Tuesday, October 20, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
/ARTS WEEKLY/CULTURE-INDONESIA: Ramadan Acquires a Popular Twist
Kafil Yamin
- During the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan last year, Indonesian worker Desi went to a mosque after ‘sahur’ or the pre-dawn meal, and stayed there until 6 a.m. to listen to religious lectures and recite the Koran.
But during this year’s Ramadan, which started on Nov. 6, she is more often found in front of her television, watching Ramadan programmes that feature clowns to quiz shows, rather than at the mosque.
"The Islamic lectures, religious discussions on TV are much more interesting than that in mosques," said Desi, who works with the Centre for Islamic Propagation here.
The change in Desi’s behaviour is not unique in Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim country with a population of 220 million people.
Indeed, mosques are becoming more quiet places during Ramadan. Streets and public places are no longer as lively with people hanging around after ‘sahur’.
More Muslims are choosing to stay tuned to their television sets and follow a wide range of special programmes for ‘buka’ or fast breaking. Many go to mosques only to perform prayers.
"Things are not as they were used to be," said Desi, a Bandung resident and regular mosque attendee.
Flip through the television stations and viewers today can choose from various Ramadan programmes featuring television stars, actors, actresses, singers, musicians, clowns as well as Muslim preachers.
The Ramadan messages are packaged in the form of drama, karaoke, and discussions. Many programmes carry quiz portions that offer hundreds of thousands of rupiah for winners.
Desi says she these are fine with her. She finds that watching an ‘ustadz’ or Islamic teacher explaining religious issues on television – in the form of daily conversations, flavoured by jokes in dramas – has more impact than attending the traditional preaching in mosques.
"In mosques, people listen to the preaching while sleepy, seriously, while sitting their leg crossed. In front of the TV, people just relax, while having some food,” she explained.
Many members of mosque councils here acknowledge that visits to the mosques have been decreasing lately.
"Until last year, people had to perform prayers outside because the number of visitors exceeded the capacity of this mosques. Now, we have still have some space empty inside," said a teacher of the Koran here.
Just one year ago, the sounds of the faithful praying or reciting Koranic verses could be easily heard from the mosques’ loudspeakers. Today, the sounds that are heard are those of people singing ‘karaoke’ at contests hosted by television stations airing Ramadan programmes.
Teens and homemakers participating in the karaoke said these programmes make the ‘sahur’ moments livelier – and if they are lucky, they win prizes too.
The popularity of these programmes reflect how popular media, especially television, have succeeded in using and adapting traditions rooted in religion to their advantage.
"The media have made religious messages become more interesting and easy to digest. People by nature do not like complicated things," said Asep Saeful Muhtadi, a media and communication expert.
"But whether or not the messages affect the audience behaviour or result in some changes among Muslims is still subject to further examination,” he added. "What we are seeing is that religious lectures become merely entertainment stuff. And when it comes to entertainment, easy comes easy goes.”
Muslim preachers like Miftah Farid say the media are changing Muslim traditions, but in a way that does not necessarily have a negative impact on the faith.
"To a certain extent, the change is positive," he said. He pointed out that youth and children used to hang around the neighbourhood, shouting, chanting and creating noise by striking drums. ”Not everyone was happy with that,” he said, adding it disturbed non-Muslim communities.
But Farid said that whether popular media are helping Muslims internalise Islamic values remains to be seen, partly because the commercial aspect of these media is much more powerful than the religious content.
"The TV programmes carry clear messages, calling Muslims to lead simple lives, restraining from ‘human passion’ by controlling their sex, food consumption and by meeting spiritual needs. But the messages are interrupted by advertisements that spark consumerism," he said.
"It is the advertisement that effectively affects the audience, not the religious content,” Farid added.
Apart from television, hotels and cafes are also attracting fasting Muslims for Ramadan gatherings.
Some hotels and cafes provide free fast-breaking meals, coupled with live music and products like food supplements for the fasting month and nice clothes for Idul Fitri, the day marking the end of Ramadan. Idul Fitri falls on Dec. 6 this year.
According to Muhtadi, fasting month has always been good period for promotion and the media, including radio, newspapers, magazines, have always made a windfall from it. "Advertisers queue up to put their ads on TV for Ramadan programmes.”
But media are changing not only Muslim traditions, but the lifestyle of some entertainers too – at least during Ramadan.
"It’s interesting to see actresses, including those known as sexy ones, all of a sudden wearing Muslim veils and becoming so religious at least in front of the cameras,” Muhdati remarked.
For Miftah Faridl, head of the Indonesian Ulama Council, this shows a positive impact. "After Ramadan, they return to their original performances and behaviour, but a few of them continue to be truly religious people.”
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/ARTS WEEKLY/CULTURE-INDONESIA: Ramadan Acquires a Popular Twist
Kafil Yamin
- During the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan last year, Indonesian worker Desi went to a mosque after ‘sahur’ or the pre-dawn meal, and stayed there until 6 a.m. to listen to religious lectures and recite the Koran.
(more…)
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