Islamic band Debu sticks to its principles

Islamic band Debu sticks to its principles

David Kennedy, Contributor, Jakarta, d_kenn@yahoo.com

Is the holy month of Ramadhan too commercial? Some people
certainly think so. In fact, one group of Muslims would be pretty
close to being annoyed about it were it not for its members'
Zen-like serenity and poise.

Debu -- an American Sufi band living in Jakarta -- has
received much acclaim over the last two years for its unique
brand of Islamic and world music.

The Sufis, who live strictly according to Islamic principles,
have made numerous television appearances, played concerts to
thousands of Indonesians and even performed for Vice President
Hamzah Haz.

AlQuran Seluler, the mobile phone service which allows almost
90,000 subscribers to listen to sermons from famous preachers,
also features the group's tunes as background music.

The songs Debu sings -- in Indonesian, English and Arabic --
are mostly about love and peace, and the band members exude
goodwill and equanimity. They clearly revel in the opportunity to
reach more and more people through their music.

Since the start of Ramadhan, sales of their album Mabuk Cinta
(Drunk with Love), released last April, have steadily increased
to over 50,000 copies, and the band has been inundated with
requests for concerts and interviews.

So what is it about the festive season that bothers them?

"There's too much focus on Ramadhan. That's when all the
Islamic artists perform and release their albums. Everything is
commercialized during Ramadhan and then after it's back to the
usual," said Najib Ali, a 31-year-old band member from California
and also Debu's manager.

"Yeah, when Ramadhan comes you get people becoming real
religious and then afterwards, they forget all about it," added
his 22-year-old brother in law, Mustafa, lead singer of Debu.

Mustafa believes their music appeals to a wide audience,
including non-Muslims, nonpracticing Muslims and heavy metal rock
music fans. The name of the band, which means "dust" in
Indonesian, came from a rock band in the U.S. called Dust on the
Road, but is also a reference to all living things eventually
turning to dust.

"I had this guy who is a rocker come up after one of our
concerts to say he loved our music and that our lyrics are deep
and meaningful," Mustafa said.

"Often religious music is about praying five times a day and
well, you have to do that but it usually does not go into any
more depth."

The band is resolutely Islamic but the members don't want to
be dubbed exclusively so -- hence the difficulty in accepting
their increased popularity during Ramadhan.

Still, it's hard not to classify them as such. Although the
music has a rounded world music feel to it -- their panoply of
instruments evoke Egyptian, Irish and Turkish sounds -- the
band's traditional Muslim clothes tend to give the game away.

But are Debu about entertainment or preaching? A little of
both, perhaps, though the emphasis is more toward having fun and
allowing people to take what they want from the music rather than
proselytizing.

"One thing Sufis try to bring out is that the essence of Islam
is about beauty and love. That's what we do with the music,"
explains Najib Ali.

"I mean, who would want to become Muslim if Islam is just the
harsh everyday subjugation of everything enjoyable? It's only
natural that humans want to enjoy life and be happy."

Indonesia is not unaccustomed to Sufis, who seek to live
according to the essence of Islam and often have mystical
practices. The Wali Songo, the nine religious teachers who
disseminated Islam in Java in the 15th and 16th centuries, were
Sufi teachers, and indigenous Sufi orders still exist today.

Debu's members are part of a 58-strong Sufi "family" living in
South Jakarta and led by Sheikh Fatah, a Sufi teacher from Texas
who received "permission" to teach in 1982. According to
tradition, new Sufi teachers are chosen and have a lineage which
is said to stretch back to the first teachers appointed by the
Prophet Muhammad.

The Sheikh, father to Mustafa and 12 other children in the
group, writes all the lyrics to Debu's own songs and is both a
spiritual leader and teacher to his "family" -- almost everyone
is related either by blood or marriage, so it is also a family
grouping in a real sense.

It was while teaching at a pesantren (Islamic boarding school)
in South Sulawesi when they arrived in the country four years ago
that Sheik Fatah and his group discovered the power of music to
reach people.

"We were teaching students entering Universitas Muslim
Indonesia," said Mustafa. "We sang with them and had Dzikir
(meditation and chanting) and their reaction to us was great."

Deciding to bring their music to a wider audience, they moved
to Jakarta in 2001 and began learning to play instruments and
thinking seriously about arranging their songs for performances.

It is not surprising that this Sufi group is musically
inclined as they have been singing together for some years. Sufis
use different methods, including song and dance, to explore
deeper levels of Islam.

"Sheikh Fatah uses language poetry and music while others use
medicine or miracles but the essence is the same -- to teach
people how to fulfill their potential, to become human beings,"
said Najib Ali.

"I know Sufis who, as part of their tradition, use knives and
stick themselves. It's like a secret or a gift they've been given
to do this."

Sufis seek enlightenment, or Fana, through annihilating all
sense of self. To do this they must first control the destructive
desires of what they call the lower or conditioned self -- the
Nafs. When the Nafs are in check, the Sufi is on the right path.

"If you're not in control then you don't know how your
relationships are going to turn out with people. You've no way of
knowing when you're going to interject yourself into a situation
that's improper."

Self realization is central to Sufism. This is where the
Sheikh comes in, as he gives each student a personalized
spiritual practice to follow. They may be required to spend time
alone or do various tasks separate from the group in order to
conquer their personal demons.

The fact that the group lives communally, chants and sings,
and has had up to 90 members at times, many of them children, has
meant that, at times, they attract less than positive reactions
from the public.

"Because we have all these kids and live together -- it can be
quite difficult in a non-Islamic society. When you're trying to
bring them up in a situation like that, there is constant
pressure," said Mustafa, himself the father of two.

He says people tend to be afraid of what they don't
understand. The group moved around America and the Dominican
Republic before coming to Indonesia in search of a better life.

"We lived as a community (in America) and basically wanted to
be left alone. When we came here that is what happened even
though other things have happened since. We didn't at all plan to
become stars!"

Jakarta's American Sufis are financially supported by family
members in the U.S. and say they are a long way off making a
living from Debu. The band's manager is not opposed to making a
profit but not at any price; Debu refuses to accept money from
cigarette companies who sponsor most major concerts in Indonesia.

"Some people look at us and say Debu will never go anywhere
because they'll never get the big concerts. But I think with
patience and sticking to real principles it will pay off," Najib
Ali said.

"But if we were offered a big concert in Ramadhan, I would
turn it down."