INDONESIAN MUSLIMS CELEBRATE ISLAMIC NEW YEAR

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Dec 7 (ANTARA) - In the last two days, Indonesian Muslims in various parts of the country have celebrated the arrival of the Islamic New Year 1432 Hegira which falls on Tuesday, with a number of rituals, dzikir (chant to bring one's self closer to God) and parades.          Thousands of Muslims performed the dzikir prayers on Tuesday including those in the provinces of South Sumatra province, Riau, Central Sulawesi and West Nusa Tenggara (NTB).          "About 3,000 Muslims attended the dzikir and tausiah (religious sermon) event held to welcome the Islamic New Year on  Muharam 1, (first month of Hegira)  at the Pagar Alam Mayor's Office, South Sumatra," Saidi Amrullah, head of the social affairs of local government, said on Tuesday.          In Riau province,  the dzikir prayer service was held at Pasir Pengaraian Grand Mosque, starting at 5 pm and finished at 9 pm. Thousands of people  dressed on white came from a number of sub-districts around Rokan Hulu (Rohul) district.          "We usually hold a dzikir ritual at our respective mosques, but this time we gathered at the grand mosque at the request of the district head," said M Nursalam (48), one of the congregation members.          Rokan Hulu District Head Achmad said the joint prayer service was held in an effort to obtain benefits from the Muharram 1 (first month of the Islamic calendar) New Year.          "Muharram 1 is a good momentum to introspect, build our determination and set the goals of our hopes," he said.          In Palu, Central Sulawesi,  SMAN I senior high school students held a dzikir ritual to mark the arrival of the new year. "Thank God, the dzikir ritual to welcome Muharram 1 proceeded solemnly and smoothly," Vice Principal of SMAN 1 Zulfikar said.          He said  the students began the ritual after saying their afternoon Ashar prayers at the school's mosque and were led by the school's head master Abdul Hair Mahmud.          The joint prayers and dzikir were used as a means of contemplation amid the various disasters such as landslides, floods, volcanic eruptions and tsunami hitting Indonesia.          On Tuesday, the students also joined public marches around the Palu city which culminated with a joint dzikir and prayers at Palu's grand mosque.          In Palu, there were about 1,000 people who celebrated the Islamic New Year with dzikir in various squares, including the one behind the Regional Police complex on Jalan Soekarno Hatta.          Here, the dzikir ritual was organized by the Nurul Yaqin education center. "This activity is held in the frame work of Islamic propagation," chief organizer Huzaiman said.          The same dzikir ritual was also organized in West Nusa Tenggara (NTB). Thousands of Muslims flocked to mosques and squares in Mataram, to attend a joint prayer service.          They welcomed the Islamic new year with various religious rituals in almost all mosques and special places prepared for the event such as on the premises of the Mataram Mayor's office.  About 1,000 Muslims, young and old, packed the Mayor's office's square where they said their prayers for divine grace in their  present and later life. Syekh Almadani, the leader of a boarding school in Jakarta, delivered a religious sermon.          Mataram Mayor H Ahyar Abduh, who attended the prayer service  said the Islamic New Year should not be welcomed with meaningless festivities such as races and drinks.          "The Islamic New Year had better be welcomed with dzikir," he said.          Besides dzikir prayers, Muslims also performed certain rituals such as the "Ambik Tanah" ritual in Bengkulu and the 'ketupat' (rice cake) throwing ritual in Central Java's Ungaran.          Members of the Tabot Community Association (KKT) in Bengkulu welcomed the Islamic New Year with the "Ambik Tanah" ritual. "We always organize 'Ambik Tanah' ritual in welcoming the arrival of the Islamic New Year on Muharam 1 , to remember the demise of the Prophet Muhammad's grand-son, Husein, who was killed in the Karbala field, Iraq," KKT chairman for Bengkulu Syaiful Hidayat said.          He said that 'Ambik Tanah' which literally means taking soil, was started on Monday at 4 pm with a joint prayer service  at the house of KKT leader in Melintang Market village, Bengkulu City.          "After the Isya evening prayers, we held the Ambik Tanah ritual at the Tapak Paderi beach of Bengkulu," he said. It began with a prayer followed by the pouring of various kinds of drinks like coffee, milk and fresh water onto the location of soil taking.          Using a piece of white cloth, one of the KKT leaders would than take some soil to be wrapped up and put into a place which was covered with a pan made of soil. The ambik tanah ritual was then closed with a joint prayer. The wrapped soil was taken to be kept in a certain place.          This ritual is performed by the Tabot community. Tabot itself literally means box or coffin. When the Prophet Muhammad's grand-son was killed in the Karbala field, the tabot was used to keep parts of Husein's body.          The other ritual is the 'ketupat' throwing ritual in Ungaran Central Java. Hundreds of villagers observed the arrival of the Islamic New Year  with  this ritual.          The event in which people threw  ketupat at each other was among other things held at the Dusun Muneng intersection, Sodomulyo village, at 5 p.m on Monday, attended by hundreds of people who brought along  ketupat complete with vegetable sauce. Before the ritual was started, people called out adzan (call for prayers) in unison in four directions.          Then  they ate the food (ketupat) together, throwing the  remainders at each other. Mahsun of  Sidomulyo village said the ritual  was a tradition regularly carried out by villagers to welcome the Islamic new year. It was intended to fend off various disasters and accidents during the year ahead.          Parades were also held to observe the new year.  The people of Mamuju district, West Sulawesi, for example, welcome it with vehicle parades around the city. Hundreds of four and two wheel vehicles in convoys marched around the Mamuju city marking the arrival of the Islamic New Year.          The marches were seen off by Mamuju district Head Suhardi Duka at the Ahmad Kirang Square in front of the Mamuju head's official residence.       Some of the vehicles taking part in the marches were decorated in the forms of mosques and the Ka'bah (the cubical shrine in the Haram Mosque in Mecca).          The chief organizer of the event, Syarifuddin Husain said  the marches were carried out to popularize the Islamic New Year. "We also hold a joint dzikir ritual at the Mamuju grand mosque," he said.          In the meantime,  hundreds of Muslim youths and students in Pamekasan, Madura, East Java, held a torch parade to observe the Islamic New Year. At least 11 youth and student organizations started their marches from Arek Lancor Monument towards the office of the local government on Jalan Kabupaten Pamekasan.          The parade attracted the attention of residents. Besides carrying torches, they also chanted  the 'Selawat Nabi' song along the way.  "We are holding this  torch parade on the eve of the Islamic New Year to celebrate the arrival of the Islamic new year," spokesman of the Ismahi student organization, said.***4*** (T.A014/A/HAJM/19:05/H-YH) (T.A014/A/A014/A/H-YH) 07-12-2010 19:12:3