Y

ou oldies out there may remember the song '€œWhat a difference a day makes'€. It was a big hit for Dinah Washington and her sultry voice, winning her a Grammy in 1959.

Well, I reckon you could change that song to '€œWhat a difference a month makes'€. The month I am referring to of course, is July.

First of all, it'€™s Ramadhan. For Muslims, this is a holy month, and we spend it fasting during daylight hours, fulfilling one of the five pillars of our religion. According to Islam, the rewards of fasting any time are many, but during Ramadhan they are multiplied. It'€™s meant to be a month when you increase your devotion to God, pray and read the Koran a lot.

Besides not being allowed to eat, drink, vomit purposefully (huh??) and engage in sexual relations between sunrise and sundown, there are other prohibitions. Muslims must refrain from anger, envy, greed, lust, retorts, gossip and '€” obviously '€” violence, during Ramadhan. Avoid all irreligious stimuli and obscenity! Increase your silaturahmi (good relations, bonds of family and friendship) with all! The aim of Ramadhan is to attain as much purity as is humanly possible, bodily and spiritually, in thought and action.

As a child, I often spent the month of Ramadhan with my grandparents in Bandung, during my school holidays. After the sahur (pre-dawn meal) and sholat subuh (dawn prayer), Enin (my grandmother) settled down to read her daily Koran quota to khatam (finish reading the Koran) in one month. Aki (my grandfather), on the other hand, would head off to the mosque for additional prayers, from about 4:30 - 6:30 a.m.

Being the mischievous child I was, I decided to play a little trick on them. The previous night, I swapped their reading glasses in their respective containers, thinking they would put them on, be unable to read and be momentarily surprised but soon realize the mistake. We would all have a good laugh, I thought.  

Wrong!  Instead, Aki pocketed his spectacle case and went off to the mosque, not realizing he had Enin'€™s glasses.  Imagine Enin'€™s surprise, when she put on '€œher'€ glasses, to say nothing of her frustration at being unable to meet her Koran-reading quota.

So when Aki returned, Enin, who had been fuming for two hours, lashed out at him, accusing him of being senile.  All hell broke loose. My grandfather, being innocent, fought back.

I froze, too terrified to confess that it was all my doing, lest my grandmother'€™s fearsome wrath descend upon me. Luckily things calmed down after a while, especially after she resumed her Koranic reading. Phew!

Looking back, who of the three of us acted according to the principles prescribed by Islam for the fasting month? No one, of course. At least I can hide behind the fact that I was 10 years old and have always been mischievous! As for my Enin and Aki, I guess it was a husband and wife thing?

Well, even if it'€™s hard to change human nature, the idea behind Ramadhan is still great '€” an entire month to cleanse, recharge and reform ourselves for the better. Perhaps that'€™s why the General Elections Commission (KPU) decided to conduct the presidential election in July to coincide with Ramadhan?

Perhaps it hoped to find a way we could improve ourselves spiritually and politically at the same time? After all, whoever gets elected, it will change Indonesia. The only question is whether that'€™s for better or worse.

What a challenge for we Indonesian Muslims! We are the fourth-largest country in the world, with the largest population of Muslims, as well as being the third-largest democracy. Will we manage to pass the test, performing our Ramadhan duties until the end of July without breaching the prohibitions?

At the same time, will we be able to exercise our democratic rights to have free and fair elections that are conducted responsibly and impartially, with everyone enjoying the same rights to present, speak and vote, not just a select group?

Islam and democracy are really compatible in this respect, as so many of their principles are similar '€” as I have often written.

Unfortunately, what we'€™ve seen during these elections is much worse than the lack of restraint and reflection of which my grandparents and I were guilty. Waaaaaay worse!

The smear campaigns have been ferocious, involving slander and the most absurd accusations. For a Muslim, it is hard to imagine a worse insult than being accused of being a kafir (infidel). Yet this happened during the campaign, even though using religion for political purposes violates both Islamic and democratic principles. In the month of Ramadhan to boot. Makes you wonder, huh?

I'€™m sad to say it, but lust (for power), greed, anger, envy, retorts and malicious gossip have been the mainstay of these elections, even though it is Ramadhan. Some people have been so put off, they are saying that rather than face the headache of deciding who to choose, it'€™s better to just forget the elections and focus on religious duties.

But, wait a minute! Your democratic duty is also your religious duty! It'€™s not one or the other, my brothers and sisters!

So let'€™s not make July a month of conflict and contradiction. Let'€™s all vote today according to our conscience and stay restrained even when the winner is announced. If we truly live the spirit of both Islam and democracy, then maybe we will be able to look back and say, what a difference July really did make.