Kiai-Led Da’wa through Islamic Education: Social Transformation in Wonosobo, Indonesia, 1950–2024
Indonesia Indonesia Indonesia 
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Historical Narrative Inquiry, Islamic Education, Kiai-led Da’wa, Pesantren, Social Change
Abstract
Background. Islamic education in Wonosobo developed as a strategy of kiai-led da’wa, integrating religious knowledge, moral formation, institutional development, and community service. However, the historical process through which pesantren traditions enabled institutional and social change remains insufficiently explained.
Purpose: This study analyzes continuity and change in kiai-led da’wa through the development of Islamic education and explains its contribution to social change in Wonosobo from 1950 to 2024.
Method: This study employed historical narrative inquiry combined with the historical method, with structuration theory guiding interpretation. Data were collected from February to July 2026 through in-depth interviews with ten informants: three kiai, three community members, two santri, and two alumni. Interview accounts were examined through source criticism, compared across informants, and triangulated with observations, documents, and relevant scholarly literature.
Results: Kiai-led da’wa developed through the strengthening of religious education within pesantren, community study groups, and Sufi orders; the integration of religious and general education through formal and vocational institutions; and the expansion of da’wa through digital media, philanthropy, and spiritual assistance. These developments preserved the study of classical Islamic texts, scholarly lineages, moral formation, and the exemplary conduct of kiai. This continuity and change broadened educational access and pathways, opened employment opportunities for graduates, and connected religious formation with community service.
Conclusion: Kiai-led da’wa contributed to social change in Wonosobo through the development of Islamic education and the expansion of activities addressing community needs. The study’s conceptual contribution lies in explaining how the preservation of religious traditions accompanied the renewal of institutions, learning approaches, and social services. Islamic education thus served as a means of da’wa, connecting individual religious formation with community development.
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