The banging of drums, and Ramadan fasting slackers, are on the minds of the Pamekasan branch of the Majelis Ulama Indonesia.

Kholilurrahman, the chairman of the Pamekasan, Madura, East Java, branch of the cleric’s council (MUI) said recently that Muslim public servants (Pegawai Negeri Sipil (PNS)) in the city who did not observe the fast during Ramadan should be punished by the local government. This, he said, would be an admirable way of giving the city’s motto, Gerbang Salam, real meaning. The motto seems to mean that Pamekasan is, or should be, a place where people hold fast to the law, a law inspired by the tenets of Islam.

Additionally Kholilurrahman complained about loud drums being played at inappropriate times in the early morning. It seems that some people in Pamekasan have the habit of banging on tabuh, or mosque drums, at around 01.00-02.00, as some sort of accompaniment to sahur, the eating of the last meal before fasting for the day begins.

Kholil said that actually sahur should properly take place not when people should be sleeping, like at 01.00-02.00, but shortly before imsak, or the pre-dawn, when fasting begins. In any case he said the playing of drums should be regulated, or even banned completely, because it was not in keeping with the proper solemnity of the occasion.