It's MUI Fatwa Time...

Pinch me, pinch me, I must be asleep and dreaming. The MUI has just issued a fatwa on infotainment (gossip shows) and sex change operations, stating that both are prohibited under Islam. I would like to say wake up and smell the coffee, but I am reluctant to remind them that they almost banned Luwak Coffee last week. It is probably best not to give them any ideas, heaven forbid they will be issuing a fatwa next week banning the MUI.

Fatwas are man's way of feeling important in God's world. The cold hard reality is that if God is real then s/he certainly does not need the assistance of mere mortals in the application of God's laws. I would reckon God can probably sort this one out on his / her own. In any event, where does man get off thinking that he has the requisite skills to determine and then decide what God has in mind? May the wrath of Allah come down on you, and swiftly!

According to the crotchety old men at the MUI responsible for this silliness, it is forbidden for Muslims to gossip. The rationale is that gossiping requires Muslims to expose the private details and lives of others in the public domain. Ah, yes it does. Good one fellas, you worked that one out all by yourself. Now, some gossip is indeed factual.

For example, the father of Sheila Marcia Joseph's child has recently been exposed publicly. The name of the father does not yet appear on the child's birth certificate yet. So, I am wondering why discussing such gossip is prohibited in Islam. Perhaps one of my Muslim brothers or sisters can enlighten me as to where in the Koran it says that factual gossip is prohibited.

Not satisfied with banning gossip, the MUI has gone the whole nine yards and stated that profiting from infotainment or gossip is haram. What? So, if a company advertises during an infotainment show then it has broken some law in Islam? Wow. Nevertheless, it appears that there are some exceptions, albeit very limited. If the gossip is to warn people then it is permitted, it is mubah. Presumably this means that gossip such as the recent Nazriel "Ariel" Irham, Luna Maya, and Cut Tari videos would fall under this exception as the gossip clearly highlights the dangers of filming yourself bonking your brains out.

My guess would be that the MUI would have been better issuing a fatwa about defamation, slander, and libel. But, no matter, anything that the MUI issues is not legally binding on Indonesian citizens. Indonesians cannot be worldly punished for ignoring the silly fatwas issued by the MUI.  It all comes down to whether Indonesians truly believe that the MUI is the sole interpreter of God's words on Indonesian soil. If not, then fatwa away boys!

What is truly funny about this whole infotainment fatwa was that the MUI had intended to discuss welfare issues, but dropped welfare in favour of outlawing gossip shows. This clearly shows that the MUI cares more about populist issues and getting their names in print than they do about the religious care of their flocks.

The other fatwas issued covered the trade in organs and marriages of convenience. I am an organ donor. The fatwa prohibits the poor kampung fellow from selling a kidney to a rich Singaporean willing to pay USD 50K. However, it does not prohibit organ transplants And, it does not prohibit Muslims from receiving a non-Muslim organ. Although, any transplant does need to be witnessed by two Muslim doctors. I wonder how a Muslim would feel about getting a kidney from a Jew? Interestingly, the fatwa considers animal to human transplants and canvasses the idea of transplants from unclean animals in an emergency situation.

The final worthy mention is the fatwa on sex change operations. Once again, there is an exception here; sound medical reasons. Any takers on "sound medical reasons"? This must require a diagnosis from a psychologist along the lines of, "yes, he was born male, but he identifies only as a woman."

No apologies for the length. The point probably could have been made this way:

These fatwas are unnecessary as Indonesians are more than capable of working out these issues on their own and without the involvement of the MUI.

I wonder when the MUI will get around to issuing a fatwa banning the FPI?

Ho hum...

NU Making Sense...

In contrast to the Indonesia Ulema Council (MUI) the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) makes much better use of common sense when it comes to the relationships between mosque and state. The NU also makes considerably more sense all of the time in contrast to the Islam Defenders' Front (FPI).

It is coming up to that time of year where Muslims begin the fasting month of Ramadan. In essence, Muslims are required to abstain from food and other pleasures during the daylight hours. Generally, in Indonesia, Ramadan also includes restrictions on trading hours for entertainment venues. Some venues are required to close down for the month. Those that do not close down open for shorter periods, and if they serve alcohol then this is done in plastic cups or coffee mugs, anything but bottles.

The Chairperson of the NU, Said Aqil Siradj, has instructed all members of the NU to 'cease and desist' in conducting raids and sweepings of places that open legitimately or who open in breach of the regulations / ordinances governing entertainment venues. Simply, he said something along the lines of, 'it is not out job to enforce the law. It is the job of law enforcement, if their enforcement is weak then we should encourage them to do better.'

