Muhammadiyah chairman urges MUI to prioritize

Muhammadiyah chairman Din Syamsuddin on Thursday called on the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) to exercise restraint in its issuance of fatwas.

"I feel that the MUI doesn't know how to prioritize, issues like vote abstaining don't require a fatwa but, rather, a general encouragement for the public to participate in the general election," Syamsuddin told tempointeraktif.com.

"That fatwa isn't based on sound judgment, and it's clear the MUI has erred in terms of legal priority," he added.

Syamsuddin, who is also the deputy chairman of MUI's central committee, reiterated that he had not been involved in the issuance of the Council's recent edicts.

"The fatwa commission contained more members from the Nahdlatul Ulama," he explained, naming a dominant conservative Sunni Islam organization in Indonesia.

He urged the Council to issue edicts of real importance, such as the need for improvement of human resources, the urgency of fighting corruption by public officials and other more fundamental concerns. (amr)