tito's posts with tag: essay
 (Originally written and posted 2 years ago in my other blogs, and it was an assignment for an awkward support-group class for international student, well, it was OK though)
This is the first time for me to have a Ramadan fast outside Indonesia. It is good, actually, to have this different experience. Fasting is always a good challenge for me, and doing it in a place where you don’t have an ‘infrastructure’ for it is just adding the challenge even more. It is hard to keep your fasting continue, for everyday in the whole month, from sunrise to sunset, we have to drop our desire to eat, drink, have sex. We have to control all of our emotion from being angry or upset, and avoiding bad thinking. It is basically a meditation process, when we controlling ourselves, we are expected to contemplate about what we have been doing in the past one year, be focus in doing good deeds to others, while we are obliged to continue our everyday activities like usual.
In Jakarta, you can see families gather at home just before sunset to open their fast together. When the sunset time comes, mosques sign the fasting time is over by sounds of big drum, loudspeaker, or in some places with a canon, and we have to open our fast immediately. We would start with some sweets and cookies, and after about thirty minutes after our stomach had softer food, we start to eat real dinner. It is a community moments. When we live outside family house or when we can not go home in time for sunset, there are people who open their fast everywhere. Restaurants offer special menu, the appearance of seasonal food and drinks kiosks on the streets, or free foods and drinks in mosques. We are also suggested to have a breakfast before sunrise. Again, we usually do that with our family or housemates. It is like a whole month fest.
Here, I'm practically doing everything by my own. I am not considering myself a religious person, as once or twice here I broke my fasting with beer (alcohol is forbidden for all Muslim, period) and continued the night with other kinds of 'evil' drink. But doing this daytime meditation is somehow fun. Here, the challenge is more. While I can enjoy my family cooking if I go home to my family house in Jakarta, here I have to cook (yes I cooked!!) and prepare everything by myself. I can go and open my fast in restaurants, like I usually did in Jakarta, but here, nobody share the moment with me. I even have to wake up in 4.30 AM and heat the food by myself.
I am not complaining here, I’m saying it is even more enjoyable!!! I face more challenge to do all those things here. For some reason, I don’t really want to go to local mosque. Well, maybe later, but celebrating I am doing a religious ritual is not the main reason I enjoy this whole new experience. I also love the idea of the communal fest, but here, in the capital of dream of the world, I meditate what makes me me, and I can rejoice who I am and what I am. If there is really god out there, she let me ritualize being me – for a whole month.
* Updating the fasting news in NYC: I managed to lost 5 kg in 2 weeks before Ramadhan, and the fasting accelerates the process, as I lost another 3 kg in the first five days. Yup, I managed to eat lesser (still healthy and delicious food though, don't worry), and eat only bread for the dawn breakfast.
Pikiran Rakyat , 8 September 2006
Rehumanisasi (Aktivis) Masjid
Oleh ADRIANO RUSFI, Psi.
Ada sebuah kerinduan ketika membayangkan Masjid Sang Nabi, nun di Madinah sana lima belas abad silam. Membayangkan ulah seorang Badui lugu yang tiba-tiba nyelonong masuk masjid lalu buang hajat di sebuah sudutnya. Membayangkan ulah sejumlah sahabat yang berhamburan keluar masjid demi seorang pedagang yang menjajakan dagangannya, persis ketika Rasulullah saw sedang khotbah Jumat. Membayangkan seorang Muhajir yang bersandar di dinding masjid sambil menyenandungkan syair rindunya akan tanah Mekah yang telah lama ditinggalkan. Membayangkan sebuah rindu tentang masjid yang begitu manusiawinya.
Masjid itu memang manusiawi. Ia tegak di atas sebidang tanah yang dipilih oleh seekor unta, dibangun dari bahan-bahan yang sepenuhnya berasal dari bumi, dan dikerjakan oleh kebersamaan nan egaliter dari tangan-tangan yang rendah hati. Lalu, ketika tiba saatnya umat diseru untuk memasukinya, maka musyawarah memutuskan untuk menggunakan suara manusia, bukan oleh terompet, lonceng atau genderang. Suara merdu azan dari bibir Bilal bin Rabah itupun mengajak, bukan memaksa : hayya 'ala-shshalah.
Kemanusiawian dan keterbukaannya memang pernah berbuah tragedi, ketika Khalifah Umar bin Khaththab dibunuh oleh seorang budak Yahudi tatkala sujud di dalamnya. Tapi itu adalah harga dari sebuah kemanusiaan dan keterbukaan.
