Suatu hari Imam Ghazali pernah bertanya pada gurunya tentang jodoh. Gurunya pun menjawab, "Jika kau ingin tau tentang jodoh maka masuklah kau kedalam hutan, berjalanlah terus, lihatlah pohon disekelilingmu, pilihlah satu pohon yang paling bagus dan paling lurus menurutmu dan tebanglah pohon itu lalu bawa kemari. Ingat phon yang kamu tebang harus pohon yang terbaik diantara semua pohon yang ada dan jangan kamu berbalik kebelakang untuk mengambil pohon yang telah kamu lewati. Meskipun itu pohon yang terbaik diantara semua pohon di hutan ini."
Lalu Imam Ghazali pun masuk kedalam hutan dan mulai memilih pohon yang terbaik dan terlurus. Dia melihat sebuah pohon yang bagus, mematut-matut sebentar, namun dia urung menebang pohon itu. dia pikir di hutan ini masih ada pohon yang lebih baik dan lebih lurus dari pohon tersebut. Kemudian dia pun meneruskan pencariannya terus berjalan kedalam hutan dan kemudian dia melihat satu pohon lagi yang lebih bagus dan lebih lurus. Tapi setelah melayangkan pandangan ke dalam hutan lagi dia kembali berfikir bahwa pasti ada pohon yang lebih bagus.
Akhirnya dia menemui gurunya dengan membawa sebatang pohon yang baru saja ditebangnya. Dan diberikannya kepada gurunya. Gurunya bertanya, "Apakah ini pohon yang terbaik menurtmu yang ada didalam hutan ini? Imam Ghazali menjawab: "tidak Guru, ini bukan pohon yang terbaik, sebenarnya masih ada pohon yang lebih baik dari ini didalam hutan ini." "Lalu kenapa kau tidak menebang pohon yang itu dan membawanya kemari?" "Maafkan saya guru, sebenarnya saya sudah mencari kedalam dan melihat sebuah pohon yang sebenarnya paling bagus diantara pohon lainnya. Tetapi saya berfikir mungkin masih ada pohon yang lebih baik dari pohon ini, akhirnya saya memutuskan untuk masuk lebih dalam lagi ke hutan. Namun setelah saya masuk samapi jauh kedalm akhirnya saya tau bahwa sebenarnya pohon yang pertama saya jumpai adalah pohon yang terbaik dan terlurus di hutan ini. Namun saya teringat kembali pesan guru bahwa saya harus membawa pohon terbaik tanpa boleh berbalik kebelakang/ kembali untuk menebang pohon sebelumnya. Akhirnya saya menebang pohon ini dan memberikannya kepada tuan guru."
Gurunya tersenyum dan berkata: "Ghazali, sewaktu kamu masuk kedalam hutan itu, adalah ibarat perjalanan hidumu dalam mencari jodoh. Kamu pasti mencari wanita yang terbaik untukmu. Namun ada saatnya ketika kamu berjumpa dengan wanita lainnya yang menurutmu lebih baik maka kamu memutuskan untuk mencari wanita lain. Setelah kamu menemukan wanita terakhir maka kamu menyadari bahwa sebenarnya wanita tersebut bukanlah wanita yang terbaik diantara wanita yang kamu kenal selama ini. Mungkin wanita yang pertama, kedua, atau ketiga yang sebenarnya terbaik diantara mereka. Begitulah jodoh Ghazali, kita tidak akan pernah tau siapa jodoh kita, kita tidak akan pernah tau siapa yang terbaik untuk kita. Kita hanya bisa menerima siapa yang ditakdirkan untuk menjadi pendamping hidup kita. Biarlah Allah yang memilihkan jodoh untuk kita. . . "
Pernikahan dini untuk memastikan perempuan masih perawan
Bagi sebagian orang kawin muda memang mengasyikan. Sampai-sampai ada yang bilang pacaran paling enak jika telah menikah. Tidak perlu takut pulang kemalaman atau jadi omongan orang.
Namun menikah dini seolah menjadi kebutuhan di Jalur Gaza. Maklum saja, situasi di sana makin memburuk sejak Israel memblokade wilayah itu tiga tahun lalu. Selain apa-apa sulit diperoleh, serangan-serangan udara negara Zionis juga membuat keadaan makin mencekam.
Inilah yang dirasakan para perempuan di Gaza. Mereka harus buru-buru mencari pendamping hidup untuk menemani dalam rasa takut. Ditambah lagi, gempuran jet-jet tempur Israel dikhawatirkan dapat menghabisi persediaan perjaka di wilayah berpenduduk sekitar 1,5 juta itu.
Menurut direktur Komite Urusan Teknis Wanita (WATC) cabang Gaza, Nadia Abu Nahla, angka pernikahan dini di Gaza melesat menjadi 45 persen pada 2008. Padahal tiga tahun sebelumnya, hanya 34 persen. “Kenaikan ini lantaran situasi politik dan ekonomi yang buruk, juga disebabkan tak danya hukum,” katanya.
Namun ada juga alasan pribadi untuk memutuskan kawin muda, seperti pengalaman, emosi, keyakinan agama, dan tradisi. Bagi kaum lelaki, melepas masa lajang sedini mungkin untuk memastikan calon istri mereka masih perawan.
Pihak orang tua juga berpikir makin muda menikah maka cepat punya anak dan memiliki banyak waktu mengurus mereka. Seperti kata Khadir Dahnun, 68 tahun, ayah 10 anak dari Bait Lahiya, utara Jalur Gaza. Salah satu putranya bahkan menikahi gadis 15 tahun.
Sayangnya, sete;ah delapan bulan kawin sang menantu belum juga hamil. Dahnun mengeluarkan ancaman secara halus. “Ketika sebuah pohon tidak berbuah, Anda harus memotongnya dan menanam pohon lain,” ujarnya.
Para perempuan di Gaza pun sejatinya juga ingin menikah secepatnya. Karena itu Hamas yang berkuasa di sana sejak pertengahan Juni 2007 mendirikan lembaga jodoh bernama Taysir. Sampai sekarang biro jodoh ini sudah menikahkan lebih dari 100 pasangan.
Hingga tahun lalu ada 300 wanita yang menjadi anggota. Ongkos yang harus dibayar per orang US$ 10-70, tergantung usia. Makin muda bayarannya kian murah karena kemungkinan mendapat suami lebih besar. Ukuran cantik bagi para pria Gaza adalah perempuan bertubuh tinggi, berkulit coklat muda, bermata biru atau hijau, dan berambut pirang.
Memang menikah muda mengasyikan. Gairah menuncak disokong stamina kuat. Namun boleh jadi para pengantin baru di Gaza tidak leluasa mengumbar syahwat mereka selama jet-jet tempur Israel masih menderu di langit Gaza.
Alpha Blondy (born January 1, 1953) is an Ivorianreggae singer and international recording artist. Alpha Blondy was born Seydou Koné in Dimbokro, Ivory Coast. He sings mainly in his native language of Dioula, in French and English, and sometimes in Arabic or Hebrew. His lyrics convey serious political attitudes and a sense of humor. In particular, he coined the French term democrature (an English equivalent might be "democratatorship") to identify some African governments.
Childhood
First son of a family of 9 children, Seydou Kone was raised by his grandmother, growing up in what he described as "among elders", which later was to have a big impact on his career. In 1962, Alpha Blondy went to join his father in Odienne, where he spent ten years, attending the Sainte Elisabeth high school, and getting involved in the Ivory Coast students movement. Here he formed a band. But, this hobby affected his schooling and Alpha Blondy was expelled due to poor attendance. His parents then sent him to study English in Monrovia in the neighboring country of Liberia in 1973. He spent thirteen months there and then moved to the United States of America to improve his English.
First stay in the USA
In 1973 Seydou moved to New York (and briefly Texas), where he attended college and majored in English, because he wanted to become an English teacher. He had to work part-time, and sometimes at night, and became ill. In New York he met Rastafarians for the first time, and was also able to see concerts by Jamaican artists such as Burning Spear. At this time he was recording Christian music but never stopped writing his own songs. Eventually he got into various scrapes in New York and returned to the Ivory Coast, where he got into even more trouble until he met up with one of his childhood friends, Fulgence Kassi, who had become a noted television producer. This was the beginning of his real career as a singer, and he began to use the name 'Alpha Blondy'.
