Religious awakenings: Stars' spiritual turning points

Santi W.E. Soekanto, Contributor, Jakarta

Pergulatan Spiritual 15 Artis (The Spiritual Struggle of 15 Artists); Editor: Sapto Waluyo; Multi Utama Publishing, 2001, Jakarta; 272 pages + ix

Veteran rocker Gito Rollies has for the past six years abandoned the life of the wild thing and now goes on trips to far-flung areas to spread the word about Islam an activist of the Jamaah Tabligh movement.

His spiritual turning point came in late 1995 when he suddenly had a vision of a divine court trial, and of sentences being meted out. Shaken, he threw out the remaining drink and drugs at his house, performed ablutions and said his prayers. A quest for a new, meaningful life began for Gito. His whole appearance changed, and soon he was known as a da'wa activist.

To some readers, Gito's story is no longer new, but not many people know that actor Sys N.S. destroyed hundreds of pornographic objects upon his return from the haj in 1989. They included pictures, condoms and sex toys that filled up two cabinets, which he had been collecting for years because he had wanted to set up a porn museum.

How many people know that action-movie star Willy Dozan and film and sinetron veteran El Manik are both Muslim reverts.

"I once asked a friend who said he was an atheist. I learned that even he still believed in God, he just did not realize who his God is," Willy said.

Or that TV star Peggy Melati Sukma had two near-death experiences that brought her closer to God. First she was almost killed while kayaking in Bali in 1997. Her boat got caught in the rapids and capsized as her friends tried to release it. She fell into the strong current and was losing consciousness when her instructor managed to fish her out.

"I thought I was dying and started thinking about my parents. As it turned out, I escaped with barely a scratch."

Another near-death experience occurred the next year when she was involved in a car accident.

"My car was totaled, but I had no serious injuries. Doctors said that with the condition my car was in, most people would have had only a 30 percent chance of surviving the accident," Peggy said.

The book basically wants to say that there is another side to celebrities other than glamour and scandalous love affairs.

Director and playwright Chaerul Umam, in his closing remarks, described how filming brought him to a village where almost all women wore backless dresses and called them "baju sinetron" (soap opera dresses).

"That is the sort of influence that celebrities have on ordinary people." he said. "How many books are there that discuss the spiritual struggle of artists? That there are artists whose good conduct makes them role models for people around them."

And in spite of everything, artists are human and need God, too.

The artists discussed in the book are Ismi Azis, Astrie Ivo, Titi Qadarsih, Yessi Gusman, Nia Daniaty, Peggy Melati Sukma, Ully Sigar Rusady, Willy Dozan, El Manik, Dede Yusuf, Didi Petet, Ferrasta "Pepeng" Soebardi, Ikang Fawzi, Bangun Sugito or Gito Rollies and Sys N.S.

Written by Encep Saefuddin, Misroji, Suhud Alynuddin, H.R. Fadli, Hesti Prastyani, Frenky Budi Purwanto -- all members of a Muslim journalist network, Jaringan Media Profetik (JMP) -- the book was released in time for the fasting month of Ramadhan. It was launched in a modest gathering attended by some of the artists at the Al Azhar Mosque in Jakarta in early December.

"We only want to share experiences. We do not think that we are better than other people in our struggle to be the servants of Allah," Ikang said at the launching.

Many readers are familiar with interviews with stars about their quest for the meaning of life in Islamic magazines such as Amanah, but this book goes deeper for at least one reason: It has more comprehensive information and data about the artists in question, including their discography.

The book's 272 pages are written using a light and entertaining approach. Each of the artists was interviewed in depth and his or her life is told candidly but, because this is about spirituality, the book is far from the trashy gossip about stars that is the usual staple of many publications.

Of course, much can sometimes become too much. Reading about one artist's take on death is inspiring, but when 15 respond in almost the same way to the same questions ("Are you ready for death? What do you think of death?"), one's eyes start to glaze over. The writers' attempts to convince the artists to open up their deepest spirituality with questions on death is exhausting.

Besides, how unfortunate that the artists interviewed for the book are those that many consider over the hill. At 25, Peggy Melati Sukma is the youngest while the rest are, to many readers, those who should be thinking about death anyway.

The book is the first attempt of the JMP to disseminate "quality information," as Sapto put it, and it has reportedly received warm welcome among some circles. The Indonesian Embassies in the United States and Malaysia have reportedly ordered hundreds of copies to be resold to Indonesians in those countries.

Sapto, a former journalist of Gatra weekly, plans to work on similar books about the quest for spirituality among other groups of society. That could be a tough order because Indonesian readers might not be too keen on reading about the quest for the meaning of life among, say, members of the House of Representatives.