Emha Ainun Nadjib

Emha Ainun Nadjib
Nadjib speaking in 2015
Born	Muhammad Ainun Nadjib (1953-05-27) 27 May 1953 (age 63) Jombang, East Java
Nationality	Indonesia
Occupation	Poet, essayist
Spouse(s)	Novia Kolopaking
Children	4
Website	www.caknun.com

Muhammad Ainun Nadjib (born 27 May 1953), best known as Emha Ainun Nadjib or Cak Nun, is an Indonesian poet, essayist, and Islamic scholar. Born in Jombang, East Java, Nadjib began writing poetry while living in Yogyakarta, publishing his first collection in 1976. He became one of the city's predominant poets by the late 1980s, and by then had also began writing essays. He is the leader of the Kiai Kanjeng group, which stages dramas and musical performances on religious themes.

Early poems by Nadjib have elements of social criticism. However, more prominent are Islamic values, variously described as santri or Sufi. Islam is also a common subject for his essays. His writings have taken a variety of forms, including poetry, essays, novels, and short stories.

Nadjib was born Muhammad Ainun Nadjib in Jombang, East Java, on 27 May 1953. The fourth of fifteen children, he began his education at the Gontor pesantren, an Islamic boarding school, in Ponorogo. In his third year, Nadjib was expelled for leading a demonstration against school security. He later moved to Yogyakarta, where he studied at Muhammadiyah I Senior High School. He attended the economics program at Gadjah Mada University but did not graduate, leaving after one semester.

Nadjib lived in Yogyakarta for several years, serving as editor of Masa Kini magazine between 1973 and 1976 . In 1976 he published his first poetry collection, "M" Frustrasi dan Sajak Sajak Cinta. His 1978 poetry collection Sajak-Sajak Sepanjang Jalan won Tifa Sastra magazine's poetry-writing competition. He focused predominantly on his poetry during this period, studying from the Sufist poet Umbu Landu Paranggi, though he also established the Teater Dinasti theatre troupe. By the late 1980s, Nadjib, together with Iman Budhi Santosa, was considered one of the most senior poets of Yogyakarta. As his works, including his essays, sometimes satirized Suharto's authoritarian regime, he eventually required a security entourage.

For two years, from 1984 to 1986, Nadjib lived in Amsterdam and the Hague, the Netherlands, where he spent two years helping with workshops on religion, culture and development. He later described the experience as a critical juncture in his life. Nadjib returned to Indonesia, and his 1988 drama, Lautan Jilbab (Sea of Headscarves), broke the Indonesian record for audience size; Aprinus Salam of Gadjah Mada University writes that this can be attributed to the general populace's increased interest in religious materials. In 1991, Nadjib caused a stir when he left the Indonesian Association of Muslim Intellectuals, citing a difference in vision with the organization and a desire to be an "independent intellectual". In 1998 Nadjib was one of the Muslim intellectuals who spoke with Soeharto before his resignation.