After recently shocking many by issuing a religious edict banning smoking, the country’s second-largest Islamic organization has stirred a new controversy by saying it would discuss whether the predawn prayer time for Muslims was too early.
“The time for the predawn prayer in Indonesia is the earliest, compared to other countries,” Syamsul Anwar, the chair of the Muhammadiyah’s lawmaking council, said on Wednesday from Surabaya.
While there, he met with East Java Governor Sukarwo to inform him of the organization’s national meeting in Malang on April 1-4.
“If the morning prayer is a bit later, maybe more [Muslims] will perform the prayer,” Syamsul added.
He said the issue of the predawn prayer was one of the things Muhammadiyah’s central board was planning to take up at the meeting.
The morning prayer for Indonesian Muslims starts when the sun is 20 degrees under the horizon (the point when the sun starts rising), or about 4:45 a.m. in the western part of the country.
Syamsul said the time for the predawn prayer in Morocco starts when the sun is 18 degrees under the horizon, while in Egypt it is when the sun is 19.5 degrees under the horizon.
“Actually, the predawn prayer time here does not violate the rule as according to the Islamic law. It should be done between 20 degrees to zero degrees,” he said.
The Indonesian Council of Ulema (MUI) and the Religious Affairs Ministry were quick to brush aside the idea, saying the prayer times have been considered thoroughly.
“The predawn prayer time in Indonesia is correct,” said an MUI chairman, Ma’ruf Amin.
Nasaruddin Umar, the Ministry of Religious Affairs’ Islamic directorate general, concurred, saying the prayer time had been determined after a thorough consideration involving all elements of Muslim society and experts, including astronomers.
Nahdlatul Ulama’s West Java chairman, Havidz Usman, took a more conciliatory approach to the question.
“We set the time based on the Koran, but we welcome a discussion should there be strong evidence that our predawn prayer time is not correct,” he said.
“The time for the predawn prayer in Indonesia is the earliest, compared to other countries,” Syamsul Anwar, the chair of the Muhammadiyah’s lawmaking council, said on Wednesday from Surabaya.
While there, he met with East Java Governor Sukarwo to inform him of the organization’s national meeting in Malang on April 1-4.
“If the morning prayer is a bit later, maybe more [Muslims] will perform the prayer,” Syamsul added.
He said the issue of the predawn prayer was one of the things Muhammadiyah’s central board was planning to take up at the meeting.
The morning prayer for Indonesian Muslims starts when the sun is 20 degrees under the horizon (the point when the sun starts rising), or about 4:45 a.m. in the western part of the country.
Syamsul said the time for the predawn prayer in Morocco starts when the sun is 18 degrees under the horizon, while in Egypt it is when the sun is 19.5 degrees under the horizon.
“Actually, the predawn prayer time here does not violate the rule as according to the Islamic law. It should be done between 20 degrees to zero degrees,” he said.
The Indonesian Council of Ulema (MUI) and the Religious Affairs Ministry were quick to brush aside the idea, saying the prayer times have been considered thoroughly.
“The predawn prayer time in Indonesia is correct,” said an MUI chairman, Ma’ruf Amin.
Nasaruddin Umar, the Ministry of Religious Affairs’ Islamic directorate general, concurred, saying the prayer time had been determined after a thorough consideration involving all elements of Muslim society and experts, including astronomers.
Nahdlatul Ulama’s West Java chairman, Havidz Usman, took a more conciliatory approach to the question.
“We set the time based on the Koran, but we welcome a discussion should there be strong evidence that our predawn prayer time is not correct,” he said.
