We have the right to pray too: Transgender people

Sat, June 24, 2017 / 04:35 am

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An infaq (charity) donation box. JP/Magnus Hendratmo
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Calligraphy samples from a contest to commemorate the anniversary of Al-Fatah Islamic school for transgender people, Yogyakarta, three years ago are hung on a wall. JP/Magnus Hendratmo
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A student recites verse Al Hud 71-88 of the Quran. JP/Magnus Hendratmo
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Shinta Ratri, 55, the leader of Al Fatah Islamic boarding school, recites verse Al Hud 71-88 of the Quran. There are 46 transgender students in the boarding school but only 26 students are active during the Ramadhan fasting month. JP/Magnus Hendratmo
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A transgender student recites and discusses a religious theme with his colleague. JP/Magnus Hendratmo
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Shinta arranges a sajjada (prayer mat) while waiting to break the fast. JP/Magnus Hendratmo
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Students discuss religion with volunteers. During the Ramadhan fasting month, Al Fatah performs Quran recitals and holds discussions every Wednesday and Sunday. JP/Magnus Hendratmo
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Kolak roti (bread dipped in coconut milk cooked with palm sugar) is made by Nur Ayu, 49. She took a cooking class after graduating from high school and she has a catering business now. JP/Magnus Hendratmo
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Cake donated by actress-cum-designer Saskia Adya Mecca, the wife of movie director Hanung Bramantyo, is served as a breaking-the-fast dish. JP/Magnus Hendratmo
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Martin, a mualaf (Islamic convert) from the United States, fills a water barrel for wudu (ritual purification). JP/Magnus Hendratmo
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Martin becomes an imam (prayer leader) at the Al Fatah Islamic school in Yogyakarta. JP/Magnus Hendratmo
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Shinta Ratri performs the maghrib (dusk) prayers with female volunteers after breaking the fast. JP/Magnus Hendratmo
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Nur Ayu wears a mukena (female prayer gown) before performing maghrib (dusk) prayers at the Al Fatah Islamic school, Yogyakarta. JP/Magnus Hendratmo
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Shinta's doorbell for the Al Fatah Islamic school is in a mask form. JP/Magnus Hendratmo

The holy month of Ramadhan is for all Muslims to enjoy, regardless of their sexuality, the Al Fatah Islamic school for transgender people in Kotagede, Yogyakarta, will tell you.

On a Wednesday evening, the owners and students of the school gathered in the main hall of a 200-year-old Javanese joglo for tarawih (evening Ramadhan prayers).

Transgender people who feel more comfortable wearing men’s clothing, such as Yuni Sara, performed their prayers behind the imam in the front row, while those who wore mukena (head-to-toe prayer gowns), such as Al Fatah leader Shinta Ratri, prayed in the back row. “This is our first activity in Ramadhan after [the Al Fatah] was arbitrarily shut down by the Islamic Jihad Front [FJI],” Yuni said, referring to a hard-line group that opposes lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people.

The FJI has been the loudest critic of Al Fatah Islamic school, which was shut down by local authorities in early 2016. Authorities, in the face of pressure from the hard-line religious group, claimed that the school’s events and activities were a public nuisance.

Al Fatah finally resumed its school activities after GKR Hemas, the wife of Yogyakarta Governor Sultan Hamengkubuwono, ensured their safety, Shinta said.

During Ramadhan, Al Fatah performs its activities every Wednesday and Sunday. The activities, ranging from iftar (breaking of the fast), Quran reading, tarawih, and sahur (pre-dawn meals) together, are carried out from afternoon to early morning the next day, Shinta said.

The school, which is located in Jagalan village, also holds a celebration of Nuzulul Quran (the day the Quran was first revealed to Prophet Muhammad) and sells cheap staple foods. It also held a seminar to counter radicalism in Jepara, Central Java.

“Performing one’s religion is a human right. We, as transgender people, have the right to conduct our prayers,” Shinta said. [yan]

also read: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/06/15/we-have-right-pray-transgender-people-say.html

Text by: Bambang Muryanto

Photo by: Magnus Hendratmo