Ramadhan and terrorism

Fasting is a very special religious duty. Even the descent of Koran (Nuzulul Koran) took place during the fasting month. Unlike other obligatory religious duties or those based on Prophet Muhammad's practices, whether or not you fast will be known only to you and Allah.

Meanwhile, when you do other religious duties such as performing obligatory ritual prayers, making the haj pilgrimage or giving alms and practicing charity, these will be known to you, Allah and other people.

In short, it is only you and Allah that will know whether or not you do your fasting correctly and in accordance with Islamic law.

In this fasting month, all Muslims are called upon to perform this religious duty in order to improve their moral quality so that they can impress non-Muslims as good, polite, corruption- free and tolerant people.

During the fasting month, Muslims must also improve their understanding of Islam to ensure that they will gage the right interpretation of the Islamic teachings.

Regarding the allegation that Muslims are terrorists, Indonesian Muslims must respond to it in a patient and non- violent manner. Those who hate to see the development of Islam in Indonesia will provoke Muslims to resort to violence when responding to this allegation.

Therefore, Indonesian Muslims must respond to this allegation by demonstrating that their good conduct befits a polite and democratic society. Who knows maybe there is a silver lining to this allegation, something that prompts Indonesian Muslims to save the country and pull it out of the ongoing multi-dimensional crisis.

Life is the mystery of Allah. What we, human beings, can do is to improve our morality by doing good things. This is the essence of the holy fasting month of Ramadhan.

TONI ERVIANTO
Jakarta