ABDUL Wahid Hasyim is the descendant of a well-known ulema family who pioneered pesantren, Islamic boarding schools, in Java. His father, KH Hasyim Asy'ari, founded the Nahdlatul Ulama, Indonesia's largest Islamic mass organization and the Tebuireng Pesantren in Jombang, East Java. His mother was the daughter of KH Muhammad Ilyas, who set up Sewulan Pesantren in Madiun. As was common among ulema families of that time, there were marriages between t