Jakarta, July 28 -- Deputy Religious Affairs Minister Muhammad Syafi'i has encouraged all pesantrens, or Islamic boarding schools, in Indonesia to play a strategic role in national progress by actively supporting programs related to food and energy security.

"Not just serving as centers for education and preaching, pesantrens can emerge as catalysts of food security. In other words, such schools can support programs related to self-sufficiency in food and energy prioritized by President Prabowo Subianto," he noted in a statement cited here on Monday.

Speaking at an event held at the eLKISI Pesantren in Mojokerto City, East Java, he highlighted that pesantrens have huge potential to produce talents who are not only spiritually and intell...