Ushul News - Harun Nasution Auditorium, UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta, today witnessed the excitement of the 62nd Milad event of the Faculty of Ushuluddin by holding a special Talkshow entitled "Music, Spirituality, and Our Religious Life". This event presented the Guest Star of the legendary figure of the King of Dangdut, H. Rhoma Irama. Wednesday, (10/30/2024).

In his remarks, the Dean of the Faculty of Ushuluddin, Prof. Ismatu Ropi, M.A, Ph.D, said that the faculty which is the founding faculty of UIN Jakarta has a responsibility to preserve Indonesian culture, including dangdut, as a World Intangible Cultural Heritage.

"Dangdut is the identity of our nation that needs to be recognized by the world. After this event, we hope that efforts to make dangdut a part of UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage can be even more real," said Ismatu.

He also emphasized that music is a universal language that can convey moral and spiritual values, and Rhoma Irama is an icon who has succeeded in doing so in an inspiring way.

Next, a warm welcome from the Vice Chancellor for Cooperation, Din Wahid, M.A, Ph.D. He briefly recounted his personal experience as a fan of Rhoma Irama since childhood in 1987-1988, including when Rhoma Irama visited Kiai Abdullah Zarkasyi M.A.

"In my opinion, the lyrics of the song contain criticisms of social, political, economic and cultural aspects presented by Rhoma to revolutionize the song, not only the lyrics, but also the instrumental of the song itself has become a study in several countries that I know of in America and Japan," he said.

"So I think if in the Faculty of Ushuluddin there is someone who studies Rhoma Irama's songs from a spiritual and religious perspective, either in a thesis or dissertation, it feels very relevant," he continued.

After cutting the tumpeng as a symbol of the opening of the 62nd Milad FU, the main event of the Talkshow began with a lecturer from the Faculty of Ushuluddin and musician, Dr. Rahmat Hidayatullah, M.A as the moderator.

Rahmat opened the session by reviewing the history of the development of dangdut music and how Rhoma Irama succeeded in elevating this music genre from what was previously considered kampungan to one of the popular and respected genres.

He also praised Rhoma's innovation in combining elements of Malay, Arabic, Indian and Western music into dangdut, resulting in a distinctive and unique hybrid music genre.

In the discussion session, Rhoma Irama began by telling the story of his journey in choosing dangdut music as a medium for expressing da'wah.

"In the 70s, the Malay orchestra was threatened with extinction with the presence of Rock Music. I felt called to preserve this music by revolutionizing it, and dangdut was born," explained Rhoma.

He also shared the story of the challenges he faced when he first incorporated da'wah values ​​into music.

"It was impossible, at that time, between religion and music there was a wide and deep chasm. Gusdur said there was no door to da'wah in music, and I agreed. However, there was a gap and because it was called a gap it was indeed not easy. But with a strong intention he founded the music group Soneta The First of Muslim, No. drunk, free association and so on, from now on, we use music as truly fii sabiilil haq," he added.

Rhoma also recalled his first experience presenting music (dangdut) with an Islamic nuance which received a less than favorable response.

"However, over time, our music, which is full of spiritual values, actually received support, even recommendations from the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) at that time," he added.

This event was even more extraordinary with the extraordinary MC performance by students of the Usuluddin faculty, Wildan Miftahuddin and Lathifa Azzahra.

As a closing, Rhoma Irama presented two special songs that invited all attendees to absorb the moral and spiritual messages in the lyrics.

This talk show event was not only an event to appreciate dangdut music, but also a momentum for reflection that art can be a medium for preaching and spreading positive messages in religious life. (Hae/Man/FU)