Idul Fitri and Christmas have similar substances

Al Makin ,  Heidelberg, Montreal   |  Tue, 09/30/2008 10:19 AM  |  Opinion

Idul Fitri and Christmas bear a substantial similarity to each other: their human side. It is true -- from a theological perspective -- that both celebrations have to do with a man's business with his God. Yet, in real life, the two involve more a man's business with other men than man's business with his God.

During the days prior to Idul Fitri, Indonesian Muslims are always eager to go back to their home towns (mudik) to spend their holidays with their relatives and close friends. Unfortunately, competition is stiff for the already incredibly steeply priced bus, train, airplane, and boat tickets.

Many, alternatively, decide to mudik with their motorcycles, riding from one end of the long island of Java to the other, or points in between. The same pattern occurs during the Christmas holidays in both Germany and Canada, as reflected in the soaring price of airplane tickets. Christmas is a human holiday. So is Idul Fitri.

Sadly, the price of every basic commodity in Indonesia -- from chili peppers to flour -- in the days leading up to Idul Fitri has soared unbelievably. In Canada and Germany, however, prices for such staples remain steady in the weeks before Christmas. While every Idul Fitri numerous car accidents along Java's northern coastal route embellish our newspaper pages, no comparable tragic stories come out of Germany and Canada during Christmas.

Last Christmas, I went to Luxembourg by train with some friends. I still remember a newspaper article I read during the trip which laid out the history of how Dec. 25 was chosen as the day to commemorate Christ's birth. The early Church converted the winter festival of pagan Romans -- celebrated on Dec. 25 just after the winter solstice -- into the Christmas celebration.

Many scholars tell us the exact date of Jesus' birth remains puzzling. Most ordinary modern people, nonetheless, accept the holiday without bothering to question it.

The Idul Fitri celebration is a much later human invention and a good one.

In most Middle Eastern Muslim countries, Idul Adha, or the day of sacrifice, is given more importance than Idul Fitri, primarily because Idul Adha occurs during the haj season, when millions of Muslims from all over the world go on pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina. On that day they sacrifice animals in the holy land.

Indonesian Muslims, however, celebrate Idul Fitri more keenly than Idul Adha. Halal bihalal -- a feast with colorful yummy Indonesian foods during which younger people confess their sins to older ones (sungkeman) -- is a truly Indonesian Islamic innovation (bid'ah). No Koran verse nor prophetic tradition commands Muslims to hold these events.

Last Easter, I attended a ceremony in a church behind Heidelberg University's philosophy faculty. I listened carefully as a priest read the story of the suffering, crucified Jesus, which touched me greatly. I imagined the same happened in the sirah writings which recount the life of the Prophet Muhammad during the Meccan period during which his Quraishite fellows vehemently opposed his prophetic mission. An Easter choir at the church glorified God. Likewise, the night before Idul Fitri Muslims chant, also proclaiming, "God is great."

However, in Indonesia of late, this formula has been oft recited in the wrong place and wrong time for the wrong purpose. The mantra has been abused to scare other people. During the trial of their leader, Habib Rizieq, some FPI (Islam Defenders Front) members flooded the courtroom and disrupted it with their annoying chants.

Musdah Mulia, a prominent Indonesian Muslim feminist, attested to this. Additionally, Muhammad Guntur Romli, a witness and one of the seventy injured during the Monas fracas -- the back story for the courtroom dramatics -- was terrorized with their misbehavior. And the story is not over yet. Nong Darul Mahmada, another victim, was also threatened and sexually abused by these members. Not only did these acts go against court ethics, they also insulted a sacred creed.

You can bet we will soon see some people roaring "God is great" on the streets again to support the proposed anti-pornography bill. If they do, it is because they intend to deter critics of that bigoted bill, which, of course, hardly appreciates human freedom and choice in a democratic country.

Indeed, this formula of "God is great" is neutral. It can be used for either virtuous or nasty purposes. One can intone it to remind us of the greatness of God for freeing many prophets and heroes from difficulties -- ranging from Abraham to Abraham Lincoln, from Jesus to Malcolm X, from Muhammad to Sukarno, and from Siddhartha Gautama to M. Hatta. The FPI's use of the phrase, on the other hand, offers nasty examples.

The increased use of sacred symbols hand in hand with dreadful deeds is no longer an unexpected juxtaposition. The growing number of mosques, as Mustafa Bisri once satirized, is accompanied by a parallel growth in corruption cases.

"God is great", however, should be invoked when you are oppressed, not when you are torturing others. You should praise God's glory when trying to relieve others' burdens, not when threatening them.

The time for reciting "God is great" during Idul Fitri celebrations is appropriate, due to its human side. The greatness of God is accompanied by hugs, smiles, hand-shaking, confession, forgiving others, and eating traditional Indonesian foods -- from ketupat, boiled rice cake wrapped in woven coconut leaf packets, to onde-onde, sticky rice balls covered with sesame seeds.

The writer is a lecturer at the State Islamic University Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta. He can be reached at nabiy13@yahoo.com

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