The Chishti Brothers, an Islamic religious art group that specializes in Sufi and ghazal music, recently performed in front of their Indonesian Muslim brothers and sisters while waiting for iftar to come, and to highlight the shared religious heritage between Indonesia and India.

If asked which part of the day they find most challenging during the fasting month of Ramadan, chances are that many Indonesian Muslims will agree that ngabuburit (waiting for iftar) hours are the toughest as they find their energy reserves have already been depleted, leaving them sleepy and lethargic.

That’s why many Indonesians fill their ngabuburit hours with activities that excite them, either by joining social gatherings or engaging in religious rituals.

At dusk on May 17, scores of local Muslims and members of Jakarta’s Indian community gathered in the headquarters of Islamic mass organization Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), revered for its pluralistic stance, in Central Jakarta.

That day, the Indian Embassy in Jakarta and the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) treated them to a 90-minute-long Sufi and ghazal music show performed by the Chishti Brothers, who came from Uttar Pradesh, Northern India.

The group performs the music genre highly influenced by the Chishti Order of the mystic Sufi tradition of Islam. Originating in Chisht, a small town near Herat in Afghanistan, the Chishti Order is known for its emphasis on love, tolerance and openness.

Ghazal is a well-known musical genre in India, combining poetic verses that promote love, devotion and compassion with transcendental music.

The troupe, which features eight musicians, hypnotized the audience with their performance, offering them a fresh, cross-cultural ngabuburit activity. As part of its Indonesian tour, it also performed on Monday at the Pesantren Darul Ulum University in Jombang, East Java, and on Tuesday at the Maarif Hasyim Latif University in Surabaya, East Java.

Indian Ambassador to Indonesia Pradeep Kumar Rawat said that together with the ICCR, the embassy had invited the ensemble to remind both Indians and Indonesians of the often-overlooked Islamic ties between Indonesia and India.

“Indonesia and India have the largest Islamic populations in the world, representing different traditions of Islam,” Rawat said while opening the concert.

Indonesia is home to approximately 225 million Muslims according to Statistics Indonesia (BPS), while India has approximately 172 million, according to data from the Indian Embassy.

“We both believe in the syncretic version of Islam which embraces all [communities] and sees the world as one big family,” Rawat added.

On the occasion, NU chairman Said Aqil Siradj said Islam spread to Indonesia at around the 12th and 13th centuries by Sufi merchants who passed through various Indian cities such as Gujarat, Kerala and Malabar before landing in the archipelago.

“Indonesia has various Islamic sects, which instead of coming into Indonesia directly from Saudi Arabia, have passed through Kerala, such as Ismailiyah, Siddiqiyah and many more. Pantheism [toleration of worship of all gods] also entered Indonesia through India, not directly from Saudi Arabia, although Saudi Arabia had its own pantheist thinker [and Sufi mystic] named Ibn Arabi,” Said explained.

“Former Indonesian president Abdurrahman Wahid was also close friends with former Indian president K.R. Narayanan,” he added. Both men have passed away.

The often-forgotten Islamic ties between Indonesia and India were renewed again when the Chishti Brothers performed their concert. They started their set with a performance called Humd, representing humans’ deepest longing to praise God, particularly with a song called “Allahu Allahu”, which is a passionate incantation.

They also performed several different songs with religious and spiritual themes, such as the commitment to walking in the righteous spiritual path, being aligned with God’s compassion and atonement.

Members of the audience nodded their heads along to the music, where the strong vocals of group head Serfaraz Chishti was backed up by melodious and upbeat percussions.

“Basically, Sufi music is about God and our connection with the almighty. The moment we become aware that God puts his vision on us, that very moment we forget about everything else,” Serfaraz told The Jakarta Post.

The music seemed to have taken away the sleepiness that pervaded the audience at the beginning of the hot afternoon. Ninety minutes passed by quickly.

In no time, the dusk call to prayer was heard, reminding the audience that it was now iftar time.

Members of the audience then enthusiastically opened their takjil (breaking-of-the-fast snacks) boxes and relished in the sweet snacks and staple kolak pisang (bananas stewed in coconut milk) before moving on to enjoy several internationally famed Indian dishes like paneer tikka masala for dinner.

Apparently, members of the Chishti Brothers ensemble also took delight in the communal spirit they shared with their Indonesian Muslim brothers and sisters.

“I already enjoy being in Indonesia so much […] The way people observe Ramadan here is just the same way we do in India […] Everybody’s like family. The Indonesian audience is also very disciplined and interactive,” Serfaraz told the Post after his concert while waiting for his iftar.

Said endorsed the idea of spreading cross-cultural peace through music.

“We have to stand united against our common enemies: terrorism, radicalism and extremism.”

Rawat added that reviving the India-Indonesia Islamic connection could also attract more Indonesian tourists to various historical mosques across India. 

“We have imposed zero visa fees for Indonesian tourists.”

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