REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, Eid al-Fitr 1447 Hijriah has once again arrived with\nthe familiar dynamics for Indonesian society, namely the difference in\ndate determination. Muhammadiyah, using the Single Global Hijri Calendar\n(KHGT) officially implemented since 2025, will celebrate Eid on Friday,\n20 March 2026. Meanwhile, the government, through the isbat session, has\nset 1 Syawal on Saturday, 21 March 2026, after the crescent moon was\ndeemed not to meet visibility criteria on the previous night.<\/p>\n
This one-day difference is not about who is right or wrong. As I\nwrote in this Lentera column some time ago, both parties start from the\nsame goal, namely determining when the new Hijri month begins, with\ndifferences in thinking frameworks and basic assumptions used.<\/p>\n
Eid al-Fitr 1447 Hijriah this time also arrives amid a world that is\nnot faring well. For a full month, Muslims have observed Ramadan under\nthe shadow of war news, rockets flying in the skies over Tehran, radars\ndestroyed, schools demolished by missiles, and videos whose authenticity\ncan no longer be trusted. The echoes of takbir resounding everywhere\nfeel in stark contrast to the roar of conflicts that have yet to subside\nin West Asia.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, it is precisely here that Eid al-Fitr always finds its\ndeepest relevance. Eid al-Fitr serves as a reminder to every human being\nthat, no matter how complicated the world outside is, there is always an\nopportunity to return, renew intentions, and continue steps forward.<\/p>\n
Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr this year also bear witness to two seemingly\nopposing yet interconnected things. On one side, the war between Iran\nand the United States and Israel continues to show the darkest face of\nhuman civilisation. On the other side, in the same digital spaces where\nwar videos circulate, a technological phenomenon is changing the way\nmillions of people work, learn, and live their daily lives.<\/p>\n
In early 2026, an Austrian software developer named Peter Steinberger\nlaunched a simple project. An AI assistant that can be conversed with\nvia WhatsApp, Telegram, or Discord, capable of performing real tasks on\nthe computer, from managing files, scheduling work, to automatically\nbrowsing the web, even while the user is sleeping.<\/p>\n
The project is named OpenClaw, which in the first 72 hours since its\npublic launch garnered 60,000 stars on the GitHub platform. By March\n2026, the number exceeded 250,000 stars, surpassing React, one of the\nmost influential software projects in Internet history. OpenClaw has\nbecome the fastest-growing open-source project in history. What sets\nOpenClaw apart from previous AI assistants is its agentic nature;\nbesides answering questions, it can also take actions.<\/p>\n
More than 100 modular skills or capabilities are available and\ncontinue to grow from contributions by the global community. In China,\nenthusiasm for OpenClaw is so great that thousands queued in front of\nTencent\u2019s office in Shenzhen to request installation help. This\nphenomenon is jokingly termed by the local community as \u201craising a\nlobster,\u201d referring to the project\u2019s red crab logo.<\/p>\n
However, the emergence of OpenClaw is not without critical notes.\nSecurity researchers have found thousands of OpenClaw instances exposed\non the public Internet with serious security vulnerabilities. This\nreminds us of the message I have repeatedly conveyed in this Lentera\ncolumn: extraordinary capabilities always come hand in hand with equal\nrisks.<\/p>\n
Amid the war of disinformation using AI to produce fake videos, and\namid AI assistants now capable of taking real autonomous actions,\nliteracy regarding this technology is no longer a choice but a\nfundamental need for every citizen.<\/p>\n
It is in this context that the meaning of Eid al-Fitr finds a new\ndimension. Fitrah means returning to the origin, renewing oneself, and\nsetting clearer intentions to move forward. Returning does not mean\nrejecting change, but ensuring that amid the pace of change that nearly\nexceeds our ability to comprehend, human values remain the compass. An\nAI assistant can work without sleep, but it can never replace the depth\nof intention, honesty, and responsibility that form the core of every\nhuman deed.<\/p>\n
As an academic at Amikom Yogyakarta University, the Eid moment is\nalways a time for reflection on the never-ending journey of learning.\nAmikom Yogyakarta University, with study programmes from D3 to S3 levels\nbased on Informatics, serves as a space to build competencies in a\nstructured and responsible manner, in an era where autonomous AI\nassistants like OpenClaw and disinformation wars based on Generative AI\nappear together on the same screen.<\/p>\n
Differences in holiday determination, ongoing wars in Persian lands,\nand astonishing yet alarming technological leaps\u2014all present in this\nyear\u2019s Eid. Eid al-Fitr still arrives on time, always reminding that\namid all the noise, something far more important must be preserved: a\nclean heart, upright intentions, and the resolve to continue learning\nand contributing. Allah SWT says: \u201cIndeed, Allah will not change the\ncondition of a people until they change what is in themselves.\u201d (QS.\nAr-Ra\u2019d: 11). Happy Eid al-Fitr 1447 Hijriah. Taqabbalallahu minna wa\nminkum. Wall\u0101hu a\u2019lam.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/eid-amidst-war-and-the-lobster-1774435916", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }