Word: gyms
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...country where the best-known Islamic preachers are stolid men in their 60s who quote from the Koran in Arabic and confine their sermons to the mosque, Aa Gym is unique. The flamboyant 40-year-old spreads his message of self-control, personal morality, tolerance and faith with televangelistic theatrics. Although Islam is the granite base on which his message rests, Aa Gym's sermons tend to dwell on the practicalities of daily life rather than the hazy hereafter. His stock-in-trade includes greeting-card clichEs, self-help nostrums and pithy doses of advice on how to cope with...
...Gym's personal touch and natty dress?he favors blazers, turtlenecks and gold-embroidered dress shirts, as well as the more usual flowing robes?has transformed him into a household name in Indonesia. He owns 15 publishing, broadcasting and other media ventures that help spread his message, and operations are booming. His secretaries sift through some 1,200 invitations to speak every month. Although he first appeared on national television only two years ago, Aa Gym says he is now able to charge up to $100,000 an hour for broadcasts during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which starts...
...Gym doesn't confine his homilies to self-improvement. Increasingly, as the country lurches from one disaster to the next, he is focusing on the bigger picture, linking personal morality to the future of much-troubled Indonesia itself. "We will only advance if we follow our conscience," he likes to say. "No party or group will ever unify Indonesia. That must come from within us, our conscience...
...Achieving that goal will tax even Aa Gym's powers of persuasion. The nation faces a crippling list of woes: bloody ethnic and religious violence, economic sclerosis, inept politicians, corrupt police and military, a looming environmental apocalypse. Add to that the devastating impact of the detonations in Bali on Oct. 12 that killed nearly 200. Whoever turns out to be responsible, it is easier now than ever to view Indonesia as a place where Islamic militants and terrorist groups like Jemaah Islamiah have a free hand...
...minority of Indonesians. The tolerant, middle-of-the-road religion espoused by groups such as Muhammadiyah and Nahdlatul Ulama, which between them have a membership of some 70 million, is the true face of Islam. That may be another reason so many turn for reassurance to the charismatic Aa Gym, proudly positioned at the forefront of the moderate majority. He is a thoroughly modern Muslim. He advocates a 21st century religion that complements and enhances the benefits of technology. "Aa Gym has become big because he teaches a very human side of Islam and practices what he preaches," says Juniwati...