Lead-in:  

Ahmad Dhani responds to his problems and critics not with a shrill or arrogant voice, but rather with a foundation that he’s helping to develop with Gus Dur and an expert from America.

 

Main Story:

Presenter (Dok Shandika):  Awards, achievement and controversy have lifted Ahmad Dhani to an exalted position in the eyes of the public, and now the leader of the musical group Dewa surprises us yet again, with his plan to help build and promote a foundation with Gus Dur.

Paying a debt or improving his image, which in recent months has been assaulted by a constant barrage of problems?  Perhaps it’s appropriate to ask that question of Ahmad Dhani.  As you know, the leader of the musical group Dewa is just getting clear of the many attacks leveled at him.  Dhani has been accused of being a non-Muslim and a Jewish lackey, to the point that his use of symbols [on Dewa's album covers] has been criticized and forbidden.  Just recently this father of three children was hauled into a Jakarta police station on a complaint issued FPI or the Front for the Defense of Islam [a radical Islamist group], and he was denounced before the High Court by a Jakarta native named Ridwan Saidi [who accused him of religious heresy].

Regardless of all that, on Saturday the fourth of June, Dhani, Gus Dur and Mr. Holland—an American who is known for his great concern for religious tolerance—made plans to develop a foundation called Libforall.  The foundation will promote tolerance between people of different ethnic and religious communities, and respect for the rights of others.

Dhani:  “Mr. Holland has good intentions.  He established a foundation whose mission is to promote tolerance.  It aims to show the world that Islam is not a violent religion, and that Islam does not belong to terrorists."

Presenter:  The field of activity chosen by Gus Dur and Ahmad Dhani of Dewa seems to have been carefully considered by Mr. Holland.  Especially for Dhani, this may be a first step towards a broader engagement in the field of social responsibility.  As you know, until now Dewa’s and Dhani’s activities have always been purely commercial, focusing on ventures that Dhani considered financially profitable.

Dhani:  “We won’t stop being commercial, but we also have to give back to society.”

Presenter:  If we examine this collaboration between Ahmad Dhani and Gus Dur, it’s clear that Indonesia’s ex-president—who is always resolute in principle—has supported Ahmad Dhani from the beginning.  That’s because Gus Dur is convinced that Dhani’s musical mission is truly Islamic and helps to educate the masses.

Gus Dur:  “[The radical Islamist claim that Dhani is not a true Muslim] is their opinion.  People who think like that usually idolize fiqih (Islamic law).  But in fact, those who talk that way are usually ignorant [and don’t understand Islamic law at all].”

Presenter:  So how does this prominent figure from the Nahdlatul Ulama [the world’s largest Muslim organization] view other Indonesian Islamic figures like Habib Riziq [leader of the radical Front for the Defense of Islam] and Ridwan Saidi, who claim that Ahmad Dhani is pro-Jewish and anti-Islam?  Are their claims proven by the lyrics of a number of Dewa’s songs, and by Dewa’s use of forbidden [allegedly Zionist] symbols?

Gus Dur:  “People say that [Dewa’s lyrics embody] wadat al-wujud [a Muslim Sufi doctrine regarding the unicity of being, which was propounded by Ibn Arabi] and that it harbors Jewish doctrine.   Wadat al-wujud isn’t derived from Judaism.  People who talk like that don’t even know what Judaism is. 

“There are some people, like Habib Riziq and Ridwan Saidi, who express such opinions [viz., that Indonesia’s constitution forbids the use of Zionist symbols, and that the symbols used by Dewa fall into that category].  In the West, they have constitutions and hold them in high respect.  Here people talk about the constitution, but actually treat it with contempt.  As a result, there’s always some kind of uproar, but where’s the constitution they’re talking about?”