November 11, 2002
A'a Gym on Time Magazine
Abdullah Gymnastiar is in the spotlight as usual, wireless mike in hand, dry-ice smoke swirling over the stage, his backing quartet ready to jump in on cue. His velvet baritone is caressing the crowd one moment with a few lines from a famous love song, dropping low to an intimate whisper the next, and then suddenly soaring, cracking with emotion to a near shout. All the while, his free hand is waving, gesturing, pointing and then is clasped to his chest in rapture. Indonesia's favorite preacher breaks into a bawdy grin as he jokes about the challenges facing Muslim men with more than one wife. His eyes become grave and confiding as he talks about his own family. His face constricts with emotion for his finale, as he beseeches Allah to bring together Indonesia's bickering leaders, to bring together its Muslim clerics, to bring the whole nation together to face these troubled times.The crowd loves it. By the time Aa Gym ("elder brother" Gym), finishes his hour-long sermon with a plangent Islamic hymn, scores of women and men are openly weeping, and the roar of applause continues long after the TV cameras have been switched off. When he plunges into a crowd after a performance, there are always eager hands thrust out reaching for him, some fans even bowing down and kissing the preacher's hand, whispering a name to be remembered in his prayers. And always there are scores of squealing teenage girls hovering on the sidelines, a few of the braver ones occasionally darting forward to get the great man's autograph, then retreating in a flurry of giggles and a swirl of head scarves.
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Posted at November 11, 2002 10:35 AM | Life
