God willing, please don't confuse us<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Insya Allah, the Arabic expression meaning \"God
\nwilling\", is in popular usage in Indonesia. When you ask someone
\nwhether he or she can come to dinner, the usual answer is Insya
\nAllah.<\/p>\n
The idea is sincere enough because nobody is expected to
\nsurpass God's will as He decides everything about everyone. Now
\nthat's religious submission!<\/p>\n
But my neighbor, someone with good ties with Middle Eastern
\nembassies here, was shocked by the comeback of an Arab diplomat
\nafter he had used Insya Allah.<\/p>\n
\"Is that the Indonesian or Arabic Insya Allah?\" the diplomat
\nasked.<\/p>\n
He was taken aback for a moment before he understood the
\nresponse. It was based on the fact that Indonesians have
\nmanipulated the meaning of the words. Instead of its true meaning
\nof \"I will come to your reception if there is no sudden hindrance
\nwhich I cannot avoid\", people here have long used the words to
\nconceal a direct negative response. Or, at the very least, they
\nare undecided on whether to attend.<\/p>\n
To put it simply, they are veiling their insincerity.<\/p>\n
Playing with language and confusing other people with popular
\nor foreign terms is a long tradition here. Even \"democracy\" has a
\ndifferent meaning here from in Europe, where the concept was
\nconceived.<\/p>\n
We are also well known for our own creation of seeming muddled
\nEnglish terms which confuse British or Americans living here. One
\nof them asked me one day what \"security approach\" means. Is it
\nmilitary approach?<\/p>\n
The use of another popular Arabic word here has also been
\nbastardized and now leaves many people confused. Bina, which
\noriginally means to build, in practice has also taken on the
\nmeaning to advise, to give orders or even to meddle in internal
\naffairs of others in this country.<\/p>\n
Misused<\/p>\n
The word Almarhum (the late) has also been misunderstood and
\nmisused. Many years ago, to mock the Indonesian Communist Party
\n(PKI) which was banned in 1966, many people took to calling it
\nAlmarhum PKI. This is completely erroneous usage because
\nAlmarhum, besides referring to the dead, also implies the hope,
\n\"May God bless him\".<\/p>\n
I will never forget the way Haryadi S., a literary essayist
\nwho died about 25 years ago, also used the term almarhum in
\nreference to someone who remains very much alive today.<\/p>\n
The writer was expressing his dismay at the actions of a
\nsenior editor whom he had once regarded as the most respectable
\nnewspaper editor in the solar system.<\/p>\n
Haryadi was frustrated to find in the late 1960s that his idol
\nhad joined a political group which he saw as menacing Indonesian
\ndemocracy. In his eyes, the editor's political idealism had died.<\/p>\n
\"After he joined the party and accepted an appointed seat in
\nthe nation's highest legislature, he was dead,\" Haryadi said.<\/p>\n
Several months later at a social function, Haryadi had to bid
\nfarewell to the hosts who were standing in line by the door. In
\nthe receiving line was the very same editor.<\/p>\n
Haryadi shook hands with everybody but pointedly skipped his
\nfallen idol. When his friends asked why he had been so rude, he
\nsaid: \"How could I shake hands with an almarhum?\"<\/p>\n
There are more recent examples where Arabic expressions have
\nbeen appropriated for unusual situations. After the results of
\nthe recent general election were announced, veteran politician of
\nthe Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) Alex Asmasubrata suddenly
\nexclaimed Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi raji'un.<\/p>\n
This is the heartfelt reaction a Moslem should make on hearing
\nthat someone has passed away. It is roughly equivalent to may he
\nrest in peace, but its deeper meaning is \"From God do we come and
\nto Him we shall return.\"<\/p>\n
Asked by Merdeka daily to comment on the party's disastrous
\nshowing in the polls, Alex spouted the Arabic expression. \"The
\nparty is dead already,\" he added.<\/p>\n
Alex also confessed to not voting as he claimed he was unable
\nto find the designated polling booth.<\/p>\n
-- TIS<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/god-willing-please-dont-confuse-us-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }