Say a little prayer<\/p>\n
On Wednesday night, most Indonesian Muslims will throng
\nmosques around the country for the taraweh prayers, kicking off
\nthe Ramadhan holy month. For the next 29 to 30 days, Muslims in
\nthe country will refrain from eating and drinking, and from
\nindulging in worldly acts, such as sexual intercourse, from dawn
\nto dusk.<\/p>\n
To Muslims, Ramadhan is more a spiritual than a physical
\nendurance test. The hunger and thirst sustained during the day
\nare part and parcel of the exercise to restrain and purify one's
\nself, and to defeat one's worldly emotions and desires. Prayers,
\nlots of them, also make up for that drive to attain the highest
\nspiritual experience. During Ramadhan, Muslims will pray beyond
\nthe obligatory five daily prayers; the nightly taraweh, which
\nbegins on Wednesday night, is one of them.<\/p>\n
Ramadhan is as much an individual as well as a communal
\nspiritual experience. While a person is on his or her own in
\nrefraining from worldly activities, he or she is conducting this
\nin a family environment and in a community. The taraweh, held
\nmostly at mosques, for example, symbolizes the communal nature of
\nRamadhan. Observed properly, Ramadhan should benefit the person
\nas well as the community he or she lives in. Given that the
\nmajority of the population is Muslim, the month should also
\nbenefit Indonesia.<\/p>\n
So much has happened in this country over the past year, both
\ngood and bad, giving us a lot to contemplate during our Ramadhan
\nprayers. On the good side, we have succeeded in building a new
\ngovernment which was elected in a democratic process. Indonesia
\ncould not have picked a better president in Abdurrahman Wahid, a
\nMuslim scholar with renowned commitments to democracy and human
\nrights.<\/p>\n
On the downside, violence still wreaks havoc in some parts of
\nour country. Many of our countrymen and women, of all faiths,
\nhave fallen victim to these ugly unrests, some of which, sadly,
\noriginate from sectarian conflicts. Many people have lost their
\nlives, others have lost their loved ones and their property.
\nAcross the country, many people continue to fall victim to the
\nravaging economic crisis, plunging them deeper into poverty; more
\nand more are losing their jobs, their source of livelihood and
\ntheir source of pride and self-respect.<\/p>\n
Given the condition of our country, Ramadhan is therefore an
\nappropriate and timely occasion for all of us to reflect on the
\npast, and to amend the mistakes we have made. It is a good time
\nto start building a better future, for ourselves, our families,
\nand ultimately for our community and country. It is a time to
\nrenew our commitments as a religious person, and in turn to renew
\nour commitments to strengthen our sense of community.<\/p>\n
When we say our prayers during Ramadhan, we should say some
\nfor those victims of the crises and for those who are far less
\nfortunate than ourselves. We should also pray for the country's
\nleaders, upon whose shoulders fall the unenviable task of lifting
\nthis country out of its current predicament.<\/p>\n
Since Muslims make up the majority of the population, we have
\nto take the initiative to right every wrong found in this
\ncountry. Muslims are expected to take the lead. The Ramadhan
\nprayers must be an occasion for Muslims to seek divine guidance
\nas we search for a way to build a better and more peaceful
\ncommunity.<\/p>\n
Ramadhan indeed is a time for all Muslims to make peace with
\nthemselves, more so than with anything else. But there can be no
\npeace of mind so long as the political and economic crises
\ncontinue to tear our community and our country apart. There can
\nbe no real peace so long as people in this country continue to
\ndie violent and senseless deaths, so long as people continue to
\nlive in dire poverty, to lose their jobs, to go hungry and to
\nbecome so desperate that they have to indulge in criminal acts.<\/p>\n
A little prayer, when said together, could go a long way to
\nbring peace to this country. A solemn prayer during Ramadhan
\ncould enlighten our community, and our leaders, and show the way
\nto resolve the various problems and challenges that confront us.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/say-a-little-prayer-1447893297",
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