Fasting, the Gentle Face of Religion
Of course, fasting does not only teach the ability to endure hunger and thirst during the day. Its moral imperative goes beyond this. Fasting actually instills sublime awareness of empathy and tenderness of the soul.
Of course, fasting does not only teach the ability to endure hunger and thirst during the day. Its moral imperative goes beyond this. Fasting actually instills sublime awareness of empathy and tenderness of the soul.
Fasting refreshes the memory of the importance of restoring religion to its basis: to spread love. Fasting is the root of religiosity from which the prophetic function of rahmatan lil alamin (blessing for all humanity) is expected to blossom for the common good.
By fasting, social cohesiveness is expected to grow. Solidarity and gotong royong (mutual cooperation) rediscover the firm anchor of faith.
This theme is relevant for us to become active precisely in the midst of a situation in which our nationality has lately become marred by terrorists in the name of religion, but the behavior of the perpetrators is contrary to the sacred teachings of religion. The incident at the Mobile Brigade headquarters in Kelapa Dua, Depok, which killed 5 policemen, and bomb attacks in various places in Surabaya and Sidoarjo, which caused 28 fatalities, alarm use: terrorism is not nonsense but is already at our front doors, in our yards, at the nation\'s doorstep.
Terrorism is not a drama, let alone engineered, but it is real and at any moment it is ready to detonate its homemade bombs in front of anyone considered to be an infidel in the pursuit of the primitive fantasy of its archaic politics. Tragically, it was not triggered only by adult men, but women and even young children, too.
‘Agama waham’
Authentic religiosity never teaches violence, whether physical or symbolical. The falseness and validity of a belief can be determined by the primary indicator of whether that belief echoes the messages of peace, harmony of love and cohesion, or the opposite. It is enough to say that a religion is false when what it instills among its followers is hatred and a call to kill those who do not adhere to their teachings. This latter is actually not a religion, but a delusion or waham: a pretense at religion. This is what Richard Dawkins strongly criticizes in The God Delusion, that waham is a symptom of personal illness, but when it occurs among the many, it is called "religion".
It can nearly always be ascertained that terrorism starts from puritanism. It starts from a bipolar, black-and-white religious interpretation, and the blind acknowledgment of this understanding. They link their theology to religious texts or medieval fikih that are interpreted in a haphazard way. Its greatest vestige: an obsession to seize political power not for the sacred purpose of building a divine kingdom on earth, but pursuing the throne and the profane motif of the material. The Islamic State (IS) is the most naked example of how religion is hijacked for the desperate desire for power on a merely earthly political course. If necessary, they will even make their own fikih. The goal is none other than to make the people who join it feel comforted, because there appears to be religious legitimacy. The fikih dima, written by the IS ideologue Abu Abdullah al-Muhajir, is the reference for terrorists in carrying out their barbaric acts. The ideology behind fikih dima is deciding whether to live, or to fight to the death rather than surrender to the enemy.
According to AE Priyono’s study (2018), the 579-page book is divided into chapters with horrific titles, such as “Beheading”, “Skinning”, “Kidnapping Infidels” and “How to Kill Spies”. These include genocide, the use of weapons of mass destruction, killing non-combatants (civilians), sexual slavery and enslaving hostages.
To prevent terrorism from mushrooming, the spirit not only be stirred to perform fasting rites, of course, but also presuppose a strategic roadmap that should become the agenda of all components of the nation. This includes, first, the community, the state and religious organizations to continuously promote religious interpretations that are inclusive, open, systematic and sustainable; and at the same time, participatory cooperation among all groups to ensure that diversity is guaranteed. Diversity should not simply be preached, but become ingrained behavior. Diversity should be experienced. Ontologically, “the other” is not an enemy that may exist or vanish, but an inseparable part of our spirit. “The other” existentially determines our existence.
Second, the state should not be defeated by a movement that threatens national integrity. The state must always be present through its unified policies and regulatory systems (laws and regulations), under which every citizen is guaranteed safety, worth and dignity. "Protecting the entire nation and the cradle of Indonesia". As a form of our trust in the state, we entrust all solutions to our problems to the authorities, not taking the law into our own hands. The law is directly proportional to justice and truth, with no selective treatment, let alone negotiating for the interests of political pragmatism.
Third, it is time to establish Pancasila as the State ideology, the breath of all citizens. Pancasila is the meeting point for the nation\'s children, the great umbrella under which all can take shelter. According to Yudi Latif, a mainstream cultural movement for Pancasila must flow through five paths: (a) the path of understanding, which will give birth to Indonesia possessing civic intelligence; (b) the path of social inclusion, to give birth to a harmonious Indonesia; (c) the path of social justice, which will give birth to Indonesia sharing prosperity; (d) the institutional path, which will give birth to an organized Indonesia; and (e) the exemplary path, to give birth to a noble Indonesia.
Fourth is to remain optimistic for a civilized Indonesia. Do not tire of dreaming about progress. This optimism, of course, must be accompanied by the strategic steps of government in organizing the life of the nation and state in the economic, social, educational and cultural sectors.
Prophetic example
Entering the holy fasting month, our collective memory harks back to the days of prophethood, the figure of the Prophet Muhammad who has drained the springs of intact examples in all things. It is natural that Pakistani poet Muhammad Iqbal said, "For myself, the al-Mustafa is enough." The Prophet was supposed to be the model example, not al-Bagdhadi or anyone else who frequently delivers provocative lectures.
The Prophet Muhammad spread love not only to children, wives and friends, but even to those of different faiths as well as nature and animals. One day, a group of people passed by carrying a dead body as the Prophet sat with his companions. The Prophet stood to give full respect to the deceased. A friend of his reminded that the body was that of a Jew. Said the Prophet, "A Jew is the same, a human being."
On another occasion, the Prophet asked about a Jew who no longer threw garbage at him as he was about to pray. A friend replied that the Jew was at a hospital. Instead of rejoicing, the Prophet was sad, so he visited the Jew, taking food to him. This behavior came to His loyal friend followed his example, and did the same on the next day, visiting the prison and bringing food, and also food for the sick. It turned out that the Jew, who was lying powerlessly, could distinguish between the act of love and others that was accompanied by compulsion.
Welcome, Ramadhan. We will mark this holy month by reflecting on religious and national issues. It seems that the future will be increasingly complicated and heated, not least for entering the season of the general elections. Continue to apply sanity to religious and national lives; allow the sovereignty of common sense.
Asep Salahudin, Expert Staff of Pancasila Ideology Development Agency (BPIP); Human Resources Research and Development Institute (Lakpesdam) Chairman of Nahdlatul Ulama’s West Java Executive Board