The United Nations, through Resolution 77/2022 of  the Global Moratorium on the Death Penalty, has encouraged world countries to postpone the death penalty because it is seen as a violation of Human Rights. In this article, the authors compare the arguments by the United Nations and human rights organizations in abolishing the death penalty with the religious views of the largest Muslim organization in Indonesia, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU). The research was conducted using qualitative methods, and data collection techniques were conducted through interviews with informants, namely several Nahdlatul Ulama women activists, as well as literature studies. NU generally approves of the death penalty for perpetrators of serious crimes, such as corruption and subversive acts that threaten national security, as long as there are solid and convincing evidences. NU stated that Islam recognizes the principle of human rights, but the death penalty can be applied to severe crimes to protect the security of the state and protect the right to life of more people. In this study, it was also found that Islamic law (in this case, the verses of the Quran) were in line with the Criminal Code and laws in Indonesia regarding the death penalty.

The socio-political crisis in Afghanistan shows a surprising conse­quence, especially after the return of the Taliban in seizing the country after being overthrown by the United States (US) in 2001. The international community has pursued peace negotiations for the last ten years. Indonesia, however, has played a significant role in reconciling the factions in Afghanistan by involving religious organizations, in this case, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU). Religious narratives cannot be excluded in conflict resolution because the Taliban use religious justification in their actions. This study aims to uncover the religious narratives used by NU to calm down the opposing factions, including the Taliban. The qualitative research method used is interviews with the key informants and supported by various sources. This study finds that Nahdlatul Ulama has contributed to peace with a religious approach, namely peace hermeneutics and empathy detachment. In its implementation, NU uses religious narratives of Islam Nusantara. In addition, NU has also succeeded in creating capacity, institution building, and agreement among the conflicting factions.