Jakarta Mosque Welcomes Ramadan With Jazz

For two nights in Ramadan, after Taraweeh prayers, bright lights and fascinating rhythm light up the front yard of Cut Meutia Mosque in Menteng, Jakarta.

The annual Ramadhan Jazz Festival – the only jazz  festival held in a mosque in Indonesia – is one of several activities organised each year by the mosque’s youth committee (RICMA) to mark the holy month.

“Indonesia is currently facing a serious threat named radicalism. Music is a universal language that can bring us together. Music is also the right instrument for dakwah [spreading the good words of Islam], specifically in our fight against radicalism, supporting efforts in bringing out tolerance and respecting each other’s differences,” said RICMA head M. Soekarno Hatta.

The sixth edition of the festival was held this year on June 17 and 18, and RICMA plans to keep it going in future years because it has been so well received, he said.

Muhammad Deo Saputra, another one of the event’s organizers, agreed.

“What makes this year’s event different from previous years is the theme it carries, which is about living in harmony. We hope all communities, believers, and organisations would unite in harmony, so we all can build Indonesia to be more positive,” Deo told BenarNews.

‘Difference is beautiful’

Retired General Wiranto, the chairman of the People’s Conscience Party (Hanura),  was among those helping kick off the festival on opening night. Wiranto also heads the mosque youth group’s advisory board.

“Music bring everyone together, regardless of races, nationality or beliefs,” said Wiranto, who took the stage himself to sing “Juwita Malam” (“Beauty of the Night”) by legendary composer Ismail Marzuki, accompanied by jazz maestro Idang Rasjidi.

Idang, who has performed at every edition of the Ramadan Jazz Festival, praised this year’s theme, “Harmony in the Culture of Islam.”

To underline  the harmony in Indonesia’s multicultural society, Idang invited Balinese-born soprano Putu Sastrani Titaranti to sing his song “Saling Memaafkan” (“Forgiving Each Other”.)

“The song tells about differences. Isn’t it peaceful if we can forgive, respect each other? I hope it can remind all of us that difference is beautiful,” Idang said from behind his keyboard.

Other top Indonesian jazz singers and bands, such as Dira Sugandi, Yuka Tamada, Ecoutez, Fariz RM, Maliq & D’Essentials, and Barry Likumahuwa, also performed.

“I’m so proud of Indonesia. Unity in diversity. Today, we all can prove it,” said Barry.

Visitors enjoy the 6th Ramadhan Jazz Festival held at Cut Meutia Mosque complex in Menteng, Jakarta, June 17, 2016. (Afriadi Hikmal/BenarNews)

Mosque appropriate?

One visitor, Ega Chandra, said he wasn’t so sure that a mosque complex was the right venue for the festival. He advised organizers to stage it somewhere else in upcoming years.

“The event was great. I love jazz and the artists they invited were also great,” said the 24-year-old, who was attending the festival for the first time.

“I think it is better to bring it somewhere else. It’s just inappropriate because a mosque is a place to pray. The theme is Ramadhan Jazz, not Jazz at Mosque. The artists should also play more songs about Islam in jazz arrangements,” Ega said.

Novriantoni Kahar, a scholar at Jakarta’s University of Paramadina who focuses on religious tolerance issues, said most moderate Muslims consider musical performances involving percussion instruments such as rebana – a tambourine used in Islamic music in some Southeast Asian countries – appropriate for Indonesian mosques.

However, “for the extreme group, performing music in a mosque is considered haram [forbidden by Islamic law], let alone staging a jazz festival,” he told BenarNews.