The Middle East may be the birthplace of Islam, but that doesn’t mean all that’s Arabic is necessarily Islamic, to the confusion of one man in Indonesia.
A TikTok video by a Middle Eastern man named Anas, who goes by the handle @anas.skom, has gone viral in Indonesia for what one middle-aged Indonesian man did while Anas spoke in Arabic.
Anas has been posting videos about his travels in Indonesia, during which he has been building wells and other public facilities for villagers on behalf of donors from the Middle East.
In one video, Anas speaks to the camera about construction of a well. To his left stands an Indonesian man, who brings up his hands in prayer, and even wipes them onto his face as is customary at the end of Islamic prayers after Anas concluded his speech.
@anas.skom #صدقة_جارية_لوالدي_وللمسلمين_والمسلمات #صدقه_جاريه #البحرين🇧🇭 #اندونيسيا🇮🇩 #العراق🇮🇶 #العراق_السعوديه_الاردن_الخليج #عمل_خير #حفر_بئر_مياه #حفربئريدوي #حفر_بئر_ارتواز #حفر_بئر_جديد #السعردية🇸🇦 #بناء_مساجد ♬ original sound – Anas. Skom
Though Islam is by far the dominant religion in Indonesia, the majority of Indonesians do not speak Arabic even if they can read the Quran and recite prayers in Arabic.
To be fair to the praying man, Anas did start his speech with the Basmala (In the name of Allah, the most gracious, the most merciful), as is customary with Islamic prayers.
The comments section was filled with Indonesian users expressing their amusement over the misunderstanding.
Many said the incident reminded them of a timeless skit from the iconic Indonesian sitcom Bajaj Bajuri, depicting this very scenario.
Speaking to Kompas, Anas said the video was taken at a village in Malang Regency, East Java on Feb. 17. He spoke Arabic in the video in order to give an update on the well drilling project in the village to Arabic-speaking financial donors in the Middle East and Europe.
Anas said, through his charity foundation, he has built over 7,000 wells throughout Indonesia at no cost to villagers. His organization has also handed out free Qurans, medical equipment, optical surgeries and even houses to victims of natural disasters.
