IF you think that a case can be won by shouting at your opponent, yelling frantically at his face, hurling desperately “holy” words such “allahu akbar” (God is great) at him, you are definitely wrong.
What you need to win a case is a persuasive argument, valid data, and a sober reasoning. Yelling “allahu akbar” at your opponent won’t tilt the scale to your side!
In other words, to speak louder than your opponent doesn’t make you holier than him.
I’ve been invited to many discussions and seminars back in Jakarta and sat next to Islamist activists in the panel. What struck me was this: they always speak as if they yell at his fellow from a long distance in the desert. They shouted, they yelled, they screamed as if I am a deaf person. The audience returned the move with a thunderous chant: ALLAHU AKBAR!
I saw the other day a conversation on TV between Riziq Shibab, the head of Front of Islam’s Defender (FPI) and a young cleric, Kiai Maman. It was broadcast on SCTV, one of a major TV channel in Jakarta. They engaged in a heated debate on the supposedly “deviant” sect, Ahmadiyah, and violent act launched by a “thug” that belongs to FPI against people who rallied on June 1st in National Park to defend the religious freedom.
They sat on a two opposing benches: Mr. Shihab represented the conservative camp; Mr. Maman spoke for those who defend the right of Ahmadiyah to exist and exercise their freedom of conscience.
Mr. Shihab shouted and shouted during the discussion at his interlocutor, as if he delivered a sermon from a pulpit during Friday prayer. It was so annoying to see a scene such this on TV. Mr. Shihab spoke to a fellow Muslim and he is supposed to address his fellow with respect and civility. I noticed that he never looked at the eye of his interlocutor. He spoke without paying any attention to his “opponent”. He kept interjecting and interrupting other’s speech. When the moderator tried to stop him, he paid no heed and just kept talking endlessly.
Is this man so stupid that he is not aware that Muslim scholars developed over centuries what is called the ethic of disputation, adab al-munazara? The way Mr. Shihab behaved on TV screen at that time gave a very bad image about Muslim and Islam. I just imagine what non-Muslim viewers would think about this man, yelling and shouting at his fellow Muslim, pretending that he is on “God’s” side so that he is apparently entitled to harass and ridicule others.
To be louder, Mr. Shihab, does not make you holier than your opponent. What you did is exactly what “enemies of Islam” expect from any Muslim to do. You confirm other’s image about Islam as a violent religion. People like you are always mad and furious when others accused Islam as religion of violence. But, do you realize that what you did conforms squarely to the image that others have back in their mind about Islam?
Do you think that you have done a great service to Islam by acting so madly like that, Mr. Shihab?
Don’t ever think that this is a unique scene that you will encounter only in Indonesia. No, not at all. I saw a video of a debate between “Islamist” and “secularist” camp that was conducted during Cairo International Book Fair in Egypt. The Islamist camp was represented by Sheikh Muhammad al-Ghazali, a noted Muslim cleric who is also known as the ideologue of Ikhwan al-Muslimin, while the secularist was represented by Dr. Faraj Fouda. This debate occurred many years ago (I forget when it exactly happened; I guess in early 90s).
What struck me from that debate was that the audience which seemed to be predominantly “anti-secularist” camp kept shouting and yelling whenever Dr. Fouda had his turn to speak. As some you may know, Dr. Fouda was killed not long after that debate because of his critical stance against Islamist groups in Egypt.
What is that supposed to mean? Why do those guys always shout whenever they address other people? Are they so insecure and engulfed in a distress and anxiety that they shout so desperately? Is this shouting just a sign of frustration? Or do they think that they are on a higher moral ground than others so that they think they speak from a “supremacist” position?
4 responses so far ↓
1 alfend elias // Jun 25, 2008 at 10:16 pm
Islam berwatak Preman aku kenal dari Habib.
Islam berwatak Komedian aku kenal dariGusdur.
Islam berwatak kontekstual aku kenal dari Anda.
Salam Kasih,
Alfend.
