Kategori: English Article

Whether Valentine’s Day is a Jewish conspiracy.

West Sumatra

Buya Mas’oed Abidin, the chairman of the West Sumatra branch of the Indonesian Clerics’ Council (Majelis Ulama Indonesia, MUI) complained on 12th February that the celebration of Valentine’s Day was proof that Indonesia was more and more subject to foreign, global culture.

We have to stop it, it’s not appropriate in our culture.

The celebration of lover’s day was proof that the youth of today had lost their love for Indonesia and its culture, he said. (lebih…)

Whether Valentine’s Day is a Jewish conspiracy.

West Sumatra

Buya Mas’oed Abidin, the chairman of the West Sumatra branch of the Indonesian Clerics’ Council (Majelis Ulama Indonesia, MUI) complained on 12th February that the celebration of Valentine’s Day was proof that Indonesia was more and more subject to foreign, global culture.

We have to stop it, it’s not appropriate in our culture.

The celebration of lover’s day was proof that the youth of today had lost their love for Indonesia and its culture, he said.

In the original Republika report there is also mention that Valentine’s Day, celebrated on 14th February by young people worldwide, is a capitalist-Jewish conspiracy, although it is not entirely clear whether this is an editorial statement, or Buya Mas’oed Abidin’s opinion, probably the latter.

Buya Mas’oed Abidin is then quoted:

Parents, teachers, and Islamic organisations have to urge young people not to celebrate Valentine’s Day.

The effort to stop the celebration was very important because of all the natural disasters that Indonesia had suffered recently, like floods, tsunamis and earthquakes, he said. Rises in the prices of basic goods were also connected, he seemed to suggest.

As a solution he recommended that the national government establish Hari Sumpah Pemuda (Youth Pledge Day, 28th October) as a day of young love, to replace Valentine’s Day, considering that the original oath swearers of 1928 had much love for their country.

Meanwhile in the West Sumatra town of Bukittinggi the mayor, Ismet Amzis, said on 13th February that celebrating Valentine’s was illegal, based on a pre-existing local anti-sin law (Peraturan Daerah tentang Pemberantasan Maksiat).

It’s not part of our culture, it’s very close to sin, people hug and kiss on Valentine’s Day, that is sinful.

One hundred public order officers will patrol the streets of Bukittinggi on Valentine’s Day looking for couples walking together. They will also raid hotels.

Hotels and restaurants are also forbidden from holding any special programs or offers for Valentine’s Day.

The city government has already instructed schools to direct their pupils to the mosque on 14th February, and has informed mosque preachers to prepare special sermons for teenagers.

The mayor also said that in future New Year’s Eve celebrations would also be banned, because they encouraged people to commit sin. Bukittinggi was known as a tourist destination, but:

It’s better to not have tourists than have sinful things going on.

North Sumatra

Buya Mas’oed Abidin’s counterpart in North Sumatra, Abdullah Syah, said on 13th February that the MUI had ruled that celebrating Valentine’s Day was haram or “taboo” for Muslims in the province.

It’s against the principles of Islam.

He also said it was a product of foreign culture, and was strictly forbidden.

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful,

And may Peace and Blessings be upon the Prophet Muhammad

Open Letter to His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful,

Do not contend with people of the Book except in the fairest way ….

(The Holy Qur’an, al-Ankabut, 29:46). (lebih…)

My brothers and sisters may Allah bless you all, the signs of the Doom’s Day (kiamat) have many been found on this earth, and more than 200 hadits shahih informed about the arrival of Dajjal who will spread out the denial from West to East. The arrival of Dajjal was before the resurrection of Isa bin Maryam as explained in some hadist from shahihain, and Dajjal will control and rule the whole world except for Mecca and Medina which are guarded by the angels. Dajjal will appear as the leader of violence, and his followers are definitely cruel and rude people, his troops are the troops of death makers who will demolish this world with brutality and slaughter for those who refuse to follow his rules.

Dajjal is not a super power country, or politician, etc, as being described and interpreted by the liberal group, Dajjal is a Creature with one eye blind, as explained in a comprehensible Nash (authoritative texts) in Shahihain Buhkhari and Muslim. This Dajjal surely has followers, who are they?, obviously they are human beings, could be from our family, or could be from our offspring, could be our neighbors, and could be from any groups from descendants of Adam a.s. This Dajjal appears and brings slander to destroy the Followers of Muhammad s.a.w and make them drawn with atheism. When we believe that Dajjal will appear with his troops and his ‘followers’, then our logic will inform us to be alert, who will be the candidates to follow this Dajjal?, we understand that Dajjal is the Leader of violence, cruelness and never understands morals and love or compassion, obviously his followers will be the same, … those of rough and violent people being Tarbiyah (trained) with violence and cruelty, they are men who idolize the cruel people who don’t understand the meaning of love…. These people are definitely the candidates of Dajjal troops.