Musical career
After various TV shows for Kassi, Blondy recorded his first solo album in 1982, entitled 'Jah Glory'. This album was to have enormous success and would become later a symbol of resistance because of the song 'Brigadier Sabari', where Alpha criticized the harassment by the police. Some of this was based on personal experience, as Alpha himself had seen police violence. Alpha Blondy became a big star in Abidjan with his own African twist of Reggae music, becoming in the eyes of his fans 'the Bob Marley of Africa'. Alpha Blondy is spiritual, political and positive just like Marley himself, and even recorded a cover of Bob Marley's song 'War'. And he doesn't stop progressing; in order to reach more people with his message, he chose to sing in many languages: English, French, Baoule, and his own native language – Dioula. Later he also brought new instrumentation to his brand of reggae such as the violin and cello.
Soon the fame of Alpha Blondy spread to Europe. Following the success of an EP entitled “Rasta Poué” he went to Paris in 1984 to make his second album, 'Cocody Rock' with the label Pathe Marconi. The Bob Marley of Africa' traveled to the Island of Jamaica and recorded the title track of this album with Marley’s backing group: The Wailers.
Back home in 1985, Alpha went into the studio to record 'Apartheid is Nazism'. This album was more politically committed than ever. It is a call for the end of Apartheid and the freedom for all. In 1986 Blondy recorded “Jerusalem” at the legendary Tuff Gong studios in Jamaica, again with The Wailers featuring Bob Marley's legendary Bass Aston "Family Man" Barrett. Blondy tried to promote unity between the religion of Islam, Judaism and Christianity. He drew his arguments and inspiration from his own diverse knowledge of the Bible, the Quran and the Torah. That same year, Blondy sang in Hebrew during a concert in Morocco. At this point he was touring continuously. His new album 'Revolution' had a lighter, gentler sound; this was the album with cellos in the instrumentation, and the line-up included veteran Ivory Coast singer Aicha Kone. The album also included "Jah Houphouët parle", a long speech by the Ivory Coast president with only the most minimal beat behind it.
Blondy spent the years 1987–1989 giving concerts and recording 'SOS Guerre Tribale' in Abidjan. This was promoted by Blondy himself as he was distancing himself from Pathe Marconi at this stage. This was not to be a real success but this wasn't going to stop Blondy and in 1991 he returned to Europe for a concert tour and to record his famous album: 'Masada' with the help of musical legends such as Bocana Maiga and UK reggae producer Denis Bovell. The album, with its hit single 'Rendez Vous' was a huge success, and later, Blondy was to receive his first Gold Disc in Paris.
At the beginning of 1993, worn out from a world tour, Blondy succumbed to depression and was taken into an institution for psychiatric help. But as his health recovered he recorded the album 'Dieu' ('God'), where he appears more spiritual and religious, on tracks such as 'Heal Me', about his illness and recovery.
Blondy's psychiatric treatment continued but, on December 10, 1994, Blondy was back with the festival in memory of the late President Houphouet, and later he made his European comeback at a storming concert at Le Zenith in Paris. In 1996, Blondy released a hits compilation and went back into the studio to record the album 'Grand Bassam Zion', singing in six languages; Malinke, Arabic, French, English, Ashanti and Wolof.
After two more years in Paris, Blondy returned to his homeland in 1998, with a new album 'The Prophet'. Convinced his label was too much focused on the international market, he decided to create his own label. Since then Alpha has recorded albums and singles, such as: 'Yitzhak Rabin' in memory of the Israeli prime minister who was assassinated in 1995 (this was accompanied by yet another grueling tour of Europe), the single 'Journaliste en Danger' from his album 'Elohim' in 2000.
Alpha Blondy celebrated 20 years as a recording artist, with the release of his CD "MERCI", in 2002 featuring Ophelie Winter and Saian Supa Crew, which earned him a 2003 Grammy Awards Nomination for "BEST REGGAE ALBUM". However due to the political situation in his home country of Côte D'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), he was unable to personally attend the prestigious award ceremony in New York City. In an unprecedented move, the Grammy Awards permitted him to send his representative in his place of honor. In 2005 'Akwaba' was released. His latest CD is entitled "Jah Victory" and was released July 2007. It features Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare as well as Tyrone Downie formerly of Bob Marley and the Wailers. "Victory" is in honor of the peace agreement that was reached and implemented in his country in March of 2007.
One of his most popular and successful songs was Sébé Allah Y'é.
Recently, July 19, 2009, Alpha Blondy performed at New York's Central Park before a crowd of many native Africans, Jamaicans, and Americans
June 13, 2010, a large crowd was allowed into a Blondy concert in the Ivory Coast to celebrate the peace and unity of the country, and at least 20 people were crushed.
Blondy has also been an important influence on other African reggae artists such as Ismaël Isaac.
