For many of the faithful, today is one of the happiest days on the calendar, the first day of Ramadan. It is a time when individual Muslims will strive for a month to be better people, or at least to survive 30 days refraining from grudges and gossip, while fasting in the daytime.
Targets will vary among minimalists and the more devout from merely fasting in the heat without whining, or performing prayers five times a day instead of a few times a year, to completing the ultimate must-read, the Koran — or trying to learn just one verse of the Book that was first introduced to the Prophet Mohammad one night in Ramadan.
These targets are the tangible ones, while sermon after sermon will remind Muslims that Ramadan and its culminating celebration at the end of the month are great opportunities to improve self-restraint and strengthen one’s belief.
This requires concentration that others — the not-so-faithful and non-Muslims alike — have come to respect. Ramadan, thus, is an oasis for Muslims; a time to focus on their spiritual selves.
In these times of terrorist threats, many will be glad to leave to experts what they feel are hurtful debates on their religion. But given the need for self introspection in the holy month, and the fact of terrorists in our midst, closing our ears and keeping silent doesn’t help either. Fellow civilians are being murdered by people considering themselves among the most devout.
In the wake of another series of operations against suspected terrorists, the police have again urged the public to be on the look out; to go out of our way of being polite and friendly to the extent that we welcome strangers in our neighborhoods, just because they are fellow Muslims. This was one message of Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Wahyono who met with religious leaders on Thursday.
Some have noted how even religious leaders and officials fail to condemn criminals who sow hatred and recruit killers seeking heavenly rewards. Banten Governor Ratu Atut Chosiyah is among the few who have said (only recently after the July bombings) that she will have the curriculum across religious schools inspected as one measure to curb terrorism. Such intrusions will raise eyebrows, but largely impoverished Banten in the west of Java was the home province of executed convict Imam Samudra and his brothers, the Bali bombers.
One reason why condemnation of those who preach extreme views is not widespread, would be the inability to discern between one who preaches like any other “hardliner” with the few who actually integrate violence into their beliefs. More crucial is the widespread ignorance among believers themselves, for not many would like to pore over the complexity of varied interpretations of the Koran, the Prophet’s teachings and Islam’s history.
Avenging injustice at the hands of the plundering, murdering Western forces in Muslim lands is said to be a main motive of suicide bombers. They are far from the majority, but it is surely a luxury to spend one month in the oasis of Ramadan, free of worldly worries. More among the educated would need to spread the word of how Islamic teachings remain relevant to all peoples, including Indonesians, who inherit such a wide diversity as part of their heritage.
To all our readers, we take this opportunity to wish you a joyful, peaceful Ramadan.
