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