Awadah Da’wah Festival 2020: Access to Da’wah Just On Your Hand

Jakarta, April 23, 2020 – There is something different about welcoming the holy month of Ramadan this year. Through the official circular number 6 the year 2020, the Ministry of Religion provides religious guidance to the public in conducting activities in the month of Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the Minister of Religion, Fachrul Razi, “This circular is a guide to worship that is in line with Islamic law while preventing, reducing the spread and protecting employees and Muslim communities in Indonesia from the risk of COVID-19”.1

Some activities such as suhoor, iftar (breaking the fast together), tarawih prayers, a tadarus Al-Qur’an session (recitation of the Al-Quran in a group), and Tabligh Akbar must be done at home. The Ministry of Religion also recommends gathering or halal bi halal through social media and video calls/conferences.

In the month of Ramadan 1441 H, Awadah Group collaborated with WIR Group and Cakap, a technology startup in the field of digital application-based education, to launch the Awadah Da’wah Festival 2020 program, as a solution in conducting worship at home during Ramadan. The launch of this program was marked by the signing of an online cooperation agreement between Awadah Group represented by Yenny Wahid as the initiator, Cakap CEO Tomy Yunus, and WIR Group represented by Co-Founder and CEO Michael Budi on Thursday, April 23, 2020.

Through da’wah online shows, the launch of the Awadah Da’wah Festival is expected to help the public in participating in Islamic studies in the form of exclusive da’wah even at home. With a target of more than 1000 participants, this event makes it easy for the community to be able to interact directly with selected ustad by discussing various interesting themes for 30 days in the Cakap application.

Awadah Group creator Yenny Wahid said, “The month of Ramadan is a holy month for Muslims, wherein this month, Muslims are encouraged to increase worship and study learning about Islam in the month of Ramadan. In order for us to still be able to learn about Islam while following the advice to stay at home because of the COVID-19 outbreak, Awadah Da’wah with the WIR Group and Cakap initiates an online live da’wah platform that can be accessed through the Cakap application where the ustad and ulama can interact directly through the live video feature and chat during the broadcast, and users can also make donations through the features in the application.”

WIR Group Co-Founder and CEO, Michael Budi said, “Utilization of technology is increasingly inherent in everyday life and as one of the leading companies in AR, VR, and AI, WIR Group continues to innovate and integrate technology into people’s lives, therefore we together with Cakap present a platform for religious teachers and scholars to continue to spread the good teachings to every Muslim in Indonesia, in this blessed month of Ramadan, even in the midst of a pandemic”.

Cakap CEO, Tommy Yunus, added, “We want to bring people closer with positive and useful material through exclusive da’wah supported by the technology that Cakap develops so that people can meet, talk, and interact directly with religious teachers and scholars every day during the holy month of Ramadan.”

Besides being accessible online through the Cakap application, Awadah Da’wah Festival 2020 is also supported by the popular message exchange application in Indonesia, LINE TODAY. Aired twice a day at 17:00 and 20:00, each session will last for 55 minutes. Some religious ustad and Kyai such as KH Zuhri Yaqub, KH Syarif Rahmat, KH. Prof. Nadirsyah Hosen, Habib Ali Hasan Al-Bahar, KH Lukman Hakim also enlivened the 2020 Da’wah Festival.

Awadah Da’wah Festival can also be accessed by Telkomsel users who have activated the Cakap Package, consisting of 1GB internet quota that can be accessed for internet access across the Telkomsel network without time limit and free 4GB Quota free quota for access to Cakap applications, including Dakwah Online. In addition to Telkomsel, this program is also supported by Alfamart, by giving discount vouchers to viewers through Alfagift and LINE TODAY, a messaging application whose 90% of users are carried out in 15 -30 years.