Dan ketika lamunan itu usai, yang tersisa adalah kekinian yang bercerita
tentang masjid-masjid yang megah, anggun dan suci, namun sunyi. Pagarnya tinggi-tinggi dan berlapis. Lapis yang pertama memagarinya dari najis. Lapis yang kedua memagarinya dari dosa. Sedangkan lapis yang ketiga memagarinya dari bising. Isinya terdiri dari pengurus, aktivis, malaikat, dan sesekali adalah orang yang menumpang salat. Kebanyakan isinya memang lebih mirip penumpang tinimbang penghuni, karena kebanyakan memang tak merasa memilikinya.
Konon malaikat pun mulai enggan memasukinya, karena keberadaannya semakin kurang bermakna dari hari ke hari. Mereka memikul titah Rabbani untuk mencatat ibadah dan mendoakan hamba-hamba-Nya. Namun para hamba semakin sedikit atau semakin sebentar berkunjung. Tampak hamba-hamba yang seperti tak betah berlama-lama di dalamnya. Sebagian karena gelisah melihat sang marbot mulai menutup pintu dan jendela, sedangkan sebagian lagi karena gerah melihat daftar etika di sana-sini. Tinggallah para malaikat yang nelangsa, karena mereka lebih banyak menganggur daripada mencatat dan mendoakan.
Di luar sana, ada manusia-manusia yang memandangnya penuh kagum. Masjid yang begitu tinggi hingga tak terjangkau, begitu dekat namun tak tersentuh, begitu agung hingga tak terbeli. Keberadaannya hari ini telah membuat manusia-manusia yang di dekatnya menjadi rendah diri dan merasa tak pantas bersahabat dengannya. Para pendosa sesekali berhasrat untuk menyentuh mihrabnya sambil tersungkur dalam sedu-sedan penyesalan, namun segera menarik niat sambil tersenyum kecut sepenuh malu begitu membaca sejumput aksara di pagar virtualnya, "Pendosa dilarang masuk!"
Masjid itu kini seperti sebatang kara. Lebih mirip mercusuar yang tegak
anggun di sebuah pulau karang sunyi tinimbang sebuah rumah manusia. Masjid itu kini gagap dengan berita-berita zaman, karena tak ada lagi jamaah yang menyampaikan cerita hingga larut malam sambil terkekeh-kekeh, karena terkekeh-kekeh hanyalah pantas di warung kopi dan tak pantas di sebuah masjid. Masjid itu kini lebih banyak limbung harus bersikap dan berbuat apa, karena data tak cukup untuk ambil sikap dan jemaah tak cukup untuk bertindak. Fatwa-fatwanya semakin sulit dimengerti dan ceritanya hanya dari itu ke itu juga.
Dalam sunyi, sang masjid akhirnya memilih untuk diam dan menjadi penonton peristiwa dan sejarah yang lalu-lalang din pintunya. Tirani berlangsung dan ia diam. Korupsi merebak dan ia diam. Reformasi bergejolak dan ia diam. Hutan dibabat dan ia diam. Gempa dan tsunami meluluhlantakkan dan ia diam. Musibah melanda dan ia diam. Pernah ia coba berkomentar, namun jemaah diam. Karena jemaah telah tertidur dalam kebingungan dan kebosanan. Karena jemaah terlanjur memasuki masjid sambil membaca doa mau tidur : Bismika Allahumma ahya wa bismika amuut.
Ada apa masjidku?
Bukankah aktivisnya semakin banyak dan militan, sedangkan program-programnya semakin marak dan beragam? Kenapa ia kesepian dalam gegap gempitanya zikir, istigasah, tablig dan nasyid-nasyid? Telah begitu banyaknya ia mengubah orang baik menjadi bertambah baik, tapi kenapa ia begitu kesulitan mengubah orang jahat menjadi orang baik? Kenapa ia begitu fasih berbicara tentang iman, namun terbata berbicara tentang fitrah? Apakah di masjidku hanya ada ayat-ayat madaniyah yang berkisah tentang iman, lalu telah hilang ayat-ayat makkiyah yang bercerita tentang insan?
