Gus Dur: Soccer fanatic and lover classical music

By Agus Maryono

PURWOKERTO, Central Java (JP): Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid, many agree, is unique and eccentric at the same time. The leader of the 30-million strong Nahdlatul Ulama who covets the presidency in the upcoming election is a soccer and music fanatic.

He has a large collection of cassettes and CDs of classical music at his home in Ciganjur in the south Jakarta suburbs.

But few know that he also owns a music band he calls Ki Ageng Ganjur, which combines modern and Javanese classical instruments.

Ki Ageng Ganjur's genre is essentially qasidah (religious chants in Arabic to the rhythm of a gambus, a six-stringed plucked instrument of Arabic origin) and gambus-like music reminiscent of the Middle East.

The Javanese musical instruments consist of gong, bonang (a row of inverted bronze bowls) and similar instruments. The music is enjoyable, attractive and riveting for the soul of listeners, especially Muslims.

In Indonesia this kind of music is associated with Islam because the songs are mostly in praise of the Prophet Muhammad. People familiar with Emha Ainun Najib's Kiai Kanjeng music will soon discover that the two styles share similar nuances.

The sounds are dominated by modern instruments like guitar and organ which are matched with Javanese gamelan instruments like gongs, bonang, saron (metallophone) and kendang (drum).

Two women clad in jilbab scarves and one man are standing amid the musicians singing in praise of the Prophet Muhammad, Shalawat Nabi. Their voices are very clear. Sometimes they hit high notes in songs usually presented by qori and qoriah (reciters of the Koran).

The male singer's voice is also excellent. Ya Rabbi Shalli ala Muhammad, Ya Rabbi Shalli alaihi Wassalim" are among the verses sung. The verses contain a request to God to bestow mercy and safety on the Prophet Muhammad (Oh, Lord, bestow Your shalawat/mercy on the Prophet Muhammad. Yes, Lord, bestow Your shalawat/mercy on him, the Prophet).

The music is not only good for the ears but also carries religious messages as explained by the leader of Ki Ageng Ganjur, Ngatawi al-Zastrow, 33, interviewed after a recent show here.

"Yes, Ki Ageng Ganjur has a mission, that is helping promote the harmony in this country for which Gus Dur is vigorously campaigning," said Zastrow, Gus Dur's personal assistant.

Zastrow said that Ki Ageng Ganjur is a music group directly fostered by Gus Dur.

"Pesantren school teachers used to reject the music. Therefore it is not surprising that there are still such schools which forbid their students listening to our music," said Zastrow.

"If we look at the history of Islam, many sufi (religious experts) performed zikir (chants in praise of God) using music as a means to move closer to God," said Zastrow. "We are also convinced that music can express religiosity as a way to communicate with God. It was based on this idea that in 1996 we established the Ki Ageng Ganjur. The idea came from Gus Dur himself and we, the younger generation, brought it into being."

The various musical instruments used by the Ki Agung Ganjur, according to Zastrow, symbolize elements of religiosity, ethnicity and the noble tradition of the Indonesian nation which are needed if it is to remain united in harmony.

"So this music reflects Gus Dur's dream of a peaceful Indonesia," said Zastrow.

He further said that the compositions not only accommodate the various types of music and culture of the archipelago but also those of foreign countries.

"We have learned music from Egypt, India and South Asia. Our musical instruments resemble those used in other nations," said Zastrow, adding that it was hoped people from various backgrounds could accept the music.

"We are rich in music which has Islamic colors but we also want to incorporate music from regions across Indonesia. We want to study them too."

The ideals of unifying elements of religiosity, ethnicity and tradition are reflected in the electronic and acoustic instruments from Bali, Java and Padang.

Ki Ageng Ganjur has a variety of 18 instruments played by 18 musicians: peking, mandolin, saron, flute, drum, kendang, gambang (xylophone), bonang, percussions, rebana (tambourine), timpani, gong, violin, horn, flute, guitar, keyboard and piano.

The gamelan instruments are dominant. According to Zastrow this is because the Javanese love their own music.

"Do not forget that Sunan Kalijaga (an Islamic propagator in ancient Java) also used these instruments when introducing the Javanese people to Islam," said Zastrow, who bought a set of gamelan instruments for Rp 18 million.

"We spent not less than Rp 80 million for all the instruments," said Zastrow, adding that the group charged Rp 5 to 7 million for one performance lasting about three hours.

He explained that they did not experience any difficulty in introducing the music to pesantren schools. "I think because this group is associated with the name of Gus Dur, so the kiai (Islamic scholars) who used to frown on music can accept it."

According to him one of the most plausible explanations for this acceptance is the history of Sunan Kalijaga who disseminated Islam in Java using gamelan music.

Ki Ageng Ganjur has so far launched one album entitled Wasiat Gus Dur (Gus Dur's Testament). It contains five Islamic songs and Shalawat Nabi sung chorally by a number of men and women.

In between songs, Gus Dur gives religious advice in the form of short lectures. The singers have beautiful voices but their names are given no prominence.

Ki Ageng Ganjur emphasizes the color of the music. That is why each listener to the cassette. which has a photograph of Gus Dur on the cover, will not remember the singers but will be absorbed by the music.

"The first album has not received as good a response as we had expected. We have produced 60,000 copies. It is limited to our circle," said Zastrow.

He said that the second album was underway. The project started in the middle of last Ramadhan. The contents are still religious messages taken from the holy verses of the Koran and Al-Barzanji script containing the Shalawat Nabi. The project is expected to be completed soon.