Siradj then went onto encourage NU members to follow the lead of the Prophet who was focused on establishing a civilised state. And, the idea of sweepings and other raids on entertainment venues was tantamount to the NU taken matters into their own hands and creating a state within a state because they would be making their own rules.

It is still true that Indonesia is a secular state. And, even though the majority of citizens are Muslim, it must be noted that not all are. The question is one of respect and tolerance. Respect and tolerance are a two way street. You do not get respect because you demand it, you get respect because you earn it.

I would add that he has a number of good points there. It is time that people let law enforcement do the job they are supposed to. It is also time that the people held law enforcement accountable when they failed to do the job that they are tasked to do. However, demanding accountability does not include vigilante justice and taking matters of law and order into your own hands.

Despite the plea of the NU to show restraint, it is almost certain that the FPI will be out at some point during the month conducting raids and sweepings of entertainment venues, and generally terrorising innocent citizens going about their lives.

On a side note, I have always wondered about the wisdom of shutting down entertainment venues. From an economic standpoint, those people who work in them are in effect unemployed for a month. It is not a common practice for these individuals to be drawing a wage when they are not working. The trickle down effects of this must be significant.

The other side note is a simple question, "why force entertainment venues to close during Ramadan?" Muslims know and understand the tenets of their religion. They know what the rules are with respect to Ramadan, particularly what they can and cannot do and when they can and cannot do it. Are entertainment venues closed because they are against Islamic law? Or are they closed because Muslims need a little extra help to avoid temptation? Or are they closed to satisfy some perceived ideal that this is what the community at large wants the government to do?

Anyways, hopefully the members of NU will take heed of the call and focus on the obligations they have with respect to themselves of the month of Ramadan and let law enforcement and God take care of the rest!

(I am serious with the last little bit about God taking care of the rest. If one truly does believe in an all-powerful God, then it would make sense for us not to pre-judge the deity and act in the deity's name against others. For if the deity knows best then they will certainly "take care" of those that please and displease him / her)

MUI Facing Mecca...

One of the primary tenets of the Islamic faith is that no matter where you are in the world you are to face the holy city of Mecca when you pray. So, it is pretty important that you get your directions right. This is very much the case if you are thinking of building a new mosque and are thinking that you will have the mosque pointing in the right direction to start with.

Last time I thought about it, I thought that Mecca was in Saudi Arabia, and Saudi Arabia is generally in a north-west direction from the archipelago that is Indonesia. Nevertheless, in their infinite wisdom the talking heads at the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) issued a fatwa that instructed Indonesian Muslims to face west when praying to Mecca. Now, my guess is that even some rudimentary geographical knowledge might lead one to suspect that facing west from Indonesia is going to have you facing Africa, probably somewhere in Somalia. By all reasonable accounts on the subject, Somalis is quite some distance from where good Muslims want to be facing when in prayer. The MUI issued the misdirected fatwa back in March.

The solution according to Cholil Ridwan of the MUI is that Muslims slightly alter the direction they are facing when they commence prayer. He was also quick to point out that there was no need to knock down any mosques that have been built facing Africa in accordance with the previous fatwa. Ridwan went on to say that it was no big deal in the sense that Allah still would have heard the people's prayers even though they were facing the wrong direction. This might be some comfort to some, but it really is not the point, is it?

The point is that the MUI is supposedly the peak body in Indonesia that has become the self-appointed authority on all things Islam. It is a little disheartening, to say the least, that as a group no-one picked up at the time in March when the original fatwa was issued that the direction was wrong, particularly when the issue is one that is so fundamental to the practice of the religion itself.

What is interesting is that Said Agil Siradj of the Nahdlatul Ulama, Indonesia's largest Muslim organisation, suggested that this fatwa shows that the MUI does not necessarily think these things through thoroughly enough before issuing a fatwa.

The big question here is whether or not the MUI learns anything from this significant error, or whether it is just going to be business as usual with knee-jerk fatwa issuing reactions to whatever the popular issue is of the day.

In any event, it would be reasonable to suggest that the MUI has now got some work to do to restore public confidence (assuming there was any to start with) in their ability to be the arbiters of all things Islam in Indonesia. Let's face it, if they cannot get their directions right then how much confidence can one have in their interpretations of the Koran (al-Qur'an / the Holy Qu'ran)?

