Indonesia’s Muslim Preacher Sheikh Ali Jaber Passes Away

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – An Indonesian Muslim preacher of Saudi Arabia origin, Sheikh Ali Jaber, passed away on Thursday, January 14. He is 44.

The influential preacher was treated in a Jakarta hospital due to Covid-19. When he died, his health was reportedly improved as he was already recovered from the coronavirus, said his friend Yusuf Mansur, who is also an Indonesian Muslim preacher.

Yusuf announced Sheikh Ali Jaber’s death via his official Instagram account @yusufmansurnew. He also mentioned that Sheikh Ali Jaber had tested negative for the coronavirus.

Sheikh Ali was born in Medina on February 3, 1976. At the age of 10, Sheikh Ali Jaber was able to memorize 30 chapters of the Al Quran. When he was 13, Sheikh Ali Jaber became an imam at one of the mosques in Medina.

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Before coming to Indonesia, Sheikh Ali Jaber completed his formal education in Medina. He also learned from many well-known scholars in Saudi Arabia.

Tribunnews.com reported that Sheikh Ali Jaber began to preach in Indonesia in 2008. Still, in the same year, he married Umi Nadia, an Indonesian from Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara. They have a son.

He was granted Indonesian citizenship in 2012 during the Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono presidency. Moreover, on January 23, 2020, Sheikh Ali Jaber showed a photo of his Indonesian passport.

Survivor of an assassination attempt

Sheikh Ali Jaber escaped an assassination attempt while preaching. However, instead of being angry with the perpetrator, Sheikh Ali chose to forgive the perpetrator and calm his congregation.

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The perpetrator identified as AA was then immediately arrested. In the incident on September 13, 2020, AA tried to stab Sheikh Ali Jaber at the Falahudin Mosque’s Tahfidz Al Quran Graduation Ceremony in Lampung.

(Writer: Rakhmat Nur Hakim, Ihsanuddin | Editor: Rakhmat Nur Hakim, Nursita Sari)

Sources: https://megapolitan.kompas.com/read/2021/01/14/10134431/syekh-ali-jaber-meninggal-dunia?page=2.

https://nasional.kompas.com/read/2021/01/14/10290871/profil-syekh-ali-jaber-pendakwah-asal-madinah-yang-berkewarganegaraan.