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Crafting a Good "Bow"

May 25, 2021

President Joko Widodo and Vice President Ma'ruf Amin asked the Rector of the International Indonesian Islamic University (UIII), Prof. Dr. Komaruddin Hidayat, not to delay the admission of new students in September 2021. For this reason, various preparations have been made by UIII so that the progress of development and operations, including student admissions and the commencement of academic programs can go smoothly as scheduled.

"We have to do this through optimal preparation so that there is a multiplier effect, and that the results are good, satisfying and of a high standard. Like a bow, if we prepare properly, the arrows will shoot far ahead. But if the bow is loose, then the range of the arrows is very short. Will not reach the target. " The Rector of UIII, Prof. Komaruddin Hidayat, delivered this message during a speech at the Halal Bihalal event at the UIII campus, Depok, Wednesday, May 19, 2021.

The event, which took place at the UIII Student Apartment, was attended by stakeholders from the Ministry of Religious Affairs (Kemenag), Ministry of Finance (Kemenkeu), the Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR), the Presidential Staff Office (KSP), the National Planning and Development Agency (Bappenas), the Secretary to the Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia, and the UIII academic community.

The UIII Campus is a National Strategic Project or PSN which was established based on Presidential Regulation Number 57 of 2016. Therefore, President Jokowi was directly involved and he paid great attention to UIII so that the targets that have been set can be achieved, such as the completion of construction of building facilities and the commencement of academic programs. In this context, President Jokowi has appointed the Presidential Chief of Staff, Moeldoko, to oversee the progress of the UIII campus construction. According to Komaruddin, the UIII campus has actually carried out various operational activities such as a series of webinars by presenting foreign and domestic sources. The new academic activities will be held in September 2021 as scheduled.

We will see the situation later, he said, according to the development of the COVID-19 pandemic to determine whether the semester will be carried out offline or online. When asked about the limitation of the number of invitees attending the Halal Bihalal event, Komaruddin said that this was to meet the health protocol requirements during the Pandemic period as recommended by the government.

"Actually, we really wanted to invite various parties who were involved in pioneering this campus from the beginning. It's a shame the current situation makes this impossible. But Insha Allah, we will invite them all later, as a token of appreciation and our gratitude to those who have contributed to the establishment of this campus" he said.

Halal Bihalal Wisdom

Acting as a lecturer who conveyed the message of Halal Bihalal was the UIII lecturer, Dr. M. Ilyas Marwal, M.M. In his description, he said that Halal Bihalal is a cultural creation of Indonesian Muslims, because in other Islamic countries, from Saudi Arabia to Morocco, there is no Halal Bihalal event.

Even the word Halal Bihalal itself is not found in Arabic so it needs interpretation and explanation to understand it. "What is meant by Halal Bihalal is the thalabul halal bi thariqil halal (knitting harmony by forgiving mistakes)," he explained. He said that the traditions in Indonesia are different from those in Arab countries in celebrating Eid. In the Middle East, Ramadan nights are often more festive than Eid days.

The real peak of Ramadan is not Eid al-Fitr but Eid al-Adha, so this Sacrifice Day in Arab countries is called Eid al-Akbar. Furthermore, Marwal explained that the essence of Eid al-Fitr is twofold: First, sharing happiness with others. On the day of Eid, no one is allowed to be sad. Therefore Islam obliges its people to pay zakat, give alms, and spend their assets. The reward of a fasting individual will hang before he or she pays zakat. Socially, the goal is for everyone to be happy on the day of Eid. Second, ask that our worship during the month of Ramadan is accepted by Allah.

Therefore, the Eid al-Fitr prayer is actually not Minal Aidin wal Faizin, as popularly locally known here, but taqabballahu minna wa minkum, which means: "May Allah accept the deeds that I and you have done. " The remarks of Minal Aidin wal Faidzin, said Marwal, were not popular among Muslims in Arab countries. Again, it is a cultural learning and creation of Indonesian Muslims, as is the case with Halal Bihalal. Nevertheless, he stressed that it is fine, there is no problem on this because Islam accommodates local traditions. (ag)