'Rahasia Illahi' reveals the truth about God's power

'Rahasia Illahi' reveals the truth about God's power

Emmy Fitri, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

World-weary is perhaps the right phrase to describe television
viewers today, bombarded with programs on crime, news, gossip,
weird spiritual journeys and cliched sinetron (television soap
operas).

But what do viewers really need? And what does this need
signify?

Religious programs by popular cleric Abdullah Gymnastiar,
still aired by some private television stations, also seem to
have lost their touch. Devotees still tune in faithfully but most
others just skip them as the programs tend to be dull, with
little variation.

A screen ticker on Televisi Pendidikan Indonesia (or TPI)
partly answers the questions above; it states that the station is
going to set aside half an hour for a sinetron (soap opera)
entitled Rahasia Illahi (Divine Secrets) following popular
request from viewers.

Rahasia Illahi was first aired during the fasting month last
year as part of TPI's Ramadhan package.

"Initially there were many requests to rerun old episodes but
later on more and more people asked to lengthen the duration of
the series," said Theresia Ellasari, the station's public
relations manager.

This sinetron is really nothing special in terms of techniques
or special effects, not even in terms of the cast.

Ellasari, however, revealed that Rahasia Illahi currently
ranks tenth-best program, with a 25.6 percent share of total
viewers.

"It's an achievement (for a television drama) because it was
first broadcast in November (last year) in conjunction with
Ramadhan, and has achieved so much popularity since then," she
told The Jakarta Post.

Starting this year, the station will air old episodes of the
drama three times a week in response to public demand. New
episodes -- called Rahasia Illahi 2 -- will be aired once a week.

Viewers will definitely not be entertained by the drama's, as
most of the time the main character (usually the antagonist) ends
up dead. Perhaps this is supposed to imply that ultimately it is
the will of God that reigns supreme

In one episode actress Baby Zelvia plays an ambitious,
materialistic career woman who neglects her main role as a mother
of two and wife to Henry Tornado (also her husband in real life).
To achieve her worldly ambitions, she even goes to a dukun
(shaman) to bring down all the barriers confronting her,
including poisoning her solemn husband who has been trying to
warn her to reduce her pace.

She dies tragically at the end of story in a car accident,
along with her lover.

"That's the i'tibar (lesson) we can learn from the drama. To a
woman, abandoning her natural role and function as a mother and
wife is sinful, while belief in a power other than God is kufur
(blasphemy). God doesn't mean to punish her or those she left
behind but it is His way of warning others not to do the same
thing," said ustadz (teacher) Muhammad Arifin Ilham at the end of
the drama.

Arifin is a central character in the show, for it is he that
sheds light -- with his Koran-based teachings -- on why the
tragedy occurred.

Being alive, already a gift from God, means we always have to
be mindful of what He loves and loathes in a bid to have a
glorious life after death.

Inspiring words similar to those of the soft-spoken Arifin are
frequently heard from many other ustadz, but as the moral he
shares with viewers comes after a tragic, unusual or even weird
incident at the end of someone's life, that makes a big
difference.

"The drama is too serem (terrifying). I watch it sometimes.
Maybe because it is based on true stories it draws people to
watch the next episode," said Arief, a resident of South Jakarta.

He recalled watching an episode where a local preman (thug), a
drunkard and wife-beating gambler all die and there is nobody to
take care of their bodies. When their graves are finally ready
for burial, they are flooded by heavy rain forcing them to wait
yet another day to be buried.

"All of us must make mistakes, both major and minor, but these
are examples of ugly deaths and they are just terrifying," said
Arief.

Dondy Sudjono from the Kusuma Esa Permata (KEP) production
house said the decision to produce Rahasia Illahi was based upon
the observation that people at the moment are hungry for
something different, yet religiously inspiring.

"After the period of reform (subsequent to 1998), we mostly
produced political talk shows as we knew it was the right time to
highlight political issues," Dondy told The Jakarta Post.

With the market now saturated with political talk shows, and
with many production houses or television stations making similar
programs, KEP did some research and came up with a new idea.

"Growing public enthusiasm convinced us that people needed
such a program and were already tired of politics, gossip and
absurd dramas," he said.

Stories for Rahasia Illahi are taken from a monthly Islamic
magazine called Hidayah that receives contributions from people
in many different places. The magazine concedes the truth with
testimonies from people.

In contrast to ordinary dramas, Arifin also has a say in
casting decisions.

Ustadz Arifin doesn't want to use actors with a "bad
reputation", and if married couples are portrayed in the stories
then they must be played by real married couple, Dondy said.

"It's done in order to avoid fitnah (slander), as we want this
drama to be something to admire. That's why we want our cast to
be of good reputation," Dondy said.

It is, perhaps, a most refreshing phrase coming from a
sinetron producer. He is concerned over what is righteous and
what is not. Planned to be produced indefinitely, Rahasia Illahi
-- despite its horror and terrifying images -- marks something
deeply different.

Whether or not one believes in God, this drama shows examples
of what not to do, how death can be so pitiful, and that we had
better behave in order to depart this world in peace.

Rahasia Illahi screens every Monday at 9:00 a.m. Reruns of old
episodes are aired on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 9 p.m.

Captions:

A. Actor Rahman Yakob in an episode of Rahasia Illahi titled
Jenazah Bangkit (The Corpse Awakens). Playing a dead man, Rahman
is covered in a kafan, a white cloth signifying death.

B. Actress Vista Putri, actors Beny Kuswandi (second from left)
and Cheppy Chandra (second from right) in a scene from an episode
of Kuburan Melebar (The Widening Grave) of the religious drama
Rahasia Illahi, currently being run on TPI.