President Prabowo Attends 100th Anniversary of Gontor Modern Islamic School

President Prabowo Subianto attended the 100-year thanksgiving reception for Pondok Modern Darussalam Gontor in Ponorogo, East Java, on Saturday, September 19. This event celebrates the centennial of the Islamic educational institution, established in 1926, and signifies state support for the development of Islamic boarding school (pesantren) education and human resources in Indonesia. The President arrived at the venue around 10:20 AM WIB, dressed in his usual white koko shirt and black turban. He was welcomed by the recitation of sholawat (praises to Prophet Muhammad) accompanied by drums from the students of Pondok Modern Darussalam Gontor. He was directly greeted and accompanied by the Head of Pondok Modern Darussalam Gontor, KH Hasan Abdullah Sahal, and former Chairman of the Central Board of Muhammadiyah, Din Syamsuddin. Also present to greet the President was the Deputy Grand Sheikh of Al Azhar of Egypt, Mohamed Abdelrahman Eldeweny. Other dignitaries included Minister of Religion Nasaruddin Umar, Deputy Chairman of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR RI) Edhie Baskoro Yudhoyono and Hidayat Nur Wahid, Governor of East Java Khofifah Indar Parawansa, and National Police Chief Listyo Sigit Prabowo. Before taking his seat, President Prabowo joined all invited guests in singing the Indonesian national anthem, "Indonesia Raya," followed by the school's hymn, "Oh Pondokku." The President then listened to the recitation of verses from Surah Al Ahzab (33:70-73) of the Quran, delivered by one of Pondok Modern Darussalam Gontor's ustadz. These verses call upon believers to fear God and speak the truth, explaining the trust humans carry and affirming that God will reward hypocrites and polytheists while accepting the repentance of believers. Prior to attending the thanksgiving reception, President Prabowo inaugurated the Faculty of Medicine at Darussalam University (Unida) Gontor, located within the university's campus complex. The President arrived in East Java via Iswahjudi Magetan Air Base and then traveled by helicopter to the Unida Gontor campus to officiate the new medical faculty before proceeding to the anniversary event. During the reception, KH Hasan Abdullah Sahal and Deputy Grand Sheikh Eldeweny delivered speeches highlighting the decades-long relationship between Gontor and Egypt in education and science. Source: VOI English