Kini tampaknya ia tak lagi menjadi rumah manusia yang terbuka dan
mengucapkan salam selamat datang kepada seluruh pelantun syahadatain, bahkan kepada seluruh Bani Adam. Pelayannya didominasi oleh kaum nahi mungkar yang minim amar makruf, steril namun tak cukup imun mengatasi virus dunia, berani mati namun agak diragukan nyalinya untuk hidup. Jendelanya yang begitu normatif semakin menjauhinya dengan umat kebanyakan yang masih saja berpijak di bumi. Program-programnya dirancang lewat sebuah pertanyaan, "Apa maunya langit?". Sambil mengabaikan gairah-gairah kebumian. Ia selalu saja bertanya tentang apa yang dapat diberikan umat kepadanya, tanpa pernah bertanya apa yang diberikan masjid kepada umat, lingkungan dan kemanusiaan.
Maka, mari kita kembalikan masjid kepada kita. Karena, nun di sana ada
pendosa-pendosa yang ingin merebahkan hatinya di lantai sajadah. Di depan pintu ada pemuda-pemuda yang agak kumuh namun masih punya energi raksasa untuk mengibarkan panji-panji Islam. Mari kita tegakkan masjid di bumi realita, agar keluar dari mulutnya fatwa-fatwa langit yang dipicu oleh asbabun-nuzul aktualita, agar ia bisa berbicara fasih tentang sampah, tentang polusi, tentang konservasi, tentang gempa, tentang banjir bandang atau tentang korupsi.
Mari kita damaikan masjid dengan kekinian, agar ia mampu menjadi jembatan antara syariah yang absolut dengan hidup yang bergerak. Agar para aktivisnya tak melulu cemas dan memasang kuda-kuda menghadapi kenyataan. Mari kita damaikan masjid dengan dunia, karena hanya di atas kedamaian itu akan berdamai pula jemaahnya dengan kehidupan, dengan sunnatullah dan dengan fitrah. Agar tak ada lagi pertarungan yang tak perlu antara norma dan naluri. Agar tak ada permusuhan lagi antara aku dan nurani. Agar tak terjadi lagi paranoid dan histeria atas nama agama, agar jiwa menjadi tenteram.
"Wahai jiwa yang tenteram, kembalilah kepada Rabb-mu dalam rida dan diridai. Dan masuklah ke dalam golongan hamba-hamba-Ku. Dan masuklah ke dalam surga-Ku".***
Penulis, pernah aktif di salah satu pergerakan Islam, konsultan pengembangan SDM, tinggal di Bekasi.
(from a class journal)
A friend asked me about the difference between Asian and Western culture, if she has to make a market targeted campaign for a certain product. She expected me to answer her question easily; that Asian cultures are more communal than the individual western cultures. But with contemporary post-modern theories in anthropology, I could not answer that. It is not that easy. Which Asian culture, and which western culture? Are they who live in the village? Or are they who live in the city? What is their education background? What is their job?
The “evolution” theory of Marshal McLuhan is parallel with my reply. If the form of media shape the way people interact one to another, then the intimacy between people is affected by many aspects of social condition. McLuhan said that the writing, and later the printing machine, isolated people from day-to-day interaction. Literate community became more and more individualized, while those which still rely on oral interaction can maintain their communality.
While the theoretical argument sounds persuasive, my friend was not that easily to believe that. She argued that first, there are a lot of quantitative studies that shows people with Asian cultural background are indeed more communal than those from western background (as an anthropologist I was trained not to rely so much on quantitative data). Second, she argued, we will get the same result if we can conduct a generable qualitative research.
I don’t think we can conduct such general study, but I think her confidence is true to some point. As an anthropologist I can not say that Asian, or any other culture is more communal than Western culture, but when I heard my Taiwanese American went to Taiwan and spent a month with her extended family, or how badly I need to go to Indonesian restaurant just to hear people speaking Indonesian, I can feel that it might be true. But again, we have to compare many other things, like the people in many big cities in Asia and people in western villages (even the term Western is problematic here, who is Westerner anyway? American, Canadian, Australian and Western European? I used to laugh when I hear people from Eastern Europe claim themselves as “Easterner”. What about people from Latin America?).
If we assume that my friend is right, but we still want to believe McLuhan. Can we say that the Asian are more communal because they get impact from the printing machine way later than people in the West? Well, that's another way of saying that Asian (or non-Westerner) are less "literate" societies than Westerner. That's why all (cultural) evolutionist theories are problematic. I'll be careful with those thoughts though.
KosMag Magazine, issue 2, May 2005
http://www.kosmag.com/
(when you're in click 'me', the seventh from the left)
Marshal McLuhan is right; we do live in a global village. People in a village in India or Malaysia can talk about Prince Charles’ latest marriage like he’s one of their neighbors. They can watch the whole event “with their own eyes” on television, and gather gossip about this trans-oceanic neighbor’s impending marriage from that magic box and tabloid page 6 news. With globalization, the whole world is given a chance to be a part of Prince Charles’ marriage; global media provides people in the world new identities and new boundaries.