Story sourced from here and here.

Singapore Casinos & Indonesian Gamblers...

It appears a good bet that some of the biggest and most consistent visitors to the new casinos opening in Singapore are going to be Indonesians. The Resorts World Sentosa is the first of two casinos to open its doors in Singapore. The casino is expected to be open today in order to capitalize on the celebrations surrounding the Chinese New Year. So, today is likely to be an interesting day for many punters as it might be a view into what sort of luck, or lack thereof, they are going to enjoy in the Year of the Tiger.

The second casino is the Marina Bay Sands which is affiliates with the Sands casinos out of Las Vegas. The Sands is not expected to open until April 2010, which means the Sentosa is certainly going to enjoy a bit of a head start.

It would be fair to say that it is not only going to be Indonesians of Chinese ancestry that may partake in a hand or two of Blackjack and Baccarat or a couple of rounds at the Roulette table, there is an expectation that Indonesians of all faiths and types of ancestry will take the plunge and part with some of their fortune in search of new fortunes. This is expected to include those of the Muslim faith.

Singapore is a prime destination for many Indonesians. It is close, and it remains a shopping mecca (this is in spite of the numerous malls and branded stores already in Jakarta) for the well-to-do Indonesians looking to spend a weekend away. The casinos provide a little something extra, for those who have shopped themselves out during the day, to do in the evening. Nothing like glamming it up and hitting the casinos and spending up big.

However, it might be worth mentioning that there are thousands (perhaps tens of thousands?) of Indonesian maids working in Singapore. A wander down Orchard Road on a Sunday afternoon is like taking a walk on a busy Indonesian street on any day of the week in that one hears a steady stream of Indonesian and local dialects such as Sundanese, Javanese, and some Batak thrown into the mix. The point being, will any of these maids be tempted to win their fortune by gambling their meager incomes on the flip of a card or the spin of a wheel?

The temptation of winning the "big one" is quite often too much temptation for some to bear. So, is it a fair question to ponder, has the Singaporean government put into place mechanisms to deal with not only the increased revenue they are expecting the casinos to generate, but also mechanisms to deal with the social problems that are going to arise as they relate to problem gambling?

Perhaps Draconian police measures are not going to be enough to keep crime rates down. Any increase in crime is going to make Singapore a less attractive place to visit. The reality is (or at least was) that I enjoyed going to Singapore for no other reason than it was sometimes nice to get a little respite from the chaos and pollution of Jakarta, and it was always nice to be able to walk down the road, in this case Orchard Road, late in the evening and feel safe as houses.

But, the 'interesting' point of the expected influx of Indonesians to the gambling tables of Singapore is that many of these gamblers are likely to be Muslims. Gambling is expressly forbidden in Islam. So, to engage in it would be somewhat sinful, particularly if one was doing it with the full knowledge that it was sinful. This has been the primary deterrent in legislating for a casino to be built in the Thousand Islands area off the coast of Jakarta; the sinfulness of gambling.

It is too bad that money from gambling is haram because the increased revenue that would most likely be generated from a casino in Jakarta could be used to offset the social problems that allowing gambling would create, but also direct some much needed funding to education and health programs to ensure that "all" Indonesians had access to some basic facilities (naive, maybe; but what has been put into place to date is not working, and has not worked, so what is there to lose?).

The combined intellect of the Majelis Ulama Indonesia (Indonesian Ulema Council / MUI) has stated that to gamble is to sin. Gambling is expressly forbidden in Islam (and in Indonesian law) so any Indonesian Muslim would be in a spot of bother in Indonesia. However, Amidhan of the MUI, has offered up that the MUI is only concerned with Indonesian Muslims gambling in Indonesia because what Indonesian Muslims do while they are abroad is beyond the MUI's control. I guess this means that any Indonesian Muslim that gambles abroad answers directly to Allah and no longer to the MUI?

The casinos are not just casinos, but rather full-service fun, entertainment, and business venues that can cater to a broad range of interests and needs. The idea seemingly being that "you" can hold a business conference there, and there just happens to be a casino close by for punters to partake in their hobbies during the non-business related sessions of their trip. The Sentosa includes a theme park which makes it a family-oriented weekend away (or as the cynics have suggested - somewhere to dump the kids while mum and dad go and spend the kids' inheritance).

Singapore hopes that the imminent opening of the casinos will be a shot in the arm for recently dwindling tourist arrivals in the city state. Time will tell!

