Gus Dur's sermon is sweet music to the ears

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.