Sonny Mumbunan

Kok bisa, Mercedes- Benz, mobil Jerman itu, dijual di Jepang sementara Toyota dipasarkan di Jerman?

Pertanyaan ini sulit dijelaskan teori perdagangan yang bersandar pada prinsip keunggulan komparatif. Seperti dikemukakan David Ricardo awal abad ke-19, negara unggul bertani sebaiknya fokus pada pertanian; negara efisien bikin baju lebih baik memusatkan diri pada tekstil. Berdagang dua barang berbeda, kedua negara bakal sama-sama untung, demikian menurut teori perdagangan lama.

Continue reading this post…

Al Makin

Idul Fitri and Christmas bear a substantial similarity to each other: their human side. It is true — from a theological perspective — that both celebrations have to do with a man’s business with his God. Yet, in real life, the two involve more a man’s business with other men than man’s business with his God.

During the days prior to Idul Fitri, Indonesian Muslims are always eager to go back to their home towns (mudik) to spend their holidays with their relatives and close friends. Unfortunately, competition is stiff for the already incredibly steeply priced bus, train, airplane, and boat tickets.

Many, alternatively, decide to mudik with their motorcycles, riding from one end of the long island of Java to the other, or points in between. The same pattern occurs during the Christmas holidays in both Germany and Canada, as reflected in the soaring price of airplane tickets. Christmas is a human holiday. So is Idul Fitri.

Read the full article in The Jakarta Post, September 30, 2008.

Read more

Ramadan, the month of prayer, the month of worship, the month of recitation of Al Qur’an, the month of giving Zakah, the month of strengthening the relations between our relatives, the month of generosity and goodness to the needy, the month of being aware of our speech and actions, the month of re-invigorating our Iman and purifying our hearts and the month of engaging in the da’wa to implement of the Al Quran on the earth.

With petals of roses, palm full of holy water, light of sunshine, and fragrance of flowers. Like the color of silver in the night sky, the new moon of Shawwal rises in 1429H, the holy and graceful Ramadan has past. Please forgive my intentional or intuitively mistakes in the past.

May Allah accept your good deeds, forgive your transgressions and ease the suffering of all peoples around the globe as the completion of Ramadan.

May the blessings of Allah fill your life with happiness and open all the doors of success now and always, amin.

“I wish you all a very happy and peaceful Eid-ul-Fitr. Minal Aidin wal Faidzin.”

Teuku Reiza Yuanda

Slamet Thohari

Banyak negara paska perang dunia ke-II gemuruh mengadaptasikan demokrasi sebagai sistem sosial kenegaraan. Namun begitu, tidak dengan negara-negara Islam, atau negara-negara yang mayoritas dihuni umat Islam. Berpijak pada index Freedom House kebebasan sipil dan hak-hak dan politik pada tiga dekade terakhir ini negara-negara tersebut gagal dalam menerapkan demokrasi. Dua belas negara Islam dikategorikan “semi-demokratis” (partly-free), sementara tiga puluh lima negara Islam adalah otoritarian (fully not free). Lebih jelasnya, delapan dari lima belas negara yang represif, merupakan negara-negara Islam (Munjani, 2003: 17).

Continue reading this post…