Halal Bihalal Teaches Us to Embrace Diversity

Every year, Muslims around the world observe the fast of Ramadan, which is followed by the celebration of Eid al-Fitr. At the moment of Eid al-Fitr, Muslims visit each other's family, relatives, neighbors, close and far relatives. The tradition of visiting relatives is known as Halal Bihalal. On Friday, May 13, 2022, Harapan Bangsa Modernhill School, Pondok Cabe, South Tangerang, held a Halal Bihalal commemoration which was attended by all teachers and students virtually.

The Halal Bihalal, which was attended by students from their respective classes, raised the theme of “Living the Value of Halal Bihalal: Reinforcing Islam's Commitment to Humanity”. With this theme, students are expected to be able to develop tolerance values ​​for religious traditions and expressions, be willing to ask for forgiveness and forgive others, and practice human values ​​in everyday life even though they live in diverse environments.

The event began with the recitation of the holy Quran verses which were delivered in four languages, namely Arabic, English, Mandarin, and Indonesian by the students of Harapan Bangsa School Modernhill. One of the verses that was read was about how God created man and made him into nations and tribes so that they know each other from Q.S. Al-Hujurat verses 10-13.

Then the event continued with remarks from the chairman of the committee and the head of the school. Misbahul Munir, S.Si., the head of the Halal Bihalal committee who is also a biology teacher at the Harapan Bangsa School Modernhill said, Halal Bihalal is a moment where Muslims unite regardless of their Islamic expression, whether traditional, such as kejawen (Javanese tradition), fundamentalist, moderate to liberal.

In addition, he also invited students to recognize that in addition to unity as Muslims, the Indonesian people are also bound by ukhuwah wathaniyah as the Indonesian nation, and ukhuwah insaniyah as human beings. So that respecting differences and embracing diversity are absolute values ​​that students need to have.

Sisilia Juni Arianti, S.Pd., the principal of Harapan Bangsa Modernhill Junior High School also reminded students those religious rituals performed by Muslims contain human values. Among them is fasting for a whole month in the month of Ramadan which teaches its adherents to remember that the hunger they feel can make them aware of the privilege they have to be able to eat 3 times a day, while there are many people out there who are hungry.

In addition, zakat fitrah (charity) activities are not only carried out to fulfill orders as pillars of Islam that must be fulfilled, but also become a forum for distributing alms to people in need. Therefore, in this Halal Bihalal event, Harapan Bangsa Modernhill School also made a donation to the Al-Muhajirin Orphanage Foundation, Pondok Cabe, South Tangerang with cash amounting to Rp9.725.000,-.

In this two-hour event, the committee also invited Ustaz Muhammad Hafidz Andrian, S.Sos., the founder of The Great Generation Character Building Center who was lined up as a speaker. He stressed the importance of respecting differences in everyday life. “I believe, all religions must teach goodness,” he said firmly.

He also mentioned that Harapan Bangsa School Modernhill is a miniature that can represent Indonesia, because it has students with very diverse religious backgrounds, ranging from Islam, Protestant Christianity, Catholicism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Confucianism. “This school will create a generation of leaders who are intelligent, plural, tolerant, and proudly embrace diversity,” he said enthusiastically.