Gus Dur's sermon is sweet music to the ears

By P. Prasetyohadi

JAKARTA (JP): Abdurrahman Wahid, more popularly known as Gus Dur, the chairman of the country's largest Moslem organization Nahdhatul Ulama, has made a surprise move by introducing his first recorded sermon accompanied by music.

The sermon, recorded on a 60-minute cassette titled Gus Dur & Sanggar Ki Ageng Ganjur: Tadarus Budaya (Cultural Reading and Imagination by Gus Dur and the Ki Ageng Ganjur music workshop), comprises a series of sermons accompanied by instrumental music and songs. The sermon focuses on the meaning of the Islamic fasting month of Ramadhan and the festivities of Idul Fitri.

The fasting month, which began last Friday, lasts until Feb. 8 and will be followed by the festivities of Idul Fitri on Feb. 9. According to the cassette's liner notes, fasting and Idul Fitri are religious rituals greatly revered by Moslems in Indonesia.

This is the first time Wahid has recorded a sermon on cassette for sale to the general public. Other Moslem preachers have also recorded sermons on cassette, such as Zainuddin MZ and Qosim Norseha.

Al-Zastrouw Ng, the coordinator of the recording, said what is unique is not what Gus Dur says during the sermon, but that it is combined with music to make his message more articulate.

He referred to this blending of a religious sermon with music as "the first of its kind" in Indonesia.

"There is not only Arabian instrumental music, but also other ethnic rhythms such as Javanese gamelan, as well as popular and soft classic music," Al-Zastrouw said.

He said the composers, mostly from Yogyakarta, attempted to include every type of music, with the intention of helping the listeners get closer to Allah.

"But not in a common way," he said. "We offer a relaxing way of approaching Allah, yet in a deeper sense."

The composers are Mamiek S., who worked with the Kelompok Suara Ratan musical group, popular among youth in Yogyakarta; Kh. Anwar of the Arabian style music group Al-Jami'ah from the State Islamic Institute Sunan Kalijaga (IAIN) in Yogyakarta and Tutut P., a violinist, who contributes a classical flavor to the sermon.

Social solidarity

Throughout the recording, every time Gus Dur pauses during one of his four sermons, the music provides listeners with an opportunity to reflect on the points conveyed.

The music relaxes the listener and allows them to contemplate without other distractions, which may help them to better understand the meaning of Gus Dur's message.

In the sermon, Gus Dur explains that in observing Ramadhan, Moslems should be aware that apart from the vertical dimension in submitting to religious rituals, they should also adopt a horizontal dimension toward others.

"If people are too fussy in observing fasting rituals, to the point where they scrupulously try to prevent even a drop of water from entering their mouths, they may have forgotten their important obligation to create social solidarity," said Gus Dur, who advocates that Indonesian Moslems follow a moderate, tolerant brand of Islam.

He said nowadays, people are too busy trying to accumulate as many material goods as possible. Greed has blinded people to the plight of others, especially the destitute.

"During Ramadhan, we are called on to overcome all barriers which keep us away from others, not to indulge in satisfying physical needs, accumulating material wealth or abusing power," he said.

"We are called to struggle toward developing our society to achieve justice and prosperity," he said.

"We want to promote music as an effective medium to get closer to God in Islam," he said.

Al-Zastrouw, also a graduate from IAIN Sunan Kalijaga in Yogyakarta, said Islam is too often perceived as a formal and legalistic religion.

He said there were some Moslem teachers who reportedly criticized the way the cassette was edited.

They questioned the decision to combine music with the recitation of holy verses from the Koran and claimed the manner in which Gus Dur recites the verses is misleading, he said.

Al-Zastrouw said he did not expect the cassette to be welcomed by all Moslems, but only by a certain group. He therefore could understand why some Moslems disagreed with it.

He said the targeted listeners are educated middle-class Moslems who feel ashamed to listen to dangdut (Indian-influenced music popular among lower-class people) and are bored with popular songs. "We offer them alternative music."

Robert Hefner, an anthropologist from Boston University in the United States who was visiting the country, said the most interesting thing about the cassette is "the tension resulting from the unclearness of whether it is a sermon or music."

"This tension will draw more listeners out of curiosity," he said.

Hefner, who teaches religion, politics and Indonesian history, said the "experimental music" featured on the cassette makes it more interesting.

He believed the cassette will be popular among city youths who prefer a new kind of art, but are also thirsty for spiritual knowledge.

Yuliasari Sutowijoyo, the director of PT Mitra Mulia, who is financing the project, said her company plans to produce 30,000 copies of the cassette during Ramadhan.