By: Ridwan Alamsyah)*
Tolerance is one of the strategies to keep the Unitary Republic of Indonesia at peace. All Indonesian citizens must be tolerant individuals because Indonesia is a plural country consisting of many ethnicities and religions.
Indonesia is a country where the majority of the population is Muslim, no wonder mosques are everywhere. In addition, there is also a prayer room and violet. When it’s time for prayer, of course there will be a call to prayer from the mosque’s speakers and Muslims flock to pray together.
Minister of Religion Yaqut Cholil Qoumas issued a circular (SE) regarding the regulation of mosque speakers. There are some adjustments regarding the timing and use of these speakers. First, the speakers are set to a maximum of 100 decibels and the sound must be clear. In addition, external speakers can only be used to voice the call to prayer, iqamah, takbiran (before Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha), etc.
As for the salawatan, recitation, tahlilan, and other events at the mosque, internal speakers are used. All mosques must obey this rule because it is for order and tolerance.
Coordinating Minister for Human and Cultural Affairs Muhadjir Effendy stated that the mosque speaker regulation was for the sake of religious comfort and tolerance. Of course, before issuing the circular, the minister of religion had considered many things.
In a sense, Muhadjir fully supports the circular letter of the minister of religion. The reason is because a mosque speaker must be regulated so that the sound quality is even better. In addition, the timing of the use of internal and external speakers must also be regulated, because not all activities in the mosque use external speakers.
Tolerance is indeed the main reason when using speakers outside the mosque, because so far there have been violations. For example, before dawn, the speakers are already ringing loudly. Even though the prayer time was still long, and his voice even shocked the people around him.
We must understand that people in a village or housing are not 100% Muslim. If anyone has other beliefs, they will certainly be shocked when there is a loud noise even though it is only 3 in the morning. Therefore, before dawn, it should be silenced, except during Ramadan, it is permissible to use speakers to remind the time of sahur. However, it must be remembered that the maximum is 100 decibels.
The maximum setting of 100 decibels is done in addition to tolerance, also to maintain hearing. The reason is because if someone listens to a very loud sound, it is feared that there will be problems in his ears, in the future.
Let no one think that the government is unjust because it prohibits the call to prayer from being sounded. The setting of the mosque’s speakers is not like that, but rather arranges so that when there is prayer or praise, you can only use the speakers inside. As for the call to prayer, you can use external speakers.
Remember that Indonesians are full of tolerance, the goal is for life to run peacefully. Don’t even use blaring loudspeakers, the reason is to pray so that more people can hear. Remember that prayer can be done in a quiet voice, because God is listening.
Tolerance is mandatory because there could be small children around the mosque who are surprised when there is a loud sounding speaker, even though it is not time for the obligatory prayer. If it is time for the sunnah prayer, there is no need to install loud speakers. Afraid the babies and toddlers will cry.
Peace in Indonesia must be maintained by means of tolerance. To maintain tolerance between people, the use of mosque speakers and prayer rooms is arranged. This arrangement is not to prohibit, but as a form of tolerance, because people also respect each other.
)* The author is a contributor to Pertiwi Institute
