In the bustling streets of Jakarta, Surabaya, and Bandung, a quiet but profound revolution is taking place. It is not led by politicians or tech entrepreneurs, but by a demographic once perceived as "traditional" or "exclusive": the Santri (students of Islamic boarding schools, or pesantren ). Today, these students and alumni are not merely preserving religious texts; they are "repackaging" Indonesian social issues and culture for a modern, often digital-native audience.

We often see them on TikTok or Instagram reels: a young person in a sarong and a peci, sipping a trendy bubble tea, casually dropping a Hadith about corruption, or using a clip of a wayang kulit performance to explain the dangers of cyberbullying.

[4] Indonesian Internet Culture: The Rise of Satire Accounts. (2025).

In Indonesia, the concept of Santri Repack (or "The New Santri") describes a modern generation of Muslims who engage with social and cultural issues through digital platforms rather than traditional boarding schools. They use social media to "repackage" Islamic values into accessible, bite-sized content that addresses contemporary Indonesian life. Taylor & Francis Online Key Content Pillars of the Modern Santri

Young Santri activists acknowledge this tension. Their answer is ikhlas (sincerity). They argue that as long as the core intention is to solve social suffering and uphold justice, the medium—whether a kitab or a podcast—is irrelevant.