One morning, when I was watching the news on TV, I was shocked.., young kids and little children in almost all part of this archipelago were greatly influenced by a horrible epidemic, they were addicted to a TV show “Smack Down”, to make it worse, they killed their peers with cool expression or even with joking around, many have become victims, some have bruises and wounded, or even dead. Why would these little children fight, having school brawls, demo, while in fact they were only trying to have fun and play around?

Play around to have fun that brings death, my heart was trembling….Naudzubillah since they were kids.., they had become cruel murderers; they were even crueler and more violent compared to any cold-blooded murderer.., why? Because these kids killed while having fun, their naïve faces that have never done teenage crimes now have become killers… one of the biggest sins after being polytheist or worshipping other than Allah, is the sin from murdering, which is bigger than committing adultery, getting drunk and others. We would then say: “Well.. they did that by coincidence, they were just playing around”, my brothers, in the name of Allah, playing around and doing it accidentally are even more harmful, because they underestimated the meaning of killing their friends since they were kids.. They idolized the Barbarians, a group of cruel and uncivilized people who never know the meaning of love, hundreds of those unbelievers who didn’t like gentleness, those who would cheer and be joyful watching violence and slaughter..

Our little brothers, our children.., their idols are those barbarian group.., they know and memorize the names, Naudzubillah even if they were shown those barbarian faces on the Judgment Day they would recognize these idols…

One thing that really tore my heart apart was when I saw on TV; those sadistic and scary faces of the barbarian group from the TV show have been easily memorized by elementary school students. These students recognized the faces of their idols, these faces have been carved in their hearts, perhaps even when they sleep they would be dreaming of meeting with and be friend with those cruel men. Our children’s imagination and dream would be how to become barbarians, with the same haircut, with the same attitudes, with the same cruelness, with the same immorality.

Perhaps the Moslem kids nowadays feel disgusting when seeing white Moslem caps, feel disgusting with Majelis Taklim (religious gatherings), disgusting with sarong and praying mat, because they have become barbarians in thoughts and behavior, you don’t believ this?, try give them two gifts, one is a praying mat (sajadah).., the other is a mask of the barbarian face, which one would they choose? Ask them to choose, to go to Majelis Taklim or to watch ‘smack down’ show? what would they choose?, O…perhaps they still prefer to play, which is natural… ask them to choose, to watch smack down or to get ice cream, toy cars, chocolate.., what would they choose?. Ask them to choose, to meet up with Rasulullah s.a.w or to meet up with smack down stars??

Our young generations would mostly live in the era of Dajjal resurrection, they are getting used to idolize a cruel and rude hero, which is different than the old hero like Superman, a heroic man who has a kind heart but unfortunately exposed his private parts. But now their idol have become even worse than that, a heroic man with devil heart, slaughter his own pal, cowardly attack from behind, torture his companion who has lied down hopelessly, to talk big and brag in midst of loud music, these are the lessons from smack down and the Jewish’ trickiest ways to destroy the young generations of our Moslem at the present time.

While the young generations now have been ruined by narcotics, imagine the generation of our leaders in the near future, it would be a gangster generation and the leaders of this biggest Moslem country will soon be those of drug addicts, while the next generation following them would be the barbarian generation, sadistic, killers, torturers, tricky, and idolizing cruel people. Hence Dajjal appears and is welcomed warmly by his followers, Dajjal who offers satisfaction in cruelty, trickiness and authority.

And when I see the children and little brothers in Moslem houses… the seeds of Dajjal attitudes started to grow in their hearts.. and the result is clearly shown, this smack down show has just been introduced to our country for about one year, but there have been many victims, either dead or wounded, etc, showing the victorious result in destroying the young generation of Moslem people.. They succeeded. The responsibility is in the hand of each father and mother.., have the father and mother introduced the holy idol to their children?.

My brothers, our Majelis dakwah keeps on striving days and nights to ask people to idolize the Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. We have coordinated 66 majelis in mosque, musholla, majelis taklim, etc to be visited regularly in order to encourage Moslem people to love Prophet s.a.w. We will keep struggling, day and night without complaining, rainy or hot days would never hamper us together with the youth to keep on flying the flags of Dakwah Muhammad s.a.w each night. We have coordinated thousands of young people, thousand of children who idolize Prophet s.a.w, love the sunnah, love the shalawat, and love the comrades of Rasul s.a.w.

Therefore I call out all Moslem brothers and sisters to take part in this dakwah together, with their thoughts, abilities, profession, wealth, energy, with prayer and munajat (silent prayer), to make this dakwah go forward. Prove your Love towards Rasulullah s.a.w, prove your loyalty towards Muhammad s.a.w, make your loyalty towards Prophet s.a.w carved in your heart and ages, make your loyalty towards Prophet s.a.w carved in your profession, make your loyalty towards Prophet s.a.w carved in your skills and abilities, make your loyalty towards Prophet s.a.w carved in your wealth, make your loyalty towards Prophet s.a.w carved on your lips. Glorify them the way the comrades being glorified with their loyalties towards Rasulullah s.a.w.

