Friday sermon

It was Friday, June 21, 1996, at 11:45 a.m. when an Indonesian friend pulled up in a flashy car to give me a ride to the mosque for Friday prayers. After about 20-minute drive we arrived at a huge building (along Jl. Sudirman) called "Gedung GKBI." In it I found a pretty international audience of various nationalities ready to listen to a sermon in English just before prayer time.

After a short announcement, the imam, a law professor at the University of Indonesia, started to deliver his kotbah (sermon) in English. This took him about 20 minutes. After the kotbah, the prayer took about 10 minutes, and then coffee was served.

In a small news bulletin I learnt that the program was organized by the "Nahla Club" mainly to assist expatriates who may not necessarily understand Friday prayers in Indonesian.

As an expatriate, I found this idea really sweet. It bears testimony to the capacity of Indonesians to cater to the needs of foreigners in all spheres of life -- a job well done.

BUHARI ABDU

Jakarta