The main problem with this new global media culture is power imbalance. Mass media, the most powerful cultural agent, always acts as a propaganda machine for the whole capitalist industry. Indeed, they are supported by and depend on fashion and household industry, food chains, sports, apparel, and other consumer impulses to fund film and television programs. Not only does mass media create global culture but it creates global consumers. It creates myths about these products and consumption, making people in the world attach new meanings to stuff they buy and the money they spend. A diamond ring is not merely a stone with metal around your finger, it is a sign of wealth, beauty, loyalty, and eternity. Having a cell phone symbolizes reliability, connectivity. Not being able to discuss the latest box office smash –or the royal marriage- around the water cooler can make one feel out of the loop. Wearing expensive clothes simply makes people confident. And damn, consuming always makes me feel good.
And who can blame Hong Kong hip-hop artists with oversized costumes doing what they like if the image can make money? Can we really tell perennial couch potatos how unproductive their lives have become by channel surfing from one gossip show to soap operas? But then, who is considered responsible for resisting these vehicles for capitalist propaganda?
The dynamics of supply and demand within global culture can be surprising. Hollywood movies have difficulties reaching Indian audiences, where the preference lies with Bollywood musicals. Similarly, there are almost no imported programs in prime time Indonesian television, even though producing local programs is at least four times more expensive than buying the imported ones. On the other hand, mainstream industry is losing when it comes to competing with newer forms of underground-non-industrial media. In 1997, I heard ska for the first time at an underground stage in a Jakarta ghetto. Around the same time the economic crisis crippled Indonesia and it was years before I finally saw an “original” ska music video on Indonesian MTV.
Our global community has to be understood in terms of how, regionally, the dominant economy is latent to be the dominant culture. We can say Hollywood dominated the world, but Bombay’s Bollywood is more powerful in South Asia and Egypt’s social industries dictate much of the media culture in the Middle East. Just like New York and Los Angeles culture represents the United States’ global cultural face, a Jakarta dialect is considered the coolest everyday language by youth in Indonesian big cities. A friend of mine from Jakarta went to college in another town and got a side job as a radio DJ. Because he speaks in a Jakarta dialect, he became more and more popular and ended up taking over the station.
Since competition exists within industries, it is hard to predict what is going to be popular among whom. Native celebrities might be more popular than Hollywood actors in smaller towns, domestic brands can be more popular than “expensive” Levi’s, but at the same time, these local “brands” might be following trends coming from international influences. On the other hand, it is hurtful to see how multinational companies co-opt the “ethnic” without crediting local artisans or giving much thought to context and usage. But this tide also has a flip-side. When some of my colleagues visited a remote village in Indonesia that can only be reached by walking five hours from the closest river in the middle of Borneo, they asked if some local artists could give them tattoos of traditional patterns. This seemingly harmless request reflected a classic division between generations. Traditional tattoos could only be found on elder members of the village while the younger generation relied on “western” tattoos. The tattoo artists in the closest city decorated their client’s bodies with “classic” symbols like the Buddhist swastika, yin yang signs, anchors or “ethnic” patterns from Hawaii, Aboriginal tribes, or Irish celtic symbols. Some people in that village even had tattoos of airplanes or words like, “I love you”. Not until members of the younger generation saw that people from the outside valued their traditional patterns did they begin exploring their own identity.
While large corporations take local images out of context, they also make efforts to tailor their products to successfully market to specific communities. To be successful in Asia, American fast food chains adapt and offer familiar flavors to reach the Asian consumer tongue. In addition to the American triumverate of ketchup, mustard, and mayonnaise, all fast food chains in Indonesia serve hot chili ketchup as the most crucial condiment along with rice options. Pizza Hut and Burger King offer pizza, pasta and burgers using “local” ingredients and recipes. Coca-Cola has renamed their original product as “classic” when they had to differentiate the taste –and the ingredients– for a more and more segmented market. All western restaurants in predominantly Muslim populations have to have a halal sign, pork-free and special handling of the meat in accordance to Islamic teaching, to serve the local community.
Some would say that these localized changes show that multinationals care about their consumers. Naah, the only thing they care about is money. Still, I don’t know whether McLuhan happy or upset with this situation. I still don’t care about Prince Charles Marriage, but I know shopping makes me feel good, and I always miss eating my KFC with rice and hot chili sauce.
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