At the afternoon, my conversation with friends about Morocco and Indonesia came to the figure of Ibn Battutah (24 February 1304 – 1368/1369). An adventurer who, when he was just past the age of 2, was determined to travel the world. From Morocco, the man traveled to several cities in North Africa all the way to Mecca. Battutah's goal is to perform the Hajj, one of the fifth pillars of Islam, as well as a pilgrimage to the grave of the best man in world history, Rasulullah Muhammad SAW. From there, Battutah continued his journey to other cities such as Damascus, Yemen, Somalia, and even India.
In India, he was appointed as a judge because of his extensive knowledge and being a pious person. This brave man spent several years in India, then was sent as a diplomat to China. Before arriving in China, he stopped by Samudra Pasai. A participant in the discussion that afternoon told me that the name Fak-Fak in Papua was related to Waq-Waq mentioned by Battutah, and some even said that the name "Irian" also came from him.
After the chat that afternoon, I read a book about Battutah. The title is The Travels of Ibn Battuta: in the Near East, Asia and Africa, 1325-1354 (Dover Books, 2014) by Ibn Battuta translated and edited by Rev. Samuel Lee. The character of Battuta in the book is described at least three, namely: Brave, Religious and Diligent.
The man impressed many people because of his great courage. It is impossible for a coward to go far. Only the brave can go through the waves, across the desert and mountains. He is also a person who has high faith in his religion. In some districts that he passed, the man also sought pious and intelligent people to learn from. And, he was also diligent and tireless in carrying out his journey around the world. More than 30 years of Battutah's wandering and from there his travel notes were written and are still read by us today.
This afternoon's chat became a great story from a great person about 7 centuries ago. Of the many people in the past 7 centuries, perhaps we know some name, but Battutah's name is legendary. His name is even said to be more awesome in travel than other adventurers such as Marcopolo, Vasco Da Gama, and so on in ocean exploration missions.
One person who was present in the chat that afternoon was the Moroccan envoy to Indonesia. As an architect, he was a rational and likes to get to the point. One of the diplomacy he brought was through the story between us (Indonesia and Morocco). That both countries have history, especially related to Ibn Battutah. Imagine: a young man at that time, the world explorer whose name is now "connector" of partnership between the two countries.
Morocco loves to tell stories about its great people, and we in Indonesia are also happy because we were visited by great people from there. A chat participant also said, "..I once taught Indonesian in Morocco for 1 year." Hearing that, the envoy felt closer, that the closeness between the two countries was not only a matter of historical and reading proximity but also "we once lived there." After all, the experience of having lived in a place has a different impression than just knowing from news, or reading.
YANUARDI SYUKUR is an Indonesian writer who is also a lecturer, editor, researcher and speaker at various conferences and expert resource person on several Indonesian television stations and ministries. He has participated in various international programs in Malaysia, Thailand, Australia, the United States, as well as Ukraine. He is an anthropologist at Khairun University who is interested in various global issues. He is currently also active as Vice Chairman of the Islamic and Middle East Research Center (IMERC) of the University of Indonesia and is active in the Commission on Foreign Relations and International Cooperation of the Indonesian Ulama Council. E-mail: yanuardisyukur@gmail.com.
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