Yenny Wahid. An attempt in 2008 by Gus Dur to involve President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in resolving the dispute failed, and the PKB vote in the 2009 elections was half that of the previous vote in 2004. At its 2010 conference, held in Makassar, the NU decided not to discuss the split, and passed a resolution banning officials from holding political posts, seen as a commitment to avoiding future political involvement. After the conference, concerns about the longer term role of the NU continued to attract comment in the national media. During 2011, for example, there was continuing discussion about the national role that the NU should play and about the close political links between the NU and the National Awakening Party (PKB). Comments by Gus Dur's daughter, Yenny Wahid, for example, reflected these concerns when she said that the NU was fragmenting and "sliding into irrelevance". Aims The NU exists to spread Islamic teaching. As well as preaching, it undertakes educational activities through its network of 6,830 Islamic boarding schools (or pesantren). It also owns 44 universities; is involved in economic and agricultural studies; and provides social services such as family planning. Its goal is "to spread messages about a tolerant Islam in their respective countries to curb radicalism, extremism and terrorism," which, it claims, "often spring from a misinterpretation of Islamic teachings." In December 2014, NU launched a global campaign against extremism and jihadism. Alongside NU theologians, the group built a prevention center in Indonesia to train Arabic-speaking students to combat jihadist rhetoric. Additionally, NU created a joint program with the University of Vienna entitled VORTEX (Vienna Observatory for Applied Research on Radicalism and Extremism). The project is funded by the Indonesian Ministry of Internal Security. It also launched an American nonprofit organization called Bayt ar-Rahmah in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. On the other hand, Nahdlatul Ulama leaders gave a fatwa in favor of female genital mutilation (FGM). In 2019, NU called for the abolishment of the term "kafir" to describe non-Muslims. Leaders The highest body in the NU is its Syuriah (Supreme Council). Under this is the Tanfidziyah (Executive Council); the Mustasyar (Advisory Council) provides input to both. At the 2010 NU Conference, Sahal Mahfudz was elected chairman of the Executive Council, and thus serves as executive chief. At the same conference, Sahal Mahfudz was elected chair of the Supreme Council for the 2010-2015 period. Under the Executive