Indonesian group Da'i Nada captivates Al Bader Festival

A group of eight millennials and two Gen Zs has been singing nasyids (hymnals) for years and shall be doing so again and again.

- Mariecar Jara-Puyod, Senior Reporter

Known as the Da’i Nada, they are IO from various parts of Indonesia, either alumni or current students at the Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt.

Led by Nur Akhyari, who birthed the capella ensemble in 2001 while studying at the Darunnajah 2 Islamic Boarding School in Bogor, West Java, the nine who came in two years later, for the practice and performance of Islamic devotional songs and nasyids to Allah and Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) are teacher/preacher Yaskur Bin Sriyono, 37 from Semarang, Java; Islamic Boarding School head Hidayatullah Yahmad Harist, 34 from Palembang, South Sumatra; Master's Programme student/travel agent Mukhtar Athorid Jamaludin, 32 from Bogor; teacher/preacher Fahmi Muhammad Faisal, 32 from Bogor; motivator/entrepreneur Miqdad Robbani, 32 from Kediri, East Java; teacher/preacher Ihsan Mushthafa Khalil, 31 from Jakarta; Master's Programme student/entrepreneur Muhammad Saifulloh Mumtaz, 27 from Bandung, West Java; teacher/preacher Reksian Saputra, 29 from Palembang; and teacher/entrepreneur Muhammad Jundi Masud, 26 from Riau, Sumatra.

“To become a member, one must possess more than just a good singing voice. Strict criteria are applied, requiring mastery of vocal parts one, two and three,” school principal/preacher Akhyari told Gulf Today.