The shadows of the generation from Dajjal troops have started to be visible, but the shadows of the generation from the troops of sunnah defenders who will fight against Dajjal have also been visible.

(Habib Munzir, majelisrasulullah.org)

HORUS

Conception: By a virgin. There is some doubt about this matter

Father: Only begotten son of the God Osiris.

Mother: Meri.

Foster father: Seb, (Jo-Seph).

Foster father’s ancestry: Of royal descent.

Birth location: In a cave.

Annunciation: By an angel to Isis, his mother.

Birth heralded by: The star Sirius, the morning star.

Birth date: Ancient Egyptians paraded a manger and child representing Horus through the streets at the time of the winter solstice (typically DEC-21).

Birth announcement: By angels.

Birth witnesses: Shepherds.

Later witnesses to birth: Three solar deities.

Death threat during infancy: Herut tried to have Horus murdered.

Handling the threat: The God That tells Horus’ mother “Come, thou goddess Isis, hide thyself with thy child.

Rite of passage ritual: Horus came of age with a special ritual, when his eye was restored.

Age at the ritual: 12.

Break in life history: No data between ages of 12 & 30.

Baptism location: In the river Eridanus.

Age at baptism: 30.

Baptized by: Anup the Baptiser.

Subsequent fate of the baptiser: Beheaded.

Temptation: Taken from the desert of Amenta up a high mountain by his arch-rival Sut. Sut (a.k.a. Set) was a precursor for the Hebrew Satan.

Result of temptation: Horus resists temptation.

Close followers: Twelve disciples. There is some doubt about this matter as well.

Activities: Walked on water, cast out demons, healed the sick, restored sight to the blind. He “stilled the sea by his power.”

Raising of the dead: Horus raised Osirus, his dead father, from the grave.

Location where the resurrection miracle occurred: Anu, an Egyptian city where the rites of the death, burial and resurrection of Horus were enacted annually.

Transfigured: On a mountain.

Key address(es): Sermon on the Mount.

Method of death: By crucifixion.

Accompanied by: Two thieves.

Burial: In a tomb.

Fate after death: Descended into Hell; resurrected after three days.

Resurrection announced by: Women.

Future: Reign for 1,000 years in the Millennium.

YESHUA OF NAZARETH, A.K.A. JESUS

Conception: By a virgin.

Father: Only begotten son of Yehovah (in the form of the Holy Spirit).

Mother: Mary

Foster father: Joseph.

Foster father’s ancestry: Of royal descent.

Birth location: In a cave or stable.

Annunciation: By an angel to Mary, his mother.

Birth heralded by: An unidentified “star in the East.”

Birth date: Celebrated on DEC-25. The date was chosen to occur on the same date as the birth of Mithra, Dionysus and the Sol Invictus (unconquerable Sun), etc.

Birth announcement: By angels.

Birth witnesses: Shepherds.

Later witnesses to birth: Three wise men.

Death threat during infancy: Herod tried to have Jesus murdered.

Handling the threat: An angel tells Jesus’ father to: “Arise and take the young child and his mother and flee into Egypt.”

Rite of passage ritual: Taken by parents to the temple for what is today called a bar mitzvah ritual.

Age at the ritual: 12.

Break in life history: No data between ages of 12 & 30.

Baptism location: In the river Jordan.

Age at baptism: 30.

Baptized by: John the Baptist.

Subsequent fate of the baptiser: Beheaded.

Temptation: Taken from the desert in Palestine up a high mountain by his arch-rival Satan.

Result of temptation: Jesus resists temptation.

Close followers: Twelve disciples.

Activities: Walked on water, cast out demons, healed the sick, restored sight to the blind. He ordered the sea with a “Peace, be still” command.

Raising of the dead: Jesus raised Lazarus from the grave.

Origin of Lazarus’ name in the Gospel of John: Asar was an alternative name for Osirus, Horus’ father, who Horus raised from the dead. He was referred to as “the Asar,” as a sign of respect. Translated into Hebrew, this is “El-Asar.” The Romans added the prefix “us” to indicate a male name, producing “Elasarus.” Over time, the “E” was dropped and “s” became “z,” producing “Lazarus.”

Location where the resurrection miracle occurred: Hebrews added their prefix for house (‘beth”) to “Anu” to produce “Beth-Anu” or the “House of Anu.” Since “u” and “y” were interchangeable in antiquity, “Bethanu” became “Bethany,” the location mentioned in John 11.

Transfigured: On a high mountain.

Key address(es): Sermon on the Mount; Sermon on the Plain.

Method of death: By crucifixion.

Accompanied by: Two thieves.

Burial: In a tomb.

Fate after death: Descended into Hell; resurrected after about 30 to 38 hours (Friday PM to presumably some time in Sunday AM) covering parts of three days.

