge. Furthermore, because he is in a boarding school and understands nationality, he lives in a different cultural and cultural environment.