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Rise of the ‘hijrah’ movement
Indonesia has seen a rise in the hijrah movement, which encourages Muslims to adopt a more pious lifestyle according to Prophet Muhammad's teachings.
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The modern-day hijrah transformation is usually most visible in the appearance, with many of those who intend to join the movement adopting a more Islamic look, such as growing a beard and wearing trousers that end above the ankles for men and wearing an abaya for women.
(JP/Sigit Pamungkas)
“I was once addicted to Korean pop [K-pop] culture. After I realized that it was pushing me away from Islam, I got rid of [my addiction],” Muslim preacher Fuadh Naim said during a recent kajian (Islamic learning forum) in South Jakarta.
Fuadh continued to share stories about his past with dozens of young Muslims, revealing that until a few years ago, he never used to pray five times a day as required by Islam, even though he had been born and raised a Muslim.
His said his addiction to K-pop also encouraged him to learn Korean and adopt the country’s culture.
But around three years ago, he started to come across Muslim preachers promoting Islamic values on social media. They encouraged him to deepen his knowledge of the religion.
He gradually began to believe that South Korean pop culture promoted lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) lifestyles and casual sex, then decided that his true calling was to campaign against it.
Within a few years, the preacher gained fame particularly on social media for his relentless campaign against K-pop.
Such gradual, if not instant, transformations of a typically nominal Muslim into a more devout one have become more apparent Indonesia in recent years, with the country seeing the increasing popularity of the so-called hijrah (migration) movement thanks to social media.
