Although former Jakarta governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama, who now goes by BTP, is free after serving out his two-year sentence for blasphemy, hatred against him and his supporters remains. Slogans of "do not vote for the party or president who supports the blasphemer of religion" still crop up ahead of the April presidential and legislative elections.  

Fortunately, Twitter has several accounts that tweet funny things about our religiosity, the practices or even our fanaticism to certain belief or believers. One is NU Garis Lucu (@NUgarislucu) or “NUfunny path”, which joined Twitter in May 2015.

The name suggests it is related to Nahdlatul Ulama, Indonesia’s largest Islamic organization, which emerged almost as the same time with NU Garis Lurus (true path NU), a conservative group within NU that denounces liberalism.

However,  NU Garis Lucu does not seem to want to react too seriously to different interpretations of religion. Instead, it tries to loosen up our serious religious discourse with laughter and humor, following the famed character of its former leader, the late president Abdurrahman “Gus Dur” Wahid.  

Take one of its tweets: "to be Indonesian, you have to be funny." This was a reaction to rampant labeling of clerics as heretical for having different opinions compared to "celebrity ustadz" (Islamic teacher) airing more conservative views. This tweet was clearly teasing the many "repentant" celebrities who have turned into influential ustadz especially thanks to cyberspace. The real clerics who have studied religion for most of their lives seem to lose touch, lacking equal star power.

Other tweets of course are about today's political tensions and our tendency to use our mobile phones to share hoax information or attacking electoral candidates or his/her supporters. One account tweeted:  “Your smartphone is your gun. Use it to the max by making people laugh so that they forget their disagreement. Takbir (God is great)!!”  Such tweets can make your day after a long stressful week.

Dulu, kalau lagi ngobrol terus ketemu kalimat asyik selalu ada yg bilang "eh, itu ada lagunya loh" lalu nyanyi bareng.

Sekarang, pas asyik ngobrol belum selesai, ada saja yg bilang "eh, itu ada hadistnya loh..." spontan semua tunduk terdiam.

— NU Garis Lucu (@NUgarislucu) April 8, 2019

 An item in the Huffington Post on July 27, 2017, cited studies showing that a religious discourse or criticism explained with humor can break through prejudice.  Humor can build social ties and bond different people with diverse points of view. Indeed NU Garis Lucu helps break our prejudice, especially against those of different religious identity or interpretations.

Finger wagging believers need to note that humor is permissible in Islam as long as it does not provoke conflict with others. The humor tradition within the vast NU circle is strong.   Gus Dur was known for his love of jokes, which his followers have collected into a book, and one of his ever-popular statements is “gitu aja repot” (why worry over a trivial thing).   

Interestingly, the creation of Twitter account  NU Garis Lucu is now followed by others such as Muhammadiyah Garis Lucu (@MuhammadiyahGL) that represents the second largest Islamic organization.

 In social media followers of both organizations often interact with each other. As the two biggest Islamic organizations differ on some religious issues, their tweets usually discuss their differences humorously. When I was a child, I sensed the tension among their respective followers, merely triggered, for instance, by their differing dates for the beginning of the Ramadhan fasting month and consequently the following Idul Fitri celebrations. Now I can laugh a lot reading how they treat their differences with humor and jokes. 

"Lebaran ini sdah gak bisa sungkem ibu. Rasanya nyesel gak dengerin kata2 beliau"

"Mmg apa kata2 beliau?"

"Ya gak tau, orang gak denger"

— NU Garis Lucu (@NUgarislucu) July 13, 2016

Other similar accounts have emerged. Two of them are Gontor Garis Lucu (@GontorGarisLucu) and Hizbut Tahrir Garis Lucu (@HizbutTahrirGL). They respectively represent the well-known Gontor modern Islamic boarding school, and the banned Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia (HTI) respectively. Although formally banned, its supporters seem to continue to campaign their ideal of a caliphate or Islamic state including through humorous ways.

Nevertheless it’s a relief that social media has not only been used not only for spreading hoax information or hatred in the name of religion to attack others. Fortunately many also use the platforms to illuminate and amuse our friends or even adversaries. As stated by NU Garis Lucu: speak the truth even though it is funny.

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The writer is a lecturer at the University of Hasyim Asyari, Pondok Pesantren (Islamic boarding school) Tebuireng, Jombang, East Java.