Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – History records that in Indonesia there was a legendary cleric. When delivering a lecture, this cleric can be watched by thousands of people from various levels of society. In fact, his name is not only great at home, but abroad. In short, he is like a magnet when he lectures.
The cleric is KH Zainuddin MZ. Since childhood, Zainuddin has been in contact with the Islamic world as a student. His grandfather sent him to a religious school because he hoped that his grandson would become a great scholar. Even so, his grandfather's aspirations were not in line with Zainuddin's wishes.
This man, born March 2 1952, actually wanted to become a doctor. However, this wish was rejected by his grandfather, who still insisted that Zainuddin study religion so he could become a scholar. Long story short, he also followed and studied religion to the highest level. He studied a lot of yellow books and was good at reciting the Koran.
As explained in Da'wah & Politics 'Preacher of Millions of People' (1997), one thing that excels is Zainuddin's storytelling ability. From a long time ago, he liked reading literary works and made him good at expressing words. This intelligence then becomes the foundation when giving a lecture.
Zainuddin started giving lectures when he was still studying at MTs Darul Ma'arif. Before giving a lecture, he seriously studied speech. Figures who were good at oratory such as Soekarno and various other scholars, such as KH Syukron Ma'mun, Buya Hamka, and Idham Chalid were his inspiration. On this basis, Zainuddin became widely known as an energetic and passionate preacher.
Since the 1970s, he has frequently appeared on various television and radio shows to spread Islamic teachings in a style that is attractive and easy to understand by the general public. His career in preaching took him to various corners of Indonesia and other countries.
One of Zainuddin's typical lecture styles is to include jokes that make it feel like the listener is not watching a stiff lecture. On this basis, every time he gives a lecture, the audience numbers in the thousands and is always looked forward to. This number of viewers multiplies when more people publish a collection of his lectures which were then sold in the form of cassettes, CDs and books. From here, the term “Da'i of a million people” stuck to him. At this point, his grandfather's dream of wanting Zainuddin to become a great scholar came true.
Apart from being active in religion, he is also active in politics. It is known that he was a member of the United Development Party (PPP) and founded the Reform Star Party in 2002.
Zainuddin MZ's work stopped on July 5 2011 due to his death. Even though he's gone, His legacy lives on in his works and the positive influence he has left behind.
[Gambas:Video CNBC]
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