Welcoming Ramadan, Ministry of Religion Collaborates with Social Media Activists to Become Hisab Rukyat Cadres

JAKARTA – Directorate General of Islamic Guidance Ministry of Religion ( Ministry of Religion ) ahead of Ramadan, inviting hundreds of influencers to become cadres rukyat reckoning national. Hundreds of millennials and Gen Z joined “Catch the Moon Ramadhan Kareem” to provide education, simulation and visualization of the new moon at the start of Ramadhan 1445 H.

The series of cadre activities for the National Hisab Rukyat team which was held in Jakarta, Friday to Sunday (8-10/3/2024), also included short video coaching on religious moderation for social media activists. Director General of Islamic Guidance at the Ministry of Religion, Kamaruddin Amin, said that in the era of technological progress, contestation in public spaces will be dominated by those who attend most often.

“Brothers and sisters, all of you are influencers or social media activists. You are the ones who will win the contest. So, I think this activity will be very productive, because we will try to take part in the contestation in cyberspace,” said Kamaruddin Amin, Saturday (9/3/2024).

Kamaruddin said that his party wanted to introduce Hisab Rukyat, which is actually a need for Muslims throughout the world, but is not widely known.

Director of Islamic Religious Affairs and Sharia Development (Urais Binsyar) of the Directorate General of Islamic Guidance at the Ministry of Religion, Adib, said that the Hisab Rukyat cadre formation was packaged in various activities, including involving millennials and influencers from all over Indonesia. Adib said that more than 3,500 people registered online. Influencers who come directly will also take part in a workshop with the Public Relations Team of the Directorate General of Islamic Community Guidance.

“There were also 734 participants who attended via Zoom. Apart from that, there were also those who attended via live streaming. So, the total number of participants was around 3,500 people,” he said.

Adib said that this activity is expected to produce two things. First, understanding among millennials and Muslims about the mechanism for the Isbat Session to determine the start of the month of Kamariyah, especially Ramadan, Shawwal and Zulhijah. With this understanding, there will be mutual understanding regarding the issue of Hisab Rukyat.

“Even though it is not a deep understanding, at least millennials know that in Islam there is a mechanism for determining times of worship, which is then determined using Hisab or Rukyat. With this knowledge, it is hoped that we will have the enthusiasm to continue broadcasting Islam in society, he said.

Second, the aim of this activity is to build a common understanding about the importance of providing services to the community regarding prayer times, fasting, Eid and other worship that require knowledge of Islamic Astronomy.

(abd)