The Menstrating Ghost of Puncak...

Hantu Puncak Datang Bulan is a horror film that includes a rather large number of 'pornographic' scenes. Pornography in this sense is the Indonesian definition of the term and means that the film includes some skin shots and some sex scenes. For most discerning adults the film might not even make it into the soft porn category, but to each their own. The whole premise of a horror movie with some soft porn seems to be tailor-made for controversy in a nation that is predominantly Muslim such as Indonesia.

To their credit the Muslim Ulema Council (Majelis Ulama Indonesia / MUI) did not disappoint. They have been vocal in stating that the film is not in-line with Muslim values. However, they acknowledge that if people choose to make these films and they pass the censors, then it is up to the individual Muslims themselves to decide whether or not to watch it. Nevertheless, the MUI is lobbying hard for the Indonesian Film Censorship Board (Lembaga Sensor Film / LSF) to ban the movie.

However, the Islam Defenders Front (Front Pembela Islam / FPI) has no such reservations. They have threatened to use violence to prevent the screening of the film if movie theatres do not 'voluntarily' opt to not show the film.

The movie has already passed the LSF and can be screened in Indonesia. This suggests that it does not contravene any prevailing laws and regulations according to the peak body tasked with these decisions. The rumor mill and the controversy is sure to see what is reportedly a very poor B-grade horror flick become a bit of a hit.

There is one thing that you can be sure of, when the MUI, LSF, or the FPI get involved in a discussion about a movie then this is likely to become some of the best free marketing a movie studio could hope for. But, then again, it sometimes signals the death knell for other films such as 'Kidnapping Miyabi'. And, then sometimes, the controversy just disappears such as with the film 'Suster Keramas' starring Rin Sakuragi.

Here is a trailer for the film (courtesy of You Tube):

Maria Ozawa, Miyabi, Indonesia, and the MUI

On the completely unimportant news front, Maria Ozawa, or as she is better known, Miyabi (all images freely available on the internet), has made a trip to Indonesia and is to appear in a film. Now, before you get all hot and bothered, and despite her claim to fame as a recognized porn film star from Japan, the film is not to be porn. That said, the title of the film is "Kidnap Miyabi." So, perhaps the Indonesian producers of the film are capitalizing on her fame as a porn star.

I wonder would this film contravene the provisions of the new film law?

Nevertheless, the Indonesian Ulema Council (Majelis Ulama Indonesia / MUI) an organization that considers itself as spokesperson for all things Islam and Muslim, has decided that Maria Ozawa appearing in an Indonesian film is going to damage Indonesia's standing in the rest of the world. Although, I would have thought that any damage in the eyes of God might have been something more to fear.

It is a little bizarre that the MUI is worried that a Japanese porn star is going to damage Indonesia's standing in the world community, but seem less worried, or actually not worried at all, that the passage of regional legislation in Aceh that permits stoning of adulterers is not going to damage Indonesia's standing.

It would seem that the MUI is worried what message this sends to the world community, namely: that Indonesia has to import porn stars to appear in Indonesian non-porn films. Besides, it is not like Indonesia does not have some home grown porn stars that it could have turned to for this role, is it?

FPI -- The Ahmadiyya Issue

My first post this month was about the FPI. So, it seems fitting that my 100th post this month return to what got the month started, the FPI.

Wednesday saw many thousands of Muslims demonstrating in front of the Presidential Palace demanding that the Government stop pretending to restrict Ahmadiyya and their practices but rather issue an absolute ban. The President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono or SBY as he is popularly known, has a problem!

The recently issued joint decision has done nothing to stem the rhetoric against Ahmadiyya by hard-line proponents of Islam who consider Ahmadiyya as a dangerous heretical sect that has the potential to undermine the "true" teachings of Islam. This is kind of like saying that the Mormons have the potential to undermine the true teachings of Jesus and the Christian God, rubbish!

Yet, this is the problem that SBY must face. And, for a President who currently relies on the support of minor Islamic influenced parties and for a man seeking re-election, he has some maneuvering to do in order to keep things pacing along as he would want them to.

The joint decision falls way short of a ban and to all intents and purposes probably does not even restrict the practice of the Ahmadiyya's take on their interpretations of Islam. The joint decision does prevent the Ahmadiyya's from proselytizing under the threat of 5 years prison but otherwise it is as weak a response as it seems that the Indonesian Ulemas Council (Majelis Ulama Indonesia / MUI) would permit.

The plot thickens!