Saiful Islam Al-Payage

Saiful Payage
Born	Elimus Payage (1979-04-04) April 4, 1979 (age 46) Irian Jaya, Indonesia
Nationality	Indonesian
Other names	Saiful Islam Al-Payage
Occupation	Islamic preacher

Saiful Islam Al-Payage, formerly known as Elimus Payage (born April 4, 1979), is an Indonesian Islamic preacher. His name was widely known when he was a contest participant of Dakwah TPI (or "DAI") da'wah contest at TPI in 2005.

Personal life

Born from a Ngalik family of Christian priests in Highland Papua named Simon Payage. ^[1] Payage's childhood was spent in the village of Yahukimo Regency, and began attending Elementary School in Silimo Yahokimo Papua, then proceeded to YPPK Wamena Junior High School in 1991. ^{[2] [3]}

His intersection with Islam he got when meeting a Muslim businessman named Haji Baharuddin while he was in school. Realizing that Papua is not good for education, Payage decided to move to Java. In Java he was introduced to KH Raden Ahmad Fawaid As'ad Syamsul Arifin who is one of the board of Salafiyah Syafi'iyah Pesantren, Situbondo, East Java. Payage then converted from Christianity to Islam. During the study both in pesantren and in formal schools in Situbondo, Payage is known as a smart student and able to understand Islamic religious education quickly. ^[2]

Career

Payage is currently the head of Indonesian Ulema Council of Papua branch, a position he achieved at a very young age of 34 years in 2014. ^[4] He is now married to Luluk Kholifah. ^[5] He is also known for advocating a dialogue between Free Papua Movement and Government of Indonesia. ^[6]

References

1. "Ustad Payage: Banyak Makna Yang Didapatkan Usai Jadi Mualaf". citraku.com. Retrieved 2018-04-14.
2. "KH Saiful Islam Al Payage, Berdakwah Hingga Pedalaman Papua | Ngaji Yuk!". elhooda.net. Archived from the original on November 19, 2014. Retrieved 2018-04-14.
3. "detikRamadan 2017 - Bulan Penuh Berkah | Dakwah di pedalaman, Ustad Al Payage ditandu dan menggunakan bahasa Isyarat". hot.detik.com. Retrieved 2018-04-14.
4. "Ketua MUI Papua Ust Payage yang Tegas dan Pemberani itu Lulusan Pesantren Sukorejo |". serambimata.com. 4 January 2016. Archived from the original on January 4, 2016. Retrieved 2018-04-14.
5. "Cerita Dua Ulama Papua di KUUI: dari Dai Sabun hingga Ketua MUI Termuda". Kiblat. Retrieved 2018-04-14.
6. Widhana, Dieqy Hasbi. "Kontroversi 61 Tokoh Papua Bentukan BIN yang Dialog dengan Jokowi". tirto.id (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2020-07-25.