Resurrection announced by: Women.

Future: Reign for 1,000 years in the Millennium.

I. ISLAM AND MUSLIMS

The name of this religion is Islam, the root of which is Silm and Salam which means peace. Salam may also mean greeting one another with peace. One of the beautiful names of God is that He is the Peace. It means more than that: submission to the One God, and to live in peace with the Creator, within one’s self, with other people and with the environment. Thus, Islam is a total system of living. A Muslim is supposed to live in peace and harmony with all these segments; hence, a Muslim is any person anywhere in the world whose obedience, allegiance, and loyalty are to God, the Lord of the Universe.

II. MUSLIMS AND ARABS

The followers of Islam are called Muslims. Muslims are not to be confused with Arabs. Muslims may be Arabs, Turks, Persians, Indians, Pakistanis, Malaysians, Indonesians, Europeans, Africans, Americans, Chinese, or other nationalities.

An Arab could be a Muslim, a Christian, a Jew or an atheist. Any person who adopts the Arabic language is called an Arab. However, the language of the Qur’an (the Holy Book of Islam) is Arabic. Muslims all over the world try to learn Arabic so that they may be able to read the Qur’an and understand its meaning. They pray in the language of the Qur’an, namely Arabic. Supplications to God could be in any language.

While there are one billion Muslims in the world there are about 200 million Arabs. Among them, approximately ten percent are not Muslims. Thus Arab Muslims constitute only about twenty percent of the Muslim population of the world.

III. ALLAH THE ONE AND THE ONLY GOD

Allah is the name of the One and Only God. Allah has ninety-nine beautiful names, such as: The Gracious, The Merciful, The Beneficent, The Creator, The All-Knowing, The All-Wise, The Lord of the Universe, The First, The Last, and others.

He is the Creator of all human beings. He is the God for the Christians, the Jews, the Muslims, the Buddhists, the Hindus, the atheists, and others. Muslims worship God whose name is Allah. They put their trust in Him and they seek His help and His guidance.

IV. MUHAMMAD

Muhammad was chosen by God to deliver His Message of Peace, namely Islam. He was born in 570 C.E. (Common Era) in Makkah, Arabia. He was entrusted with the Message of Islam when he was at the age of forty years. The revelation that he received is called the Qur’an, while the message is called Islam.

Muhammad is the very last Prophet of God to mankind. He is the final Messenger of God. His message was and is still to the Christians, the Jews and the rest of mankind. He was sent to those religious people to inform them about the true mission of Jesus, Moses, Jacob, Isaac, and Abraham.

Muhammad is considered to be the summation and the culmination of all the prophets and messengers that came before him. He purified the previous messages from adulteration and completed the Message of God for all humanity. He was entrusted with the power of explaining, interpreting and living the teaching of the Qur’an.

V. SOURCE OF ISLAM

The legal sources of Islam are the Qur’an and the Hadith. The Qur’an is the exact word of God; its authenticity, originality and totality are intact. The Hadith is the report of the sayings, deeds and approvals of the Prophet Muhammad. The Prophet’s sayings and deeds are called Sunnah. The Seerah is the writings of followers of Muhammad about the life of the Prophet. Hence, it is the life history of the Prophet Muhammad which provides examples of daily living for Muslims.

VI. SOME ISLAMIC PRINCIPLES

A. Oneness of God:
He is One and the Only One. He is not two in one or three in one. This means that Islam rejects the idea of trinity or such a unity of God which implies more than one God in one.

B. Oneness of mankind:
People are created equal in front of the Law of God. There is no superiority for one race over another. God made us of different colors, nationalities, languages and beliefs so as to test who is going to be better than others. No one can claim that he is better than others. It is only God Who knows who is better. It depends on piety and righteousness.

C. Oneness of Messengers and the Message:
Muslims believe that God sent different messengers throughout the history of mankind. All came with the same message and the same teachings. It was the people who misunderstood and misinterpreted them.
Muslims believe in Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Ismail, Jacob, Moses, David, Jesus, and Muhammad. The Prophets of Christianity and Judaism are indeed the Prophets of Islam.

D. Angels and the Day of Judgment:
Muslims believe that there are unseen creatures such as angels created by God in the universe for special missions.
Muslims believe that there is a Day of Judgment when all people of the world throughout the history of mankind till the last day of life on earth, are to be brought for accounting, reward and punishment.

E. Innocence of Man at Birth:
Muslim believe that people are born free of sin. It is only after they reach the age of puberty and it is only after they commit sins that they are to be charged for their mistakes. No one is responsible for or can take the responsibility for the sins of others. However, the door of forgiveness through true repentance is always open.

F. State and Religion:
Muslims believe that Islam is a total and a complete way of life. It encompasses all aspects of life. As such, the teachings of Islam do not separate religion from politics. As a matter of fact, state and religion are under the obedience of Allah through the teachings of Islam. Hence, economic and social transactions, as well as educational and political systems are also part of the teachings of Islam.

