Behind Giving of Alms Lurks Fear of Abuse; Damaged pillar: Indonesian Muslims are concerned about how money meant for the needy is used

Behind Giving of Alms Lurks Fear of Abuse

Damaged pillar: Indonesian Muslims are concerned about how money meant for the needy is used

By Abdul Qowi Bastian on 10:40 am January 9, 2014.
Thousands of hands are outstretched in homage at an event marking the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad on Feb. 15, 2013. Other times hands stretch out, but not always in prayer. (JG Photo/Yudhi Sukma Wijaya)

“Just prayed for @SedekahHarian’s donors. May all prayers be answered, God willing.”When Ahmad Gozali tweeted the above on Jan. 1, he did not expect it would create a stir in the Indonesian Twitterverse.

There was nothing wrong in the tweet, or so it seemed until Twitter users accused Gozali of trying to siphon money off his followers in a pay-for-prayer scheme, raising fears that religion is being used to scam people in the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation.

Gozali, a financial planner by day, was on a pilgrimage to Mecca last year when he sent out the tweet. He is also an adviser at Sedekah Harian (Daily Alms), a social foundation dedicated to charity work and donating alms to the less unfortunate.

Pay to pray

An e-poster circulating on the microblogging site Twitter shortly afterward gave an impression that Gozali would pray for certain donors during his visit to Islam’s holiest site — as long as they transferred a minimum payment of Rp 100,000 ($8.30) to Sedekah Harian. Donors could make requests that Ahmad would then pray for.

Called “Titip Doa Baitullah” (“Prayer Request at the House of God”), this was one of Sedekah Harian’s many social programs.

The tweet began attracting viral attention after prominent film director Joko Anwar posted the e-poster on his personal Twitter account, which has more than 540,000 followers.

In a country where 29 million people are Twitter users, Indonesian netizens were quick to respond — and they slammed Gozali for allegedly trying to make money in the name of religion.

“Sedekah Harian is a community where its members are young executives and university students. We collect funds from society and we channel the money to those who need it,” Abdul Aziz, the chairman of the organization, told the Jakarta Globe.

The idea to found Sedekah Harian began when Aziz and a group of his friends gathered to collect money for the country’s poor.

“We thought, if each person donates as little as Rp 1,000 every day, there would be enough money for the poor,” said Aziz, a social media strategist at BeritaSatu.com, a sister company of the Globe.

Founded in January 2012, Sedekah Harian has a vast array of programs aimed at helping those who need financial support from more fortunate individuals, ranging from education and economic development, to disaster relief and health care.

Aziz, however, admitted that his team had blundered with the “Titip Doa” program, blaming the promotion strategy.

“Basically there was a mistake in the program; the copywriting, marketing plot and the campaign,” he said.

“We were wrong for putting the phrase ‘minimum of Rp 100,000,’” he added.

“It was meant to attract new donors in the new year. There is no such thing that you pay first, then we would pray for you later.”

According to Aziz, Gozali goes on an umrah , or minor hajj, at least once a year on his own expense, saying this debunks claims that the money transferred by donors was used to pay for his travels.

Hours after the online furor, Gozali tweeted from Mecca that he would pray there for the donors.

It is normal practice in Islam to ask someone to pray for others in sites considered holy, including the Masjid al-Haram — the grand mosque in Mecca — as well as the Nabawi mosque in Medina and the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem.

“The initial idea is ‘be our donor, we will always pray for you, even to the Holy Land.’ But this concept is imperfect,” Gozali tweeted.

He could not be reached when the Globe attempted to contact him.

The Indonesian Council of Ulema, or MUI, the country’s highest Islamic authority, has criticized such practices among the Islamic community. But when the Globe contacted its chairman, Ma’ruf Amin, he said that after studying the issue thoroughly, it was actually an acceptable practice.

“If people ask for someone else to pray for them and they want to give money for the privilege, that is not a problem,” Ma’ruf said.

“If one prays in Mecca, in an auspicious place and in an auspicious time, that prayer would likely get accepted.”

Although Gozali, Aziz and Sedekah Harian have been the target of ridicule and scorn through Twitter, there are also social media users who stand neutral and see it in a different light.

“It’s just a matter of misperception. I think Ahmad Gozali only wanted to thank the donors and pray for them, but the public saw it as commercialization of religion,” said Melita Rahmalia, 27, a worker in Jakarta.

“It’s such a pity that a good intention is not communicated very well.”

Aziz said the program had since been terminated.

Cash for K-Pop

The fear of commercializing religion is not new for Indonesians. In 2012, celebrity cleric Yusuf Mansurwas alleged to have solicited money from his followers to invest in a luxury hotel.

In 2013, an anonymous Twitter account, @Pejuang_Sedekah (“Alms Warrior”), lured followers to donate money for a cancer-stricken boy.

Police later uncovered that a 19-year-old girl, Sri Resqi Ijayanthi in Makassar, South Sulawesi, was behind the online handle. She managed to scam more than Rp 10 million to pay for plane tickets to Jakarta to watch South Korean girl band SNSD in concert.

“It means a lot for me to watch K-Pop,” Sri said as quoted by Detik.com. She later apologized and vowed to return the money.

The importance of alms

Indonesians are generally generous people, especially when it comes to religion, said Didin Hafidhuddin, the chairman of the National Alms Agency (Baznas).

“Giving alms is one of the five pillars of Islam, so we take the notion of giving to help others very seriously,” he said.

It is a common sight to see groups of young men and women going from door to door asking for donations for a mosque construction, or university students at traffic lights holding a box plastered with photos of disaster-hit areas, asking for donations to help those in need.

Such practices have raised concerns as to where the money raised actually goes.

Sedekah Harian’s Aziz claims he has taken extra measures to differentiate his organization from less altruistic ones by promoting transparency and openness.

He said his organization published reports on its website to inform donors about how their money is used.

Didin, however, recommended that all bodies involved in alms collection to coordinate with Baznas.

“What is needed is good management. Without oversight, the system is open to abuse and manipulation by people taking advantage of others’ good intentions, ” Didin said.

The government set up Baznas in 2001 as an independent institution to supervise the distribution of mandatory alms around the country.

“I would suggest that Sedekah Harian coordinate with Baznas in future so that their programs are more structured,” Didin said.