2 Mahdi // Jun 27, 2008 at 6:19 pm
Mas Ulil yang terhormat,
Kalau menurut beberapa orang kawan di Jakarta, dulunya Mas Ulil juga pernah sempat terjebak beberapa lama dalam alam fikir fundamentalisme Islam (Wahabi-Salafi). Sempat lama jadi da’i nya aliran fundamentalis. Itu waktu dulu masih belajar di LIPIA-Jakarta.
Apa itu benar? Kalau benar, kejadian apa atau akibat ketemu siapa yang bisa membuat Mas Ulil berubah? Mungkin saja kalau Mas Ulil sempat menulis refleksi diri tentang hal di masa lalu ini, akan jadi banyak juga kawan-kawan kita yang masih terperangkap dalam penjara nalar Wahabi-Salafi bisa terbebaskan, dibebaskan, atau membebaskan diri.
Salam,
Mahdi
3 Ulil Abshar-Abdalla // Jun 27, 2008 at 8:35 pm
Mas Mahdi,
Insyaallah saya akan tulis mengenai hal itu kapan-kapan. Memang betul, saya pernah ikut selama dua tahun dalam gerakan tarbiyah yang menjadi embrio PKS itu. Persisnya waktu saya masih kuliah di LIPIA dulu. LIPA adalah kampus yang menyediakan stok cukup banyak untuk elit-eilit PKS saat ini.
Intinya kenapa saya keluar dari gerakan tarbiyah itu adalah karena saya tak puas dengan doktrin mereka yang kaku, dogmatis, berlawanan dengan watak saya yang terus membaca, membaca, membaca, dan mencari.
Saya berangkat dari pesantren, kemudian melampaui tradisi pesantren itu sendiri. Saya kemudian masuk dalam lingkungan yang kurang lebih “salafi-wahabi”, kemudian saya melampaui tradisi mereka, bahkan menjadi pengkritik tajam tradisi itu. Sekarang saya masuk ke dalam level pemahaman baru atas Islam.
Tentu proses saya tak pernah berhenti. Tetapi satu hal yang saya tahu dengan pasti: saya tak mungkin kembali total pada tradisi yang pernah saya alami sebelumnya. Saya tak mungkin kembali kepada tradisi pesantren 100%. Saya mempunyai banyak kritik atas sejumlah doktrin dalam pesantren. Tetapi saya masih mempertahankan pula banyak doktrin, praktek dan ajaran lain dalam pesantren yang saya anggap sangat baik.
Saya, apalagi, tak mungkin kembali ke tradisi tarbiyah atau salafi-wahabi yang pernah saya alami dulu di LIPIA.
Makhluk hidup terus berproses, dan proses yang baik adalah proses yang terus-menerus menuju kepada tangga yang lebih baik.
Jalan yang ditempuh oleh masing-masing orang dalam proses itu jelas berbeda-beda. Sementara itu, ujung akhir proses itu sendiri hanya Allah semata yang mengetahui.
Yang penting adalah kita berusaha sebaik mungkin untuk mencari kebenaran. Soal apakah kita sampai pada tujuan akhir yang sesuai dengan kekendak Allah, hanya Dialah yang tahu.
Ulil
4 Andri // Jul 2, 2008 at 10:36 am
Nampaknya fenomena “Ge-Er”, bukan hanya dialami oleh anak muda, tapi juga oleh para fundamentalis yg sudah beranjak tua. waktu lihat gambar FPI -diatangkapin- di kompas, mereka terlihat teriak-teriak (pasti menyebut “Allahu akbar”). Saya yakin itu memang keinginan mereka berurusan dengan yang berwajib, dan seolah-olah penangkapan tersebut adalah bagian dari “perjuangan”. padahal diluar sana, banyak orang (termasuk saya) yang melihat tingkah mereka tidak lebih (maaf) seperti sebuah ketololan belaka. Saya semakin miris tapi juga kasihan, karena tingkah laku demikian sepertinya hanya menjustifikasi statement “agama hanya untuk orang miskin dan bodoh”.
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