Idul Fitri for solidarity and justice

Idul Fitri for solidarity and justice

Muhamad Ali, Manoa, Hawaii

In Ramadhan last year, our nation witnessed the inauguration
of the first directly elected President, Vice President, and the
appointed Cabinet, with great hopes that we could look forward to
a better future. That Ramadhan was generally seen as a blessing
for Indonesian politics. Most people seemed quite happy.

But a year later, people now seem to not be quite so happy; they feel
they have more burdens now than they had before: the tsunami,
terrorism, religious intolerance and vandalism, the fuel price
hikes and inflation, higher government spending, and continuing
corruption.

Some of the troubles are said to be beyond human or government
control, such as the tsunami, terrorism and the fuel price hikes.

Be that as it may, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has
called for unity in the face of the energy crisis, "I beg for
your patience, understanding and support so that we can weather
this crisis," the President said. "This calls for togetherness
and a lot of hard work."

Once again we hear the words perseverance (sabar), and
togetherness (kebersamaan). Indeed, troubles are always present,
and when one is over another will certainly emerge, so that
perseverance is what is needed.

The Koran reminds the faithful that we are born to live a life
full of burdens. And other verses remind us that the burdens of
life are a test.

Of course, it is simply a mistake to justify any human
decisions and actions by referring to such religious texts,
especially when these decisions have implications for the lives
of many others. People are asked to be patient, when they are
already more than patient every day in their poverty and
hardship. But they continue to see their leaders steal their
money and property through endless corruption.

Yet, for many in Indonesia today, religious and spiritual
teachings are still relevant. It is, however, incorrect to demand
patience, solidarity and togetherness from the ordinary people
when the rich, the powerful and the privileged lead lives full of
contradictions, impatience, insensitivity, conflict and luxury.

Alas, sensitivity and solidarity for the poor, the
disadvantaged and the underprivileged is non-existent when the
powerful, the rich and the privileged refuse to give up some of
their privileges to help them. They also do not want to elevate
the poor so that they may enjoy better lives, and only care about
their own affairs and interests.

If they perform charity, they do so to gain further kickbacks,
other materialistic benefits or merely to satisfy their
obligations to pay formal alms (zakat), which they use to launder
the money they illegally obtained from corruption. Thus, many are
still showy, ritualistic and formalistic in their religious
behavior. And their public morality and deeds do not seem to
reflect their oft-expressed personal religious piety.

Corruption does not exclusively concern government. It can,
and has, spread everywhere, at every level of society. Many
private sector firms, NGOs, religious organizations, which work
on behalf of the poor and the unprivileged, can also make
mistakes, commit corruption and engage in social violence.

Thus, what is truly lacking now is introspection and self-
criticism. Every individual, every group in government and
society alike should look at themselves before criticizing
others. "Just begin with yourself", Prophet Muhammad once said.

Solidarity and justice are closely interwoven. There are no
religions without justice as the background to their rise.
Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and others were born out
of the problems of injustice prevailing in society. Religions do
not emerge out of blue.

The Koran, for example, was principally a response to the
unhealthy social conditions that the Arabs at that time
faced: violence, corruption and social injustice. Such problems
have persisted throughout history, but many seem to take these
problems for granted or to ignore them. They are more concerned
about how to "legally" perform rituals than acting as
transformers and reformers of their societies. In fact, there is
no single ritual that has no real life implications. In
principle, Islam came on Earth to promote healthy morality.

Justice is an abstract concept, and conflicts often occur in
application, but all of us sense it and we feel it when
injustices occur. Most of us cannot ever deny the presence of
justice or its absence. The idea of justice is shared by most
people, and should also be shared by the government.

When the government fails to implement justice in politics,
society, and economics, then the people can more easily blame the
powerful. Therefore, careful, sensitive and proper actions on the
part of leaders are crucial to the upholding of justice, thereby
creating social order. And as the Koran says, "be just (adil),
because this can lead you closest to righteousness (taqwa)."

If Idul Fitri means "back to purity", thus implying that
humans do often act in an impure, bad and dirty manner, and if
Ramadhan was intended to serve as a purifier in which certain
rituals and deeds are emphasized as being more meaningful
(influential) than during the rest of the year, then our leaders,
as well as the people, should remember that they need to return
to basics, to what is good.

The phenomenon of Mudik should not merely signify a spatial
return from urban to the rural homes, but should further imply a
return to basic human characteristics: turning to the goodness
(hanafiyyah samhah) reflected in public morality.

Hopefully, this Ramadhan and Idul Fitri will not simply be
seen as a normal break: After Ramadhan and Idul Fitri, it will be
back to "(bad) business as usual".

The writer is a lecturer at the Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic
University (UIN); he is now pursuing his Ph.D in History in
Hawaii and is an East-West Center fellow. He can be reached at
muhali74@hotmail.com