If you are an Indonesian who has a television set, you will surely know about what I’m gonna talk about. If you are an Indonesian, yet you anachronistically don’t have a television set, well dear, you’re as good as another topic for this blog. Anyway, read on!
As the number of mobile phone, or colloquially HP for handphone, in this country surges, businesses related to it are also booming. In the television, we’ve been relentlessly haunted by reg<spasi> advertisements. That is, these ads asks people to text reg<space>whatever-they’re-selling from their HPs for all kinds of services, from Javanese horoscope and Chinese fortune telling to celebrity updates and matchmaking.
Less bizarre ads simply sell ringtones for those who want to impress others by not answering calls immediately. In response to our society’s increasing religiosity-slash-gullibility, these “clever” services start to sell ringtones using Qur’anic verses, Arabic prayers, salawats, and other Islamic noises. (OK, noises is too harsh a term to describe those things –I myself would be gravely offended if someone says Qur’anic verses make terrible noise; however in this context, I believe it fits the description). Users may see this as an inevitable marriage between religion and technology as both has gotten closer each day. Nevertheless, there has been considerable backlash, especially from Islamic scholars and ulamas, against the use of such religious materials for ringtones. I myself has tought up two big reasons why this techno-divine tones should stop soon.
First, it is simply sacrilege. Setting a verse from the Qur’an as your ringtone means that there’s a chance that it will play out in places you will never read a Qur’an in, like in a restroom while you’re doing your “earthly business”; or in situations where it’s inappropriate to blurt out parts of the Holy Book. Moreover, although a number of these ringtone users have a some kind of fetish for Arabic language, most of them don’t understand a single word of Arabic. What’s the point of showing off stuffs you don’t understand? Besides, some ulamas cite that ringtones tend to be cut off, because they’re ringtones. They’re not made to be enjoyed to the end, DUH! In this case, cutting Qur’anic verses randomly runs the risk of distorting its meaning and doing so would constitue a sinful act.
Personally, I am concerned more about the first part, the sacrilegious usage of religious verses, than about the distortion-of-meaning part – people don’t actually know what’s said in the ringtone in the first place, how would they know if it’s distorted? And distorted to what? And would they really notice? Thus, this trend could equate to being disrespectful to God. Please, there are already enough people doing that.
Second, and perhaps this would appeal to a bigger audience, it is freakin’ tasteless! Mankind has produced music since the dawn of civilization (MTV helped!), there are millions of songs circulating in this world, and somehow some funny people chose chunks of Qur’an as their ringtones. If you think the faux-heavenly tones would make people think highly of you, you’re dead wrong. It would take you to ridicule rather than raudah, in an instant.
Let me say this in a nicer way. Dear perpetrators of this cheesy crime, you are just trying to hard. It’s like wearing bikinis to the mall so that people will know you’re a model. Instead, people will think that you’ve just escape from a mental institution. Don’t get me wrong, I believe everyone should have the opportunity to improve their spirituality. However, especially since I’m a Muslim, I also believe that this is not the way. Never! There are plenty of other ways available to enhance our faith. Just not this one. No. No. No.
If, at this point, you are still not convinced that such ringtones are wrong and sinful, you should at least agree that it’s downright tacky.
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