The president and his entourage were welcomed with a performance of tambourines on arrival at the pesantren at around 9 a.m. local time.
Before departing an hour later, Jokowi distributed assistance in the form of groceries, t-shirts, and books to hundreds of residents thronging the front yard of the pesantren currently celebrating its 12th anniversary.
"We held a forum that brought together 50 select young Muslim clerics from East Java, West Java, Jakarta, and Central Java," Miftah Maulana Habiburrahman, the leader of the pesantren, told reporters after Jokowi's visit.
Gus Miftah, as he is popularly nicknamed, noted that the head of state had long expressed keenness to visit him.
In response, Miftah reached out to State Secretariat Minister Pratikno to schedule the president's visit on the occasion of the 12th anniversary of Ora Aji Pesantren.
"Thank God, he (President Jokowi) came here on the sidelines of his (official) agendas, coinciding with the anniversary with Ora Aji Pesantren," he remarked.
He then spoke of extending praises to Jokowi during the religious forum for the president's policies, which he assessed had brought concrete benefits to pesantrens nationwide.
"The president responded in a polite and humble manner, affirming that he sees himself as nobody. He said there are a lot of people smarter than him," Miftah said while reminiscing about Jokowi's statements.
In a statement received from his secretariat on Thursday, President Jokowi is also scheduled to visit Central Java Province to carry out several official agendas, including the 22nd Congress of the Indonesian Economic Bachelors Association (ISEI).
Furthermore, the president will inaugurate a section of a toll road connecting Central Java to Yogyakarta in Boyolali District, Central Java.
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Translator: Luqman H, Tegar Nurfitra
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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