MUI, Huh?

It is a good thing that this is a blog, and it is my blog, because I can hold pretty much any opinion that I want and then blog it in any way, shape or form that takes my fancy.

I have said this before, I will say it again, but I say it now...the MUI is a waste of space. The MUI or the Indonesian Council of Ulemas is a group of crotchety old men with nothing better to do than sit around handing out fatwas left, right, and center however it sees fit. Yes, I appreciate there are some out there that will argue that they are merely responding to requests that concerned Indonesian citizens pose on issues of "what is" and "what is not" permitted in Islam.

However, I would argue that when they are discussing medical and scientific matters that extend beyond the grasp of most mortals that they take the time to consult with experts in the field.

The MUI in its infinite wisdom has decided that a meningococcal vaccine produced by GlaxoSmithKline is haram or forbidden because it uses an enzyme in the production process that is derived from the humble pig. I appreciate that pigs are najis or ritually impure in Islam, but this is the only way that the vaccine can be produced.

There are claims that the vaccine can be produced without the pig enzyme. However, these claims have not been subject to medical review and the companies making them have not put forward the scientific evidence for scrutiny.

The vaccine production process involves the use of the pig enzyme. Nevertheless, the end product is cleaned in such a way that no traces of the enzyme remains. To all intents and purposes it is clean.

What is interesting is that the former Health Minister, Siti Fadillah Supari, says the MUI has issued a fatwa which is confusing. This is in fact code for, "the MUI does not know what it is talking about". It must be remembered that Supari, during her term as Health Minister, never missed an opportunity to stick it to western nations and their health practices. So, it seems unlikely she would side with GSK over the MUI unless the MUI were so wrong that the fatwa was not worth the paper it was written on.

What is truly funny, though, is that the GSK vaccine is used in both Malaysia and Saudi Arabia.

Why is this a big deal? Well, Saudi Arabia requires all prospective Haj pilgrims to be vaccinated against meningococcal bacteria and the possibility of contracting meningitis. The conspiracy theorists might hint that there is a need to follow the money trail on this one. The Indonesian Government had already forked out some IDR 20 billion for the GSK vaccine and will now have to fork out another IDR 50+ billion to secure enough supply of the MUI approved Novartis vaccine. Just as well I am not a conspiracy buff, eh?

Ho hum...

The Halal Products Bill -- Islamization by Stealth?

Whenever Indonesia debates a new law or an amendment bill that infringes upon civil rights or has been drafted to address a specific religious requirement, a parallel debate arises about whether or not the bill is an attempt at Islamization of Indonesia. Sometimes, the concerns raised are legitimate and sometimes they are not.

The morality based bills such as the proposed amendments to the Criminal Code which would ostensibly ban public displays of affection between men and women, including married couples, is one such example. Another example, was the passage of the Anti-Pornography bill, as the bill to all intents and purposes seemingly restricts the freedom of expression particularly in the arts. A further example is another bill currently before the House of Representatives (Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat / DPR) on film. This bill certainly ups the ante with respect to censorship and what is permitted to be made, let alone what might negotiate any censorship board.

However, it is the Bill on Halal Products that seems to have drawn the ire of many as a direct and not so stealthy attempt to impose Sharia law on all of Indonesia's citizens and not just the majority of the community that identifies as Muslim. Halal in a very general sense means that the product is one that is permitted for the purposes of consumption by Muslims.

This bill in essence sets out what must be done in order for a product to be classified as halal, and then once an application is made for certification as halal, and then how that product is to be packaged and labeled. The bill does not prevent the production, distribution, and sale of non-halal (or haram / prohibited) products. Once again, the bill sets out how a product comes to be classified and labeled as halal. Presumably any company seeking to have a leg of ham classified as halal is going to fail in their application. However, this does not mean that the leg of ham cannot be sold.

In many ways the halal symbol or label is no different from the "healthy heart" symbol that you can find on products that have successfully passed the certification process stipulated for the symbol to be applied. This is also similar for products that now carry symbols that say they are certified suitable for diabetics or people with high blood pressure or products that are certified dolphin safe.

The difference is that in most cases the symbols attached to products are certified by independent bodies and are not regulated in law beyond a very basic minimum. For example, in Australia there are laws that require that the claims of a product be substantiated. This would mean that if a producer offered a cure for cancer, then that claim would need to be substantiated. If it could not be substantiated then this would be a breach of the prevailing laws and regulations.

So, in that sense the bill is hardly Islamization by stealth. The adding of a halal seal to products will provide a guarantee to discerning Muslims that the product they are about to purchase meets some exacting standards with respect to a products halal-ness or lack thereof. Nevertheless, this might depend on how independent the certification process is and how independent those involved in the certification agency are.

Currently, it would seem that the Indonesian Ulama Council (Majelis Ulema Indonesia / MUI) will play a primary role as the peak Muslim body in Indonesia. Then again, how independent can the body be when its role is specifically to certify what is and what is not halal for a specific religion?

A far greater threat would be a local ordinance, such as the one recently pushed through in Bogor as it attempts to become a halal city, which prohibits the slaughtering of pigs within city limits. This would seemingly increase costs as any pork products would have to be brought in from other places and not sourced locally. An argument might conceivably be made that this ordinance is a breach of a constitutionally guaranteed right to not be subject to discrimination. Whether anyone picks up the baton on this one remains to be seen.

Going forward, it seems likely that this debate is going to arise ever more frequently.

Bogor -- Halal City

The Bogor government has declared its intention of becoming a halal city. Halal in this case means that there is to be no government services with respect to the slaughtering of pigs (photo). However, if private citizens of Bogor want to slaughter pigs and they have their own tools of the trade, then they are going to be permitted to do so.

I wonder if just by the government stopping the slaughter of pigs is enough to make Bogor a halal city? The last time I was in Bogor there were a few other things that might be considered to be decidedly non-halal, like alcohol and prostitution.

I never went to Bogor for a good feed of pig meat anyways. If I went to Bogor and it was not for work-related reasons, then it was to visit the botanical gardens and the weekend retreat of the President. However, when one considers the huge influx of Jakartans to Bogor on the weekend, then it was usually better to stay in Jakarta and enjoy the relative freedom of movement.