DEN HAAG, BELANDA — On Thursday (7/3/2024), Dompet Dhuafa’s Dai Ambassadors assigned to the Netherlands, Ustaz Basyir Arif and Ustaz Moh. Masrur departed from Indonesia to Amsterdam Schiphol International Airport, the Netherlands. They departed on a Garuda Indonesia plane and travelled for 14 hours in the air, without transit and without being questioned by immigration.
Upon arrival at Schiphol, they headed outside the airport and were welcomed by the Special Branch Manager of Nahdlatul Ulama (PCINU) Netherlands, KH Nur Hasyim Subadi and Rais Syuriah. The preachers then travelled to The Hague to visit the house next to Al-Hikmah Mosque. The house will be their home during their Ramadan 1445 H preaching programme in the Land of Van Oranje.
For the preachers, The Hague is a neat and beautiful city. There stands the Al-Hikmah Mosque which has been inaugurated since 1996 by the Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia to the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The mosque is then managed by the Al-Hikmah Mosque Foundation and has an organisational structure.
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On the first day the Dai Ambassadors set foot in the Netherlands, Friday (8/3/2024), they immediately carried out their da’wah duties, namely being the imam and khatib of Friday prayers in a mosque that used to be a church.
On Saturday (9/3/2024), the European Muslim Youth Association (PPME) chaired by Mr Edie Sandino had a regular agenda at the Al-Hikmah Mosque in The Hague. On that occasion, the main agenda was Tarhib Ramadan.
The PPME organisation itself has a long history. It was initiated by Gus Dur and his friends, KH Hambali Maksum and KH Naf’an Sulchan. To this day, PPME is still active in the Indonesian Muslim community in The Hague.
Activities at Al-Hikmah Mosque Every Sunday Arrives
Al-Hikmah Mosque has the same function as the mosque in the days of the Prophet Saw, which is to be a place of learning for children. In his time, the Prophet directly taught Abdullah bin Abbas and Abdullah bin Mas’ud to read seventy letters.
Every Sunday, the two-storey mosque has a special Qur’anic Education Centre (TPQ) for children led by Mrs Halimah and assisted by admin staff Mrs Sila S. Suwito. The teachers come from the Indonesian diaspora. They teach children to be able to read iqra and memorise the Qur’an, as well as teach Islamic values and noble morals. Interestingly, parents who bring their children to TPQ also join on the second floor of the mosque to read the Qur’an together with tartil and correct each other.
In addition, there is also a regular agenda every Sunday afternoon until Thursday, during Ramadan 1445 H, namely the recitation of the books of Durratun Nashihin and Arbain Nawawiyyah by PCINU Netherlands. There is also the Tombo Ati community led by Kang Nana Suprianta which has a fortnightly recitation agenda every Sunday. The Stichting Indahnya Sedekah Nederland Foundation also holds its annual meeting at this mosque.
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After a series of activities on Sunday, it was time to welcome the month of the Qur’an. The preachers and the local Muslim community prepared to perform fardu prayers followed by Tarawih prayers. But before that, Dompet Dhuafa’s Dai Ambassadors first delivered a short lecture about the month of the Qur’an, whose other name is Ramadan, wisdom, and methods of interacting with the Qur’an.
‘The Qur’an itself was revealed in the month of Ramadan, precisely on 17 Ramadan. Therefore, we should get closer to the Qur’an by reading it a lot with the correct tartil and tajweed. Furthermore, we can memorise it through selected letters. After that, understand it and interpret it through the opinions of the mufassir scholars. The results are practised in everyday life. Of course, teaching the Qur’an also to our children. Khairukum man ta’allama Al-Qur’an wa ‘allamahu,’ explained Ustaz Basyir.
‘After all the process of approaching the Qur’an, then make the Qur’an as a character and the way of life in everyday life, as Aisyah ummu al-mukminin was asked what was the character of the Prophet, the answer was the Qur’an. Why is that? The Qur’an, which is 30 juz, 114 surahs, turns out to be the main content in Surah Al-Fatihah, and the essence of this ummu Al-Qur’an is in the first verse, namely the basmalah sentence, where in this sentence there are two words that are the centre of meaning in Islamic teachings, namely al-Rahman and al-Rahim, which have the same root word ‘rahmah’,’ he continued.
After the Dai Ambassadors walked through the neat and orderly streets of The Hague, they understood Shaykh Muhammad Abduh’s statement, ‘In the West I found Islamic values even though there are few Muslims’. But now, the preachers not only see Islamic values applied on European soil, but with the migration of Arab immigrants and other Muslim diasporas, Europe will become the Islam of the future.
Basyir Arif, M.A. and Dr Moh. Masrur, M.Pd.I.
Dai Ambassadors of Cordofa Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Germany