Villagers brush off notorious image to celebrate Idul Fitri

Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Surakarta/Lamongan

The sun shone brightly that afternoon and the blue, cloudless sky was clear above Ngruki in Sukoharjo, Central Java, giving one the impression of peaceful life in the small community.

The calm atmosphere made for a perfect setting for people to stroll around their neighborhoods that afternoon of Nov. 24, apparently unaware that it was the first day for Muslims' post- fasting celebrations. Had they not heard others talking about the Idul Fitri earlier that morning at a large prayer service?

"It was very crowded at Manahan field. I think everybody in Solo (Surakarta) went there for the Idul Fitri prayer," said one of three men waiting for their bakso (meat balls) by the roadside.

"No, I don't think so. I did my prayers nearby. It was also attended by many people," said another.

At around 2 p.m, clouds slowly took over the blue sky, turning the bright day into a gray afternoon. And still, no sign of celebration came forth yet from the village that has come under the international scrutiny following the deadly Bali bombing in October 2002.

Around 20 meters from the three men, a middle-aged man waited anxiously for his wife and three children, who were busy packing their clothes to go to his eldest brother's home.

"What we usually do after going around to neighbors for silaturahmi (get-together) is we go to our relative's home outside the village or to a tourist site such as Tawangmangu, Cemarasewu and Sarangan," said the man, Juwarno.

Another resident, Joko, 21, butted in, saying that he was waiting for his girlfriend to go out of town on his motorcycle.

"It's time for us to have fun because we have fulfilled our fasting for a month. Besides, we have gone around for silaturahmi since early this morning," said Joko.

Even more somber was the situation at the nearby Al Mukmin pesantren, a Muslim boarding school that became the center of national and international attention for its alleged connection to regional terrorist network Jamaah Islamiyah (JI).

JI has been blamed for a series of terrorist attacks in the country, including the Bali terrorist attacks on Oct. 12, 2002 and the JW Marriot Hotel attack on Aug. 5, 2003. Over two hundred people were killed in the two incidents.

Al Mukmin cofounder Abu Bakar Ba'asyir was sentenced to four years in jail earlier this year on several charges of anti- government behavior, including a possible plot to kill President Megawati Soekarnoputri, when she was still vice president.

"I have seen no activities in the pesantren since this morning. They didn't even hold a joint Idul Fitri prayer in their compound as usual. Besides, we don't really care what they are doing," said Juwarno.

According to ustadz (pesantren teacher) Muhammad S. Safitri, most santri (pesantren students), except those who had a duty to look after their school, had gone home earlier this month to celebrate Idul Fitri with their own families.

"We didn't hold an Idul Fitri prayer of our own as usual because we want to solidify the unity of Muslims in Solo (Surakarta). So, we sent around 50 students to represent our school in joint prayers in Manaan organized by the Muslim Brotherhood for the Nation," said Muhammad.

A group of children and teenagers gathered in a video game shop about 50 meters away from the pesantren. They were waiting in line for their turn to play one of the four games in the shop, paying no attention at all to the quiet pesantren nearby. Two adults were also waiting their turn in front of the shop.

"The Idul Fitri celebration doesn't have anything to do with the Al Mukmin pesantren. So, why should we care about its terrorism image. Every year we celebrate our own Idul Fitri," said one of them.

The same atmosphere was found on Nov. 25 in Tenggulun, a village about 40 kilometers away from Lamongan, East Java, where pesantren Al Islam, a place where three Bali bombing convicts -- Amrozi, Ali Gufron and Ali Imron graduated -- is located.

"Welcome to the terrorist village. I bet you want to meet the terrorist family," said the subdistrict head K. Maskun in a sarcastic tone.

Maskun explained that many journalists from Indonesia and abroad had come to the village. He said he was tired of answering the same questions every time.

"I don't want to ruin my Idul Fitri celebration with the problem of terrorism. You better go straight to the pesantren," said Maskun.

"Many of us don't even bother with the image of the pesantren. All we want to do is just have fun during this holiday," added Manto, a farmer in the village.