VII. PRACTICES OF ISLAM

God instructed the Muslims to practice what they believe in. In Islam there are five pillars, namely:

1. Creed (Shahada): The verbal commitment and pledge that there is only One God and that Muhammad is the Messenger of God, is considered to be the Creed of Islam.

2. Prayers (Salat): The performance of the five daily prayers is required of Muslims.

3. Fasting (Saum): Fasting is total abstinence from food, liquids and intimate intercourse (between married couples) from dawn to sunset during the entire month of Ramadan.

4. Purifying Tax (Zakat): This is an annual payment of a certain percentage of a Muslim’s property which is distributed among the poor or other rightful beneficiaries.

5. Pilgrimage (Hajj): The performance of pilgrimage to Makkah is required once in a life time if means are available. Hajj is in part in memory of the trials and tribulations of Prophet Abraham, his wife Hagar and his eldest son Prophet Ishmael.

VIII. OTHER RELATED ASPECTS

A. Calendar:
Islamic practices are based on the lunar calendar. However, Muslims also use the Gregorian calendar in their daily religious lives. Hence, the Islamic calendar includes both the common era and the migration (Higra) year of the Prophet of Islam from Makkah to Madinah in the year of 623 C.E.

B. Celebrations (Eid):
Muslims have two celebrations (Eid); namely, Eid of Sacrifice and Eid of Fast-Breaking. The Eid of Sacrifice is in remembrance of the sacrifice to be by Prophet Abraham of his son. The Eid of Fast-Breaking comes at the end of the month of fasting, Ramadan.

C. Diets:
Islam allows Muslims to eat everything which is good for the health. It restricts certain items such as pork and its by-products, alcohol and any narcotic or addictive drugs.

D. Place of Worship:
The place of worship is called Mosque or Masjid. There are three holy places of worship for the Muslims in the world. These are: Mosque of Kaaba in Makkah, Mosque of the Prophet Muhammad in Madinah, and Masjid Aqsa, adjacent to the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem.

A Muslim may pray any where in the world whether in a Mosque, a house, an office, or outside. The whole world is a place of worship. It is preferable that Muslims pray in a congregation, however, he/she may pray individually anywhere.

E. Holidays:
The holy day of the Muslims is Friday. It is considered to be sacred and the Day of Judgment will take place on Friday. Muslims join together shortly after noon on Friday for the Friday congregational prayer in a Mosque. A leader (Imam) gives a sermon (Khutba) and leads the congregational prayer.

F. Distribution of Muslims in North America:
There are approximately five million Muslims in North America and are distributed in its major cities such as New York, Detroit, Boston, Toledo, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, Cedar Rapids (Iowa), Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Edmonton, Vancouver, Windsor, Winnipeg, Calgary, and others.

G. Contributions in North America:
Muslims are established in North America. The Sears Tower and the John Hancock buildings in Chicago were designed by a Muslim chief architect, originally from Bangladesh. Muslims have established academic institutions, community centers and organizations, schools and places of worship. They live in peace and harmony among themselves and among other groups of people in the society. The rate of crime among Muslims is very minimal. Muslims in North America are highly educated and they have added to the success of American scientific and technological fields.
The Muslims of the early period of the Islamic era were pioneers in medicine, chemistry, physics, geography, navigation, arts, poetry, mathematics, algebra, logarithms, calculus, etc. They contributed to the Renaissance of Europe and world civilization.

IX. NON-MUSLIMS

Muslims are required to respect all those who are faithful and God conscious people, namely those who received messages. Christians and Jews are called People of the Book. Muslims are asked to call upon the People of the Book for common terms, namely, to worship One God, and to work together for the solutions of the many problems in the society.

Christians and Jews lived peacefully with Muslims throughout centuries in the Middle East and other Asian and African countries. The second Caliph Umar, did not pray in the church in Jerusalem so as not to give the Muslims an excuse to take it over. Christians entrusted the
Muslims, and as such the key of the Church in Jerusalem is still in the hands of the Muslims.

Jews fled from Spain during the Inquisition, and they were welcomed by the Muslims. They settled in the heart of the Islamic Caliphate. They enjoyed positions of power and authority.

Throughout the Muslim world, churches, synagogues and missionary schools were built within the Muslim neighborhoods. These places were protected by Muslims even during the contemporary crises in the Middle East.

— Ahmad H. Sakr, Ph.D.

For more information please contact:
The Institute of Islamic Information and Education

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INTRODUCTION OF III&E

The Institute of Islamic Information and Education (III&E) is dedicated to the cause of Islam in North America through striving to elevate the image of Islam in North America through striving to elevate the image of Islam and Muslims by providing the correct information about Islamic beliefs, history and civilization from the authentic sources. Enquiries are welcome.

