Treating drug addicts with the power of God and love

Text and photos by K. Basrie

TASIKMALAYA, West Java (JP): Drug abuse is growing all over the world, despite harsh penalties in most countries.

A large sum of money is spent on rehabilitating drug users in various centers, but many return to their addictions.

It seems the planet is facing an endless problem related to drug addiction.

An Islamic spiritual leader in West Java, Ahmad Shohibulwafa Tajul Arifin, better known as Abah (Father) Anom, has tried to find a solution to the problem. In 1971 he started treating some unfortunate addicts by spiritual means.

Abah Anom was already known nationwide for his Pondok Pesantren (Islamic Boarding School) Suryalaya in Tasikmalaya. The school was so popular that many wealthy families, including members of the Armed Forces and high-ranking officials, enrolled their drug-addicted children.

The enrollment of drug addicts at the school was unexpected, but Abah decided to accept them and try to treat them.

Anang Syah, one of Abah's staff members, said: "It would be impolite to reject addicts. But it's not easy to rehabilitate them."

The school applied a tight schedule, with a loving and caring method based on Islamic ways. The young addicts were required to wake at 2 a.m., bathe with cold water and prepare for spiritual devotions for at least two hours until the Subuh (morning) prayer time.

After the morning prayer, at 4 a.m., they ate breakfast, exercised and rested. At noon, before lunch, they purified themselves with pray. In the afternoon, they performed more spiritual devotions for a couple of hours. They then had afternoon tea, played games and later prepared for the evening session of religious activities. They slept at 9 p.m.

This was their routine most of the time.

Daily they had to pray the usual five times, plus a 3 a.m. prayer, 29 extra prayers and zikir (bless Allah by praying and saying "there's no god but Allah") 165 times.

After about two months under the supervision of Abah Anom, the young addicts recovered. There was a total change. Not only did they avoid drugs, they also turned over a new leaf and discovered the importance of social and moral values as taught by Islam, said Abah.

The initial success story of drug rehabilitation by Abah spread widely. A flow of people hopelessly addicted to drugs began to arrive in Tasikmalaya, which gave Abah the idea of setting up the first drug rehabilitation center in 1980. It was called Pondok Inabah I, located in Cibeureum village, Panjalu district in Ciamis, West Java, a six-hour drive from Jakarta. Inabah, an Arabic word, means back to Allah and pondok means house.

To accommodate female drug addicts, Pondok Inabah II was set up in the same year. It is a half-hour drive from Pondok Inabah I.

The treatment remains the same. There is no medicine used at Pondok Inabah.

"Using drugs for treatment is absolutely forbidden here," said Abah, who is now 82.

If the patients scream for drugs, the cold water helps cool down their shaking bodies.

Anggi, a patient, said she had been treated before at a drug dependency hospital in South Jakarta. She said the hospital treated patients by gradually weaning them off drugs. After three months of treatment, Anggi was allowed to leave the hospital as she was no longer addicted.

"I felt fine. I hated to see drugs shortly after I walked away from the hospital," recalled Anggi, who is from a broken home.

"But my heart was still empty and I still couldn't live without the power of love from my divorced parents. That's why I turned to drugs again, to cure my loneliness," she said.

Anggi's parents sent her to Pondok Inabah last year. She said she does not feel like taking drugs anymore, but remains there to learn more about Islam.

Power of love

Here at Pondok Inabah, Anggi said, she found something deep in her heart that made her spiritually stronger and healthy.

"With such a strong heart, I have the power to get away from any drugs. With such a healthy mind that makes me always pray to Allah, I'll have the power to reach my dream to become an architect one day," Anggi, 16, said.

According to Ibu Gaos, supervisor of Pondok Inabah II, she and her staff always treat patients as if they are their own children.

"By doing so, we can give them all our love so that they can recover quickly and grow up as expected," Gaos said.

One of Pondok Inabah's treatments that is mostly questioned by new patients is the early-morning bathing.

To bathe so early in the morning might be a serious problem for newcomers, who may not be used to taking a cold wash at 2 a.m., but very helpful for seniors.

"Outsiders might think bathing with cold water at such an hour might freeze our bodies. But they're wrong," said Yusri, a 27- year-old reforming addict from Brunei Darussalam.

"The icy water makes our bodies warm in the morning," he said. "You don't believe it, then try it," he said.

According to Pondok Inabah's teachings, the morning wash, known as Mandi Taubat (Bath of Repentance) is meant to purify the addicts before they ask God for forgiveness.

According to Anang Syah, 9,800 drug users, including 1,800 non-Moslems, have been rehabilitated at the Pondok Inabah centers.

The Pondok Inabah "alumni" includes 170 Malaysians, 38 Singaporeans and 26 people from Brunei Darussalam.

"The number of patients who have returned to drugs is almost zero percent," said Anang.

Some former patients even have decided to becomes volunteers at the centers.

Non-Moslem drug addicts are accepted at Pondok Inabah only if their parents allow them to become Moslems.

"A Christian, for instance, should also have a written agreement from Dewan Gereja Indonesia (Council of Indonesian Churches) to allow him to convert to Islam," said Anang Syah.

Each patient is required to pay Rp 300,000 (US$130) per month, which includes lodgings and three meals a day.

Pondok Inabah currently has 24 branches. Two of them are in Malaysia and another in Singapore.

Many of Pondok Inabah's Indonesia centers are located near the headquarters of Pondok Pesantren Suryalaya in Tanjungkerta village, where Abah Anom also lives.

The rehabilitation period at Pondok Inabah is between 40 days and three years, depending on the extent of addiction.

Most centers are equipped with bedrooms, a meeting room, small classes for Islamic teachings, a mosque and a small sports field.

Half-recovered patients are also allowed to attend classes at nearby Islamic schools.

Like many other teaching and rehabilitation centers, Pondok Inabah employs punishment.

Punishment depends on the level of violation and varies from a verbal warning, a crew cut (for men) to being thrown into a pool.