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."