The Power of a Pause: Dr. Maria Ulfah & Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

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 The Power of a Pause

Dr. Maria Ulfah & Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

By Ava Barry



When I first heard Dr. Maria Ulfah I was spell bound. Sitting in my dorm room, listening to a video that was posted as homework for one of my classes. I was planning on only watching a mere one to two minutes of this 28 minute video, yet I found myself sitting there in awe as the minutes quickly flowed by. This video was of a Quran recitation. The audience in the video was full, yet we [the viewers] didn't hear a sound other than her voice echoing through us. 



"Indonesian audiences are not known for silence, even in the context of formal events. In this case, however, although the women enjoyed the snacks provided and some of them whispered to one another, there was relative silence for the duration of the presentation and recitation. At this event and the many others I attended where she was a featured (and paid) reciter, Maria Ulfah commanded an attentive audience."
(Rasmussen, 205)



For those who are unaware with Maria Ulfah, she is an Indonesian Quran reciter who is national recognized as a master of recitation and teaching the art of recitation. She has also won two national Indonesian Quran recitation contests. The photo above is taken from the website Institut Ilmu Al Quran (IIQ) Jakarta.

As someone who only speaks english, I was not expecting to get moved by someone speaking a language I didn't know, reciting a religion I am not apart of. However, I was wrong. I did not need to know the language to be moved by her words, tones and reflective pauses. Annie Rasmussen, author of Women, the Recited Qur'an, and Islamic Music in Indonesia, was correct, I, even when not in the live audience, had my attention commanded by this women whom I had not heard of prior to this. 

"The focused energy, consistency of breath control, thorough treatment of melodic material, and almost spellbound concentration made Maria Ulfah’s recitation every bit as compelling as even the most dramatic and demonstrative reading I have seen or heard by a qari ’. Time and again, through her physical act, Maria Ulfah demonstrates her ability to tap into a divine realm and, ideally, to facilitate this experience for her community of auditors, whether women, men, children, or her colleagues."
(Rasmussen, 205)

Upon reflection, one of the reasons I was so captivated by Dr. Maria Ulfah was due to how she was able to show her passion, piety, and virtuosity through her recitation. The way her voice starts off soft, but then grows louder the more compelled she wants you to feel.  The melody and tone of the words she is speaking. The way she takes deep reflective pauses to invoke thought. All these quality's reminds me of speeches that activists give. Both activists and Dr. Maria Ulfah want you to not only hear their words, they want you to feel the words. They want the words to take over every inch of your being and occupy your every thought. 

To draw on an example I feel confident most people have seen or heard, let's think back to the I Have a Dream speech from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The image below is taken from Britannitca's Website. 






“If you watch the actual speech on video, you will see MLK speaking during the first few minutes in a 'lecturing' format, as if he was reciting a speech that he had memorized. While his words were impactful, up to this point in the speech, they were not connecting with the audience in the manner and with the energy he had wanted. Then you will see him pause for about 10 seconds. This 10-second pause is what changed history.”











A pause to shape history. MLK, much like Maria Ulfah, had a gift for captivating an audience through volume, tone, melody, and pauses. These qualities come up again and again throughout history. It would be unwise to ignore how these two incredible figures- from different countries, genders, languages, and religions-  spread messages of love, faith, and equality through means more even more powerful than words alone. The power of a pause is not one to be overlooked. 

Comments

  1. Jonathan Brumberg-KrausMarch 27, 2025 at 11:41 AM

    What an insightful observation and comparison about the power of a well-chosen pause!

    ReplyDelete

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