Our Religiousness
Nearly a week has gone in the Ramadhan fasting month. Muslims have been performing their religious obligations with great enthusiasm. Mosques and other houses of prayer are full of Muslims doing their tarawih non-obligatory evening prayer during Ramadhan, and other prayers.
Hotels organize a fast-breaking celebration, followed by the tarawih prayer. Television stations air special Ramadhan programs with beautiful and handsome celebrities as anchors. Radio stations do likewise. Religious discussions, particularly those related to Ramadhan, are regularly held.
For several years now, Muslims have shown a greater interest in religious things during the Ramadhan month, which is welcomed like an honored guest.
At this point, it is quite appropriate to wonder whether these intensified religious activities and prayers have improved the behavior of our community. To build an Indonesia free from corruption, collusion and nepotism, that is democratic, just and prosperous, a basic change must be introduced to our behavior.
We must admit that our own behavior has thrown this country into a protracted crisis. Our greed for power and material wealth has led to corruption, plunder, bribery and dirty tricks to beat our political foes.
As there is yet no sign that Indonesia is improving -- for several years it has been one of the world's most corrupt countries -- it is doubtful whether fasting during this Ramadhan month will ever change our behavior or whether, while we can fast, we can abstain from greed, avarice and envy.
If we cannot, then we must listen to what the Koran says. "Then, misfortune be for those who perform their prayers but then ignore ... " (QS 107: 4-5).
When drawing an analogy between fasting and prayer, we suspect we forget the essence of fasting. We regard fasting only as a formal rite empty of significance. We assume religious piety only for personal benefit, not for communal benefit. We place ritual piety above social piety.
If we truly wish to make Ramadhan a month filled with blessings, fortune and forgiveness, we must change our religious viewpoint. What counts in religious devotion is not its rite but rather its significance, its soul and its spirit.
-- Republika, Jakarta