Faith
Alpha Blondy was born to a Muslim mother and a Christian father, and was brought up by a grandmother who taught him to love everyone. Alpha Blondy's respect for all religions and the spirituality he derives from them can be heard on the tracks “God is One” or “Jerusalem” where he sang for unity between all religions in 1986.
Humanitarian
Alpha Blondy (Seydou Kone) was named United Nations Ambassador of Peace for Côte D'Ivoire in 2005. He made great efforts to bring about a peaceful solution to his country's political and physical division which was a result of an attempted Coup in 2001. As of March 2007 a peace agreement was signed and implemented, due to the hard work of many people including Alpha Blondy. Alpha now reaches out further with the newly created Not-for-Profit, Non Government, Non Political, Charitable Foundation, Alpha Blondy Jah Glory Foundation, which purposely and deliberately work towards ending social injustice and generational poverty by giving people the tools that they need to help themselves. He strongly believes in helping the poor (Jah Glory), and also that it should not hurt to a child. The Foundation strives to create and implement grassroots programs at the village level such as the Women’s Self-Sufficiency Micro Loan Program, to teach women who are caring for multiple orphans how to start and manage their own business, to better provide for their families, as well as other sustainable projects, such as the Tafari-Genesis Retreat Camp for Children (Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso). It especially hopes to bring joy and hope to children who have been affected by civil wars, Former Child Soldiers, and those who suffer from chronic life threatening illnesses, such as sickle cell anemia, malaria, asthma, etc.
Talking about Alpha Blondy, people think usually of music and indeed since 1980 he has written at least 17 albums and 194 titles. This itself indicates the great value he represents for his fans. Alpha is no longer an Ivorian star but an International Mega Star because of his fight for peace and unity all around the world. One example was his single “Who Are You” with Ophelie Winter against antipersonnel mines. He has also participated at many humanitarian and charity concerts, such as the concert in Senegal in March 2006 for the eradication of Malaria in Africa (where he appeared along with many other celebrities). He has done much, much more of this type of work in the Ivory Coast itself, especially at his annual free concert at Bassam beach called “festa”.
Best known songs
His first success was Brigadier Sabari. Some representative songs are :
lalu mereka pun sepakat untuk nongkrong di warung untuk makan nasi goreng di jalan Bilal.
Take memarkir sepeda motor pinjamannya didepan etalase warung. "Hmm, ada yg lain dengan Nurul" pikirnya. mereka mengambil tempat duduk paling belakang dekat TV. "Adek kenapa?"tanya Take. "Kayaknya maag adek kambuh lagi bang." jawab Nurul. "Obat maagnya dibawa ga?" "Enggak bang, biasanya adek kalopun sakit ga mau minum obat maag, takut jadi ketergantungan." "Betul juga sih tapi kan ga sering kambuh apa lagis eparah ini . .". "Biasanya minum obat apa?" "Apa aja bang kadang Mylanta kadang Promag". Jawab Nurul "Ok bntar ya," bergegas Take keluar dan membeli obat buat Nurul. "Nih obatnya, diminum ya . .tapi makan dulu bareng beberapa sendok ya," Nurulpun meminum obat yang dibelikan Take. Entah mengapa perutnya terasa begitu melilit. Take menggenggam tangn Nurul. "Gimana? udah agak mendingan?" "Belum bang" "Mungkin obatnya belum bekerja, Minum air hangat aja dulu ya," Take menuangkan segelas air putih ke gelas Nurul. "Biasanya kalo sakit gimana?" "Dipijitin, sambil tiduran, ngelurusin badan bang," "Yaudah sini bg pijitin aja ya adek duduknya nyender aja nggak mungkin adek tiduran disini kan," Take mendekatkan kursinya, sambil menggenggam tangan nurul dia mulai memijit punggung Nurul. "Enak bang, abang pintar ngurut," Kata Nurul sambil meringis. beberapa lama kemudian, "Udah agak enakan bang," Take menghentikan pijitannya dipunggung Nurul. tangan kirinya masih menggenggam tangan Nurul. Tangan kanannya beralih fungsi menjadi bantal kepala Nurul yang disandarkan ke kursi. "Kalaulah rasa sakit ini bisa dipindahin kayaknya abang mau dipindahin aja ke badan abang, adek jangan sakit-sakit lagi ya, abang sedih llihat adek sakit. ga tega gitu. . ." Kata Take Sambil menatap dalam mata Nurul. sementara tangan kirinya masih menggenggam erat tangan nurul . . . Entah mengapa take merasa sangat takut waktu itu. takut akan kehilangan, takut demi melihat perempuannya kesakitan. Saat itu dia merasakan rasa cintanya berada pada posisi klimaks. Matanya memancarkan ketulusan dan kebahagiaan memiliki Nurul, tetapi MULUTNYA HANYA DIAM. Ya, itulah Take, sosok yang tak pernah bisa mengungkapkan dengan manis semua yang dirasakannya terhadap perempuannya. . .
