Muhammadiyah says ulema council cannot ban smoking

Head of the second largest Muslim organization Muhammadiyah, Din Syamsuddin, said the Indonesian Ulema Council could not issue a fatwa banning smoking or banning non-participation in election.

“Smoking and not voting cannot be decreed as either halal or haram,” he said as quoted by tempointeraktif.com. Respectively, he was referring to terminologies used in Islamic teaching whether something is allowed or banned.

Din, who is also a member of an executive board in the council, says everyone has their own political point of view when it comes to an election process.

“It is up to one’s choice whether he wants to participate in a voting process or not. And that is also applies to smoking. It cannot be considered halal or haram,” he said.

Earlier, some council members argued that smoking was detrimental to public health, therefore it must be banned, while some said not participating in an election could damage the democratic process.

“Moreover, there are many aspects to consider besides health issues when it comes to the tobacco industry, most notably the economic factor,” he said. (and)