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Saturday noon at 13.00 WITA (Central part of Indonesia’s time), 26 May 2007 we arrived at Ngurah Rai Airport, Denpasar. The Dakwah coordinators in Denpasar area, Ustaz H Badrudin, Hb Talib Assegaf, H. Kholid and others greeted us warmly. Two cars filled with dakwah activists had been parked at the airport to welcome us, and when we arrived, we shared greetings and warm hugs, expressing our longing for not meeting each others for more than 3 years, while before we used to visit Bali monthly.

We were headed for the residence of Ustaz H Badrudin to attend the opening of the Majelis, continued by reciting the Maulid Simtudduror together with tens of dakwah activists in the vicinity, ended by religious speech delivery, and lunch. After sitting for awhile in the gathering, we prayed Ashar together and went to Kampung Jawa Mosque. The people there had been waiting for us because they had been informed about our arrival a week before. After a short recitation on Maulid, I delivered a religious speech, attended by the associate of local Hindu priests.

It is long known that Bali region is the biggest non-Moslem region in Indonesia, where the number of Moslem people is only 2,5% out of total citizens in Bali. Therefore it is a high time to form a close relationship with the Hindu priests, considering that the anxiety towards the pressure from Hindu people to Moslem people will be less and less. In several places, the pressure is still high, for example when the minaret of the mosque is higher than the tower of “Temple” then the mosque would be pulled down and destroyed. Also in many places there is a prohibition of adzan (summons to prayer) with a loud speaker, or the obligation to turn off the lights on Nyepi day (quiet day), and if there is a Moslem house which lit only a candle, the house will be thrown by stones until it is destroyed.

They have traditional troops known as Hindu troops. They are more respected than military troops, and are entitled to rule and manage things above the military because they are the troops of the tribe. And many other complaints from the Moslem living there, but now these problems can be overcome by building good relationship with the “Pedande” (Hindu priests). This representative of the Head priest in Bali was very friendly and nice, he often attended the Majelis to accompany many Ulama coming from outside Bali, he even knew the word ‘Insya Allah’, Alaikumsalam, Bismillah, and other Islamic words, may Allah gives him hidayah.

After the Majelis, we had the get together at the residence of Haji Khalid who was the dakwah activist in the region. We stayed there until Magrib time and we prayed Magrib and Isya together, before heading for Masjid Agung Sudirman (Sudirman Great Mosque). This was the peak of the program, where the tens of Majelis taklim which had been invited to attend the silaturahmi akbar were united. The majelis was led by Hb Fahmi Alkhanaiman, the only Habib who was persistent in upholding dakwah in Denpasar and its surroundings. The program ended at 23.00WITA.

We went for rest at a big Villa completed with a swimming pool and a garden. Rumor has it that the villa belongs to a Pakistani who always rented his villa for guests from outside Bali. We sat together and had warm conversation with the Kyai, Ustaz, Moslem leaders and the prominent figures in the society who came one by one. Some asked questions, while others reported the problems of delivering Dakwah in their areas and we discussed about it. Around 02.00 at dawn, I went to my room for a little rest while waiting for Subuh prayer.

Early morning, Sunday 27th May 2007 we prayed Subuh together at Musholla Annikmah, continued by Subuh lectures until near Isyraq. We went back to the Villa and were headed to the residence of Hb Talib Assegaf in Klungkung, he was the dakwah activist in his region who loved to invite many da’i (dakwah experts) from outside Bali. We attended the breakfast reception together with the groups from 3 other cars, making the house filled with the jamaah. Then we continued our journey by performing religious visit (Ziarah) to the Grave of Assayyid Alhabib Ali Alhamid in Kusambe, around 30km from Denpasar. In this place we met with a group led by Hb Fahmi Khanaiman, making the ziarah more pleasant. Then together we went to Ma’had in Kusambe, and this relatively new Islamic boarding school had been filled with the religious students. We were greeted with maulid Dhiya’ullami performed by those students, then I delivered Mau’idhah hasanah and ended by Ijazah Sanad Shahih Bukhari, Hadits Rahmah and Hadits mahabbah.

The journey continued to the residence of Hb Segaf Asegaf which was also in Klungkung, and we were treated lunch there. The very hot and sunny weather was somehow invited us to take rest in Padang Bay area, the port in Bali. We rested there for about 60 minutes, such a short time! I just took a quick bath and lied on bed, Masya Allah.. it was really a tiring journey and there was no time for rest for a couple of days before, because I was in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday and Friday, with also tight schedules, Friday in Jakarta and Saturday flew to Denpasar, oh.. I really felt exhausted…the event would be started after Asar prayer, I only had 40 minutes.

I lied down and slept soundly….Subhanallah, I woke up and suddenly feeling terrified, because I felt like sleeping for long, as if I slept for 5 or 6 hours, but when I checked the watch it was only 20 minutes, Subhanallah.. what a sound sleep, Allah gave me the strength although only 20 minutes I felt like sleeping for long. Then I took a bath and rushed to go back to Klungkung, but we had a chance to pray Asar before rushing back to Klungkung to attend the majelis taklim Khairunnisa.

