MALAYSIA — Serving as a dai (Islamic preacher) in a faraway country is not an easy thing. Different countries mean different cultures, languages, characters and habits of their people. Not to mention the difference in weather to food. Sometimes a person feels shocked when he/she discovers the fact that the conditions at the place of assignment are not the same as the information obtained earlier.
In Ramadan month 1444 H/2023 A.D., Dompet Dhuafa assigned Luqmanul Hakim Abubakar, one of the Dai Ambassador to go to neighboring Malaysia. Many stories and impressions during his time at the assignment place, Luqman also wrote a travel note to Dompet Dhuafa in Indonesia.
“The partners and objects of da’wah that we meet are also sometimes different from what we imagine. Different cultures, different communication styles, mass organization backgrounds, religious affiliations and others. Then there is no choice but to look for similarities that might be able to bring us closer,” he wrote to Dompet Dhuafa, Wednesday (5/4/2023)
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In 2019, when Ustaz Luqman served as Dai Ambassador in Brunei Darussalam, he was very familiar with Mr. Sujatmiko, the Indonesian Ambassador to Brunei. Almost every day, he was invited to sit and chat, either in the middle of zuhur breaks or even during sungkai/iftar and tarawih prayer together. They were familiar and close.
However, the impression when he first did the friendship was actually not very smooth. The Ambassador’s comments after he introduced himself as Dai Ambassador of Dompet Dhuafa are still vividly remembered.
“In Bandar Seri Begawan, there were lots of Indonesian Da’i. If you can’t give us something special, then what we have here are actually enough,” Luqman said, opening up memories of Sujatmiko’s words.
“Am I shocked? Certainly. I had previously thought of all the sentences for making a dialogue, but I didn’t imagine that I would be faced with sentences like this. I wasn’t quite prepared with the answer. I hurriedly looked for information about Mr. Sujatmiko. Through Google, I know he has served as the Indonesian Ambassador in Sudan from 2010 to 2014,” Luqman continued.
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Coincidentally, around the same year, Luqman took a postgraduate there. Actually, he never met Sujatmiko when he was in college. But certainly, they both have the same memories of the heat in Khartoum and the ‘Land of the Two Niles’. He used the memories as a good entrance to get along.
“Alhamdulillaah, after that, we immediately got along. To borrow an Arabic term: ‘Wa in lam Tajma’na Al Ayyaam, Jama’atna Adz dzikrayaat’ (although time does not meet, the same memory has united us),” Luqman said.
This year, he was assigned as Dompet Dhuafa’s Dai Ambassador to Malaysia. Dompet Dhuafa’s main partner in Kuala Lumpur is Pimpinan Cabang Istimewa Muhammadiyah (PCIM). So, almost all da’wah tasks and services are centered on the Muhammadiyah-based community.
As a student who was born and grew up in the Nahdiyyin environment and tradition, he found many differences. But of course there are more unifying similarities. However, he was welcomed, friendly and full of warmth.
“One of the important lessons I can learn from the journey of becoming a Dai Ambassador is that, to be successful and accepted, you must quickly adapt to a new environment. Focus on ‘tsawaabit’ things that are permanent. Looking for similarities that unite, and open minded to differences,” he concluded. (Dompet Dhuafa/LHA/Muthohar)