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MUI may ban smoking, yoga
The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Tue, 12/30/2008 5:28 PM | National
The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) is set to hold a national meeting between Jan. 24 and 26 and may issue fatwas (religious statement) banning followers from smoking and practicing yoga.
The MUI had received numerous complaints from several organizations, including the House of Representatives and the Indonesian Children Protection Commission (KPAI), on the negative
impacts of smoking, MUI chairman Choll Ridwan told kompas.com on Tuesday.
"We understand there will be a lot of people who cannot accept such a fatwa, since many people's lives depend on the cigarette industry. Some of them work as tobacco farmers and employees in cigarettes factories," Choll said.
The council may decide on a win-win solution by making the anti-smoking fatwa applicable only to certain groups.
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JYX (not verified) — Wed, 12/31/2008 - 8:08am
Brad, I totally agree with you.
It is time for human being to think for themselves.
Banning smoking with health as concern issue sound acceptable. However, banning won't work when the government never tried to educate the people. Educate the people about the harm of cigarette. I think it will work better rather than just ban smoking blindly without any follow up action.
Yoga as haram? Doesn't it sound a bit unacceptable. Frankly speaking, i am not a yoga practioner but i do hear few benefits about yoga. I think for the practioner, Yoga is sort of exercise that benefit their health.
Awan (not verified) — Wed, 12/31/2008 - 2:57am
Yoga? Is jogging next?
Nairdah (not verified) — Tue, 12/30/2008 - 8:53pm
It is a sad day when a religious organisation has to do the Government's job for it. There has clearly been a failure of all levels of Government in RI to see beyond the smoke screen of the tobacco industry (and the money)and recognise the harm being done to Indonesians and Indonesian society by tobacco.
And if the MUI succumbs to the inevitable pressure from industry, government and smokers themselves, the failure to issue any sort of fatwa will be seen as an endorsement of tobacco and its promotion. Failure to issue a fatwa will make it even harder for Government, especially central government to find support for meaningful action.
Tobacco and smoking of tobacco is first and foremost an enormous national health issue that impacts all Indonesians regardless of their religious faith, age or gender and requires a truly national approach.
There is far more at stake than a religious interpretation. Every year, more than 400,000 Indonesians (twice the number of Indonesians that died in the Aceh sunami) die from tobacco related diseases. Multiply that number by the widows and children left behind without a breadwinner and the pain in the community will be obvious.
The rest of the world has moved on and signed the Tobacco Convention. Where is Indonesia? Where is the Government leadership on tobacco? Hello, anybody there?
T. Cotton, Pattaya, Thailand (not verified) — Tue, 12/30/2008 - 8:40pm
There once was a fatwah issued in Saudi Arabia against musical mobile phone tones, because music was haram. The proposed MUI fatwahs are also silly. The more that are issued, the more adherents they are sure to lose, like the silly one for women not to wear bras. Who are these self-important people to determine that one group of people would be sinners by breaking the fatwah while another, exempt? And then if a minor is sinning by smoking, he/she will be exempt later on anyway. There are already laws which make the selling of cigarettes to minors illegal, but they are not enforced. Often, the more some activity is taboo'd the more attractive it becomes to would-be offenders.
On entering Indonesia, one reads the sign at Immigration "Death to Drug Dealers". But nicotine is the most addictive drug there is and is advertising, manufacture and sale is widely accepted in Indonesia. Its abuse should be dealt with by the legislators, not by the MUI.
Brad (not verified) — Tue, 12/30/2008 - 6:27pm
The Indonesian Human Council (IHC}is set to hold a national meeting to possibly issue a rightwa banning people from being stupid and trying to control other human beings with nonsense fatwas which they think come from a higher unknown mysterious authority.
It's time to demand that these fools be forced to show proof of their authority (not just because it is written by a bunch of other men) OR shut up.