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