TNI chief 'creates' ziarah tradition in military

Jombang, NU Online
The Indonesian Military (TNI) chief Gen. Gatot Nurmantyo has built a new tradition in commemorating the 71st military anniversary by inviting all the Main Commanders (Pangkotama) to visit the graves of former presidents and the TNI commanders.

In East Java, Gatot along with about 40 generals from three TNI forces (the Army, the Navy and the Air Force) visited the graves of President Sukarno in Blitar and KH Abdurrahman Wahid and families in Tebuireng Jombang on Tuesday (27/9).

The delegation led by the TNI Commander arrived at the Pesantren Tebuireng complex at about 11:30 pm and was greeted by the leader of Pesantren KH Salahuddin Wahid (Gus Sholah) and Nyai Farida Salahuddin.

The man born on March 13 in Tegal told reporters that the visiting graves (ziarah) program had formerly been discussed with all the chiefs of staff and was intended to remember the history of the struggle for independence and emulate the attitude of the national heroes.
 
After the military was formed on October 5, 1945, the NICA (Netherland Indies Civil Administration) soldiers tried to regain control of Indonesia by involving themselves in the Allied Forces.

"At that moment, some people met KH Hasyim Asyari to ask for his fatwa (religious edict). Then there was born the so-called Jihad resolution on October 22, 1945, requiring all residents within a radius that are not allowed to peform two prayers in one period of time (shalat jamak) to fight against the invaders. The fatwa stated that fighting against invaders is fardlu 'ain," the alumnus of the 1982 Armed Forces Academy said.

KH Hasyim Asy’ari was regarded as the greatest and the most well-known ulema (Islamic scholar) in pre-1950s Indonesia  and was the most authoritative ulema to declare a fatwa, including the one of jihad against the Dutch colonial regime.

Gatot expected the TNI soldiers to follow the heroes' persistence in the face of an increasingly difficult situation.

With this ziarah tradition, the former Army Chief of Staff also hoped the TNI and pesantren could go hand in hand to face the challenges of development.

"Never give up, commitment, dedication and the most important things is that struggling with sincerity without any interest," he said. (Humas Pesantren Tebuireng/Masdar)