Moslems greet new year with prayers for end to crisis

Moslems greet new year with prayers for end to crisis

SEMARANG (JP): Moslems in Central Java greeted the beginning
of the 1419 Islamic year of Hijr on Monday by holding mass
prayers for an end to the economic crisis.

In almost all mosques and small prayer houses, residents
listened to sermons urging them to be patient. They chanted
Allahuakbar (Allah is the Greatest), recited passages from the
Koran, and ended their gatherings with prayers, many tearful,
that God end the hardship they have faced since last year.

In several mosques, the gatherings were also used to present
packages of new clothing, school supplies and cash for orphan
students.

Chairman of the Central Java chapter of the Indonesian Council
of Ulemas said his office had advised all ulemas and their
congregations to pray together for an end to the crisis.

In several West Java towns, including Depok and Sawangan,
groups of youths held torchlit processions around their kampongs
and chanted Allahuakbar.

Yesterday marked the start of Muharram, the first month of the
Islamic lunar calendar which begins with hijr, the flight of
Prophet Muhammad from Mecca to Medina.

In the Islamic year coinciding with 579 AD, Prophet Muhammad
led his followers out of Mecca, where growing numbers of Moslem
converts were suffering persecution at the hands of unbelievers,
and took them to Medina, where local Moslems opened their arms to
the migrants, and Muhammad continued to spread the word of Islam.

In Jakarta, Minister of Religious Affairs Quraish Shihab
greeted the new year by calling on all Indonesian Moslems to show
even greater faith, to work harder, and to remain optimistic in
the face of hardship.

"In light of the situation facing our nation, Moslems need to
understand, and to follow the values contained in the hijr
(flight of Prophet Muhammad)," Quraish said.

The hijr teaches Moslems the value of struggling to turn a bad
situation into a better life.

"Just before the flight, Moslems were in a weak and persecuted
position, but they continued to believe that some day their
eternal victory would be delivered," Quraish said.

On Monday, when he opened the Muharram Week at the Istiqlal
Grand Mosque, Quraish expressed his belief that Indonesia will
see an Islamic revival, despite the crisis now facing it.

Indonesia is the largest Moslem nation on earth. Moslems make
up 87 percent of the 202 million population.

"Moslems need to consolidate their forces and face the
hardship together," the minister said, as quoted by Antara.

In Yogyakarta, around 10,000 residents marked the Islamic new
year on Monday, which was also the start of the month of Suro on
the Javanese calendar of Saka 1931.

Antara said that some residents greeted the new year by
performing tapa bisu (silent meditation), circling the kraton
(the Sultan of Yogyakarta's palace) in complete silence. The rite
was undertaken by those seeking divine blessing.

Others sat and waited for the day to change.

"It is in this situation that we can reflect on what we have
done in the past year, and resolve to do better in the future,"
Taryono, 43, from nearby Bantul, said. (swe/har)