Indonesia's President Co-opts the Islamists

Indonesian President holds friends close, potential enemies closer

The close relationship between President Joko Widodo and Indonesia's largest Islamic organization Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) over the past few years has increasingly shown signs of paying off, starting with the outsize role of NU members who brought Jokowi to power for the second time and the various privileges that Jokowi gave to them.

Although NU is basicall…