Aceh dominates Idul Adha sermons
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Clerics called on Muslims throughout the country observing the Islamic Day of Sacrifice on Friday to extend their sympathy to victims affected by the killer tsunamis that devastated Aceh and North Sumatra.
In their Idul Adha sermons, the preachers asked Muslim worshipers to join prayers for those who perished in the Dec. 26 calamity and to pray for the wellbeing of survivors living in desperate conditions.
"Let us pray to God that life for the tsunami survivors swiftly be restored to normal and the victims have patience dealing with the disaster," cleric Zainal Arifin said in his sermon delivered before thousands of Muslims in Jember, East Java.
Scholar Nazaruddin Umar of Syarif Hidayatullah Islamic State University (UIN) told thousands of worshipers at the Istiqlal Grand Mosque, Central Jakarta, that perseverance and the human spirit must prevail in the face of such utter destruction.
"We must to find the good in every disaster that befalls mankind," he said.
Nazaruddin said the tsunamis that devastated parts of Aceh and North Sumatra and killed more than 166,000 people were a wake-up call to others in the country to make good on their past errors and embark on righteous conduct.
Vice President Jusuf Kalla was among those who joined the Idul Adha prayers at Istiqlal. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono celebrated the Islamic holiday in Banda Aceh, the Aceh capital city hardest hit by the tidal waves.
This year Indonesian Muslims observed the Day of Sacrifice, which marks the end of the annual haj pilgrimage to Mecca, on different dates.
Supporters of the Islamic-oriented Justice Prosperous Party (PKS) celebrated the holiday on Thursday based on the fact that haj pilgrims had gathered in Arafah, Mecca, to observe the culmination of the ritual (wukuf) the day earlier. Muslims usually observe Idul Adha one day after wukuf.
In Yogyakarta, Indonesian Council of Ulemas (MUI) secretary general Din Syamsuddin said that in the wake of the tsunami, Muslims should renounce corruption and other vices widespread in the country.
As for the Acehnese living in poor conditions after the catastrophe, he asked them to be patient and keep hope.
In Pekanbaru, Riau, a somber mood prevailed when thousands of Muslims took to the street on the eve of Idul Adha to join a solemn march in sympathy for the victims.
Unlike the celebrations in the previous years, when firecrackers were lit and drums played, Muslims there silently chanted the name of God.
Riau Governor Rusli Zainal, who saw off the march, asked Muslims to act in positive ways for the tsunami victims.
The large amount of donations for the disaster victims made by Muslims has indirectly affected the slumping sales of sacrificial animals to be slaughtered after the Idul Adha prayer service.
Traders in Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta, said that for this year's Islamic feast, they could only sell a small number of cattle and goats because many people were now short of money.
"During the current Idul Adha, I have only sold 100 goats and 15 cows, compared to 250 and 20 last year," a trader in Tanah Abang was quoted by Antara as saying.