Majelis for women was held at the residence of Hb Segaf, and near magrib prayer, we rushed to Denpasar to attend the last majelis after Isya, at Musholla Nurul Iman. The event was ended at 21.00 WITA, and we went to Ngurah Rai Airport for boarding, there we had little time to our last get together, hugs and sad farewell couldn’t be avoided, I speed my steps to the plane because I couldn’t hold my tears and couldn’t bear the sadness farewell with them. The Lion Air flight was postponed quite long, but at 23.30 WITA we finally could fly back to Jakarta.

The twinkling lights on the land of Denpasar that I saw from the window pane as the plane took off were so beautiful, like the words of sad farewell. And within few seconds the twinkling lights changed into the horrifying darkness of Balinese ocean, I had no idea how many souls of dakwah leaders who have visited this island to introduce Tauhid, I never know whether they came back or stayed there, who knows if they survived or had an accident and syahid (died as a martyr for God)..

But there was one munajat (silent prayer) that I breathed out over this Balinese ocean… Rabbiy… make this island an island of tauhid, the Moslem island, please destroy those worshipped statues of those worshipping other than You in this world of Yours…make this island the bowed-down island …make the people always recite dzikir, please help the Moslems there…Rabbiy… they have been patient living in midst of atheism for the sake of Dakwah, they have been patient from the pigs that wander around making their house veranda and their children dirty, they have been patient and have tried hard to find halal foods (permitted food according to Islam) for the sake of Your blessings, and they have tried to avoid anything haram (forbidden)…Rabbiy…please help them, pour Your Inayah towards them, make sure they die in husnul khatimah, make each second as blessing and taufiq towards those who worship other than You out there…, make every second existing for those who recite syahadat and convert to Islam.. our silent prayer days and nights towards this area to be soon poured by rains of blessings and Tauhid, amiin.. amiin..

(Munzir Al Musawa www.majelisrasulullah.org)

Wednesday, 9th May 2007, Departing from Soekarno Hatta Airport, Jakarta with Merpati Air flight no. 802 at 05.30am, I was accompanied by Munsyid (the Qasidah vocalist) in Majelis Rasulullah s.a.w, Mr. Muhammad Qalby. We had a short transit in Makassar Sulawesi, then the 2nd transit in Sorong, Irian Jaya, before arriving in Manokwari at 15.00wit (East Indonesia Time) or 13.00pm. Already there to greet us down the flight stairs, were tens of dakwah activists led by KH Ahmad Baihaqiy (Leader of Majelis Taklim Alkarimah, Manggarai South Jakarta who has been in Manokwari since last month for dakwah purposes), then we waited for awhile in the VIP lounge for luggage checking.

At 16.00wit (Eastern Indonesia time) we were headed for the accommodation prepared for us, Yunita Hotel, the only Moslem hotel in Manokwari, on Jl Essau Sesa Manokwari. When we arrived at the hotel at 17.00wit, we held small gathering with the youths who were dakwah activists in the vicinity.

At 20.00wit, we went to Raihanul Bahri Mosque for Navy (AL) located at Pas Harkan AL, Manokwari. We witnessed how crammed full those attending the Majelis, around 700 men and women, quite a big number for such a small town like this. Dhiya’ullami was recited nicely by Muhammad Qalby from Jakarta together with Hadroh Team of Dakwah Manokwari formed by the young people of the surrounding area. The Majelis were also attended by The Leader of NU, the Leader of Muhammadiyah and government officials as well as public figures.

I had been informed that in that mosque there was one prominent figure, who really hated the Hadroh performance inside mosque, thus the mosque representative asked me to discuss a bit on the law of having Hadroh performance inside mosques. After my speech, unpredictably an old man walked hastily to me, shook my hand and hugged me warmly, I was told later on, that the old wise man was the one who really hated Hadroh performance before. Alhamdulillah this public figure had such good wisdom after listening to my explanation, as my speech at that night was about the Moslem people’s union, and how to unite the Islamic power by empowering the soul of Muhammad s.a.w and the spirit of Prophet s.a.w similar to inheriting the morals of Prophet s.a.w.

When the Majelis was over and they were pushing each other to shake our hands, I pondered… it was a touching moment, even in such an isolated and far place like this, these Moslem people were also jostling each other just to shake our hands, I personally wouldn’t mind if they went home directly, instead of forcing themselves to reach us just to shake my hand. I had similar experience in Jakarta every night, but I didn’t expect to experience the same thing here in Manokwari.

