Don't pander to donors

Don't pander to donors

From Republika

Once I heard the management of a mosque I attended make the following announcement: "We would like to thank Sudwikatmono and all his family for performing an obligatory prayer in this mosque".

I've never heard such a welcome like this before, not even at Masjidil Haram in Mecca when the Saudi Arabian king joined an obligatory prayer.

Why wasn't this welcome -- purportedly sincere -- intended for all the people joining the prayers on that occasion? A mosque is the home of God. It is the place where we, regardless of who donates for the construction of the mosque, can pray. It is not an open house of a business tycoon.

Have we lost our Islamic virtues? Islam teaches equality before God and prohibits the idolization of individuals on the basis of their donations. Strangely, we often justify what God does not consider rightful (corruption, for example) and consider religiously unlawful what God encourages us to do (for example, providing financial help to the poor and orphans, whoever they may be).

For us, amar ma'ruf nahi mungkar (to expound what is correct and reject what is wrong) is used to condemn people when they do not act in compliance with our interests but we are reluctant to introspect when we begin to act like a little tyrant or pharaoh.

I believe that God's divine revelation tells that Islam will never disappear from the Earth until doomsday. However, according to my narrow interpretation, God has never made any promise that Islam will never "disappear" from Pondok Labu, Pondok Indah, Jakarta or even Indonesia! Islam will find a fertile soil for its development in a country where the people have integrity and dignity and are willing to think and have a forward-looking vision far into the future going way beyond space, time and (let alone) temporary political interests and mundane concerns.

Islam will only become stronger in the face of outside attacks but its greatest enemy will come from Muslims themselves.

SARTONO MUKADIS

Jakarta