Menelepon teman untuk curhat atau menghabiskan semangkuk besar es krim akan jadi pelarian kita untuk menenangkan diri saat patah hati. Lalu, bagaimana dengan pria? Ke mana sih, mereka saat patah hati?
* “Wah, udah lama kayaknya enggak ngerasain patah hati. Tapi, dulu sih kalau patah hati, saya akan menyendiri di dalam kamar, main gitar sambil bikin lagu. Dengan mengungkapkan perasaan lewat lagu, perasaan akan jadi lebih lega.”
Insan Ramadhan, 27, Single, Assistant Producer.
* “Nongkrong sama teman-teman jadi pilihan gue saat patah hati. Karena kalau kumpul, biasanya kami akan bersenang-senang. Otomatis dong, beban di hati bisa sedikit terlupakan.”
Randy Rio. P, 27, Single, Account Executive.
* “Tempat pelarian paling tepat kalau lagi patah hati, teman-teman. Tapi, enggak berarti ketemu mereka untuk curhat ya, karena nanti malah tambah sedih. Jadi, ya do something fun bareng mereka aja.”
Dimas Alditya, 26, Single,Event Organizer.
* “Biasanya sih, gue akan diam seharian di rumah, kalau perasaan gue enggak membaik, gue akan pergi ke gunung untuk beberapa hari. Buat gue, gunung adalah tempat yang menenangkan. Kalau sudah berhasil sampai puncak, rasanya beban di hati langsung hilang.”
Wahyu Ugy, 27, Single, Freelancer.
* “Hmm, tergantung seberapa parah patah hatinya. Kalau patah hati karena ditolak perempuan sih, paling kumpul sama teman-teman juga sembuh. Tapi, kalau patah hati karena putus setelah bertahun-tahun menjalin hubungan, saya akan traveling sendirian keliling kota-kota yang belum pernah gue kunjungi sebelumnya.”
Rio Ramaditya, 30, Single, General Manager.
* “Pernah tuh, gue gara-gara patah hati, enggak keluar kamar selama 2 minggu. Saat itu, rasanya gue cuma pengen sendirian dan malas banget mau melakukan apa pun, termasuk makan. Yang ada selama 2 minggu itu, kerjaan gue cuma main Play Station di dalam kamar.”
Syarif, 27, Single, Public Relations.
* “Tempat pelarian paling enak saat patah hati sih, menurut gue ke gunung. Karena untuk mencapai puncak, pikiran kita kan, harus fokus, jadi enggak akan mikir macam-macam. Kalau sudah sampai di puncak, kita juga bisa teriak sekencangnya. Biasanya kalau sudah begitu, hati jadi lega.”
Ade, 28, Single, IT Programmer.
* “Kalau patah hati, gue justru akan menyendiri, tapi di tengah keramaian. Mungkin mal atau kafe akan jadi tempat pelarian gue. Berada di tengah keramaian orang-orang yang enggak gue kenal, akan membuat gue merasa tenang, karena enggak akan ada orang yang tanya-tanya tentang keadaan gue.”
M. Riki Naufal, 32, Single, Account Manager.
* “Studio musik biasanya jadi tempat paling pas waktu patah hati. Gue bisa main gitar sambil membuat lagu. Dan biasanya gue akan menabuh drum sepuasanya untuk menghilangkan sakit hati dan melepas beban di hati.”
Andrea Yoediono, 30, Single, Event Organizer.
* “Buat saya sih, teman-teman selalu jadi tempat pelarian paling tepat kalau kita patah hati. Tapi, beda dengan perempuan ya, kalau kita kumpul-kumpul bukan untuk curhat. Karena, tanpa curhat pun biasanya mereka tahu kalau kita sedang ada masalah. Kalau sudah begitu, mereka akan melakukan sesuatu untuk menghibur kita.” Rayanto Nugraha, 29, Single, Research Analyze.