After the Majelis, we travelled around the district of Manokwari before returning to our hotel. The most touching moment was how energetic and full of spirit these young dakwah activists were. Wherever we went, they tagged along us, even for as far as 120km they were convoying right behind our car. Once we arrived back at our hotel, they closed the gate from outside and guarded us until morning, and didn’t even leave the place to continue convoying with us the next day.. Masya Allah…

Thursday, May 10th 2007, At 06.00wit (Eastern Indonesia Time) we headed for SP 1 Prapi Village, Daruttaqwa Boarding School led by KH Alyuddin, (who has been domiciled in Manokwari since 1982). The place was approximately 65km from Manokwari. We were guided by Mr. Sokhib, who was originally from Malang but lived in Manokwari. As a noble man and quite active in Dakwah movement, he guided us without expecting any rewards, while convoying behind our car, a Blazer car filled with young dakwah activists followed by dozens of motorcycles behind them. Along the way to our destination, we discussed the poor dakwah condition around the vicinity.

The already balanced number of Moslems compared to Christians (50:50), were still under the control of Christians until now. It was difficult for Moslem community to build a mosque unless they really struggled hard, even for Adzan (summons to prayer) they were told it was forbidden by laws, they were also told there would be laws to forbid women to wear jilbab (women headdress).

These brothers and sisters of ours were really fearful, some of them informed us that many Moslems were made apostate by Christians, while they still used Moslem’s names like Muhammad, Hasan, Ali and other Moslem’s names. It was created to insult Moslem people, that the names Muhammad, Ali, and others came to church and became apostate.

The Head of Tribe was the authority there, while the community would follow only if there were army forces came to control the situation. Alhamdulillah we have previously contacted Polda MetroJaya to give us authority letter so we wouldn’t get any pressure from the local authority who might think that we were provocateurs.

When we visited Daruttaqwa Boarding School, I once tried to get signal for my HP, in vain, as it was quite difficult here to get signal for hand phone, let alone internet connection. We rested for awhile before continuing our journey to SP.6, Bowi Subur Village, in Masni district, to visit Nurul Haramain Boarding School led by Gus Jumri Al Ghaziy who has just stayed for 5 years in Manokwari. We started the Majelis at 10.00wit, which were attended by the Head of the district and Head of Police in the district, as well as approximately 1.500 audiences, men and women. Maulid Dhiya’ulaami was beautifully recited for the first time in this area, and after the religious speech and the Qasidah were performed, we were entertained by interesting attractions including traditional Pencak Silat (self-defense) performance.

At 11.30wit we left for Wasegi village, Manokwari and found a mosque for Dzuhur prayer. This is a remote Moslem village that faced Wasegi Golden Mountain, it was named after the area which was filled with gold mines but already been closed by the local head of tribe. In this area, when KH Ahmad Baihaqy recited Maulid Dhiya’ullami in this mosque few weeks ago, there was an earthquake for quite a while… We went back to our lodging to have some rest.

At 18.30wit (late in the afternoon), we left for Daruttaqwa boarding school as our closing Majelis. The heavy rain didn’t upset the delighted audience who attended the Majelis which was ended at 22.30wit. Then I gathered all the dakwah activists and gave them guidance and asked them to unite as the defenders of Prophet s.a.w, the army of Rasulullah s.a.w, and I also informed them not to lift the weapon first unless the enemy start it, and to keep fighting with noble morals.

When we returned to Manokwari, the roads were totally dark and deserted, along the 65km perhaps we only bumped into 2 or 3 cars, and behind our car was only one car filled with the young activists from the area. While travelling I once asked: “Is this area dangerous? Will there any bad guys disturb or even rob the car like those happened in Sumatra road lines which were always dangerous at night?”, but they answered that Irian people in that area were afraid to go out after Maghrib, because rumour has it that there was an Evil Witch named “Sewanggi” who loved to kill and eat the bowels of human body. This witch would wander around at night to find its prey, thus nobody dares to go out at night. Great then! …it made us safe, somehow, he..he..he… That night, we spent the night at Hajj Sohib’s house, in Wosi area, Manokwari, and the young dakwah activists were still with us, they slept outside the bedrooms, Subhanallah…

Friday, May 11th 2007, At 14.30wit we arrived at Manokwari airport to left for Jakarta, we had the touching farewell at the airport, and we warmly hugged the young activists as they cried and cried….quite surprising… Masya Allah… Masya Allah… our prayers will always be with you all, o’ the defenders of Rasulullah s.a.w…, although we are far away from you, we will always pray for you all, and we will arrange another visit to keep supporting your battle. Rabbiy (O’ My God) make them die in the crown of nobility, Rabbiy, Guarantee Your help towards them, Rabbiy, Pour them with Your Mercy and easiness, Promise them to gather together with Muhajirin and Anshar later in Yaumul Qiyamah, make them together with Prophet Muhammad s.a.w on the Judgment Day…. Rabbiy, we entrust to You their breath which are full of fighting spirit, we entrust their footsteps and movement that keep on fighting for upholding the name of Your Prophet s.a.w…. Amiin..

(Munzir Almusawa www.majelisrasulullah.org)