A big part of Ramadan, apart from fasting throughout the day, is the voluntary taraweh prayer in the evening. The prayer usually goes for around an hour in mosques.
Not in the Mamba’ul Hikam Islamic boarding school in Blitar, East Java. There, the whole procession of the taraweh prayer lasts just 10 minutes, if you believe the video above.
At that ultra-fast speed, it looks less like a prayer and more like a cardio exercise.
The video has captured people’s attention nationwide, with Indonesia’s Ulema Council (MUI) denouncing the speedy prayer.
“[If the correct prayer methods] aren’t found in the fast taraweh prayer, then the prayer is not accepted,” said Dr Hasanudin, head of the Fatwa Commission at the MUI, as quoted by Tribun last Friday.
But the boarding school claims their prayer method was handed down through generations in their 160-year history and they won’t change anytime soon.
Their method might even catch on in other places if people are too lazy to pray non-stop for an hour.
