This month is Ramadan, the ninth and holiest month of the Islamic calendar. With the worlds largest muslim population, Ramadan is a big deal in Indonesia. The month is a time for daytime fasting and spiritual reflection, most muslim Indonesians will not eat or drink from sunrise to sunset.
During Ramadan Indonesians would normally spend lots of time with family and friends, and would attend mosques more regularly than usual. In 2020 COVID has disrupted many of those traditions and made the celebrations a much quieter and more muted affair.
Fasting is seen as a way to improve patience and gratitude, and get closer to those less fortunate than ourselves, and to Allah. Reading of the Quran is encouraged during Ramadan, as is giving food to the poor, particularly poignant during this time when many will not be earning their usual wages. Each night the fast is broken with a celebration and meal (iftar) with family and friends.
The dates for Ramadan are calculated on the Hijri calendar which is about 10-12 days shorter than a normal calendar year, meaning Ramadan is celebrated earlier each year and comes back to the same dates only after 35-ish years. Ramadan starts and finishes with sightings of specific moon phases. In 2020 the Islamic councils in Indonesia have declared Ramadan will start on Friday 24 April. The rough date is known well in advance, but the exact date is only announced a day or two before, once the moon sightings are confirmed.
The month lasts around 29 days and finishes when the crescent moon is sighted on the last night. Ramadan closes with the 3 day festival of Idul Fitri (Eid al-Fitr), the Feast of Fast-Breaking. In Bahasa Indonesia, Idul Fitri is also known as Lebaran. Ramandan contains one of the holiest nights of the muslim year, Laylat al-Qadr, the night of power, usually within the last 10 days of Ramadan. This night commemorates the night the Quran was revealed to Mohammed, and some muslims will stay up all night to read the whole Quran. Any good deeds performed on this night, such as giving to charity, are believed to bring great rewards.
With most people fasting all day, you can imagine that life slows down in Jakarta. Most offices adjust their hours (when they are open!) to an earlier start, to allow staff to go home early and break fast with their families at 6pm. There are less meetings, everything takes longer than usual to get done. Construction sites and any jobs requiring physical labour are particularly affected. In my first year in Jakarta, the office manager suggested we organise a break fast meal for all the staff, and I was mentally gearing up for fried eggs and toast, until I twigged that wasn’t what they meant!
Indonesians from other religions will generally be courteous and not eat in front of their fasting friends during the day. In non-COVID years, most upscale cafes and restaurants are still open all day, but street food stalls will only open after dark if at all. Alcohol is also less conspicuously displayed during this time.
Usually Indonesians will head back to their home town a few days before Idul Fitri for about 2 weeks (mudik is the local term for this practice). This year, whilst mudik has not been banned by the government, they have grounded all domestic flights (the way most people travel in this country of 6,000 populated islands), and the two biggest religious councils have asked people not to go home. Similarly mosques are not forced to close, but worshippers have been asked to stay at home for their prayers. In an unprecedented move, the Government has moved the public holidays that would usually coincide with Idul Fitri to December.
The lockdowns in Jakarta have just been extended to 22 May, the day before the Idul Fitri festival, and it will be interesting to see how the authorities then handle asking people to keep social distance, during this very social festival time. I will be surprised if they extend the full measures over the festival period as that would be extremely unpopular, but lets see.
I have never personally tried fasting for any reason, and rarely even skip breakfast, so I am in awe of the will power required to maintain a fast all day, every day, for a month. The support of being part of a community all practising together must help enormously. But whether you subscribe to the fasting or not, the idea of a time for reflection and giving, has a certain appeal. As I am writing this it is #GivingTuesdayNow, which I just picked up on from Twitter and had never heard of before. It sounds like an amazing initiative that raises a lot of money, and activates many hours of volunteer support for worthy causes. One day is a great start, but could we keep it going for longer? a month perhaps…?
Letter from Jakarta. 