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The performances that help curb extremism

On Dec. 1, or Rabiul Awwal 12 on the Islamic calendar, Muslims will celebrate Mawlid, the birth of Prophet Muhammad, through many events, including reciting and singing shalawat, which literally means praises to the prophet.
 

Muhammad Asad (The Jakarta Post)
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Thu, November 30, 2017

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The performances that help curb extremism Observance -- Tens of thousands of people attend the commemoration of the birthday of Prophet Muhammad, or Maulid Nabi, at Gasibu Square in Bandung, West Java. (JP/Arya Dipa)

O

n Dec. 1, or Rabiul Awwal 12 on the Islamic calendar, Muslims will celebrate Mawlid, the birth of Prophet Muhammad, through many events, including reciting and singing shalawat, which literally means praises to the prophet.

Earlier this year, the scholar James Edmonds wrote in The Jakarta Post that shalawat could be useful to combat Islamic radicalism, citing performances by the hugely popular “Habib” Syech bin Abdul Qadir Assegaf, which are said to promote nationalism and pluralism. 

Read also: Listening to 'shalawat' to combat radical Islam

There might be some truth to Edmond’s view, though singing or listening toshalawat in itself is surely inadequate to combat extremist religious teachings. 

First, what most Indonesians practice through shalawat, especially when led from a stage with a big sound system and thousands of participants, is actually the tradition of celebrating Mawlid. 

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