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MUI cleric seeks boycott of new movie
The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Sat, 02/07/2009 1:06 PM | National
A senior cleric has called on Muslims to boycott a new film about Islam's treatment of women, saying it "slanders" the religion.
The film, Perempuan Berkalung Sorban (Woman with a scarf around her neck), sullies the reputation of Islam, Ali Mustafa Yaqub, the lead cleric at Jakarta's main mosque, Istiqlal Grand Mosque, said, as reported by Agence France-Presse on Friday.
Directed by Hanung Bramantyo, the film tells the story of a student, the daughter of a conservative cleric, who rebels against the limitations put on women at an Islamic boarding school in Java.
"The impression the film gives of Islamic schools is regrettable and I'd be bold enough to say it doesn't hurt their image so much as slander them," Ali said.
"My advice is, just don't watch it. Period.
"This film could create misunderstandings about Islam and Islamic schools," said Ali, who is also deputy on the fatwa commission of the powerful Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI).
Filmmaker Hanung has dismissed Ali's protest, saying the cleric was provoked by those opposed to the film to call for such a boycott.
"The imam wants to follow the voices of those wanting to slander the film. How could he make such a statement when he hasn't seen the movie?" he asked, as quoted by the detik.com news portal.
Hanung's 2008 Ayat-Ayat Cinta (Verses of love) dealt with other Islamic issues, polygamy and religious prejudice, and became a runaway hit in Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim-majority country.
The boycott call drew criticism from moderate Muslim scholar Siti Musdah Mulia.
She said the film exposed the reality of many Indonesian Muslim women currently "oppressed" in the name of religion.
"I think the film uncovers the real condition of female Muslims. As Muslims, we don't like to see our religion stifling women. But practically, it is still like that," said Musdah, as quoted by detik.com.
She called on Muslims to defy the call and said the government should not ban the film.
Musdah, a senior lecturer at Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University (UIN), also urged Muslims "not to easily anger" when encountering criticism about the discrimination Muslim women face.
"Muslims should be honest in facing this reality and recognize the fact that some ulema and religious leaders often offer misguided teachings on the rights and obligations of women in Islam," she added.
"This film tries to combat this misperception of Islam, including a teaching that bars Muslim women from leaving home *at night*. It used to be like that," Musdah said. She is the first Indonesian woman to receive a doctorate in the field of political thought in Islam.
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Iwan2 (not verified) — Tue, 02/10/2009 - 9:49am
The MUI cleric is a very amusing individual and joins others who are selective in their interpretations.
This movie can join the following which are banned to show in public cinema
-Hulk
-Dark Knight
-Haditha
-Kingdom and another 120 movies that come to mind
JJ (not verified) — Sat, 02/07/2009 - 5:40pm
"This film could create misunderstandings about Islam and Islamic schools," said Ali.
What creates bigger misunderstandings is not having the opportunity to view films like this and make up one's own mind about them.
Imam's would be better off to stick to what they think they know and trust their devotees to make their own decisions.
Governments should "govern" and not become embroiled in religiously-oriented debates, perpetrated by people who believe they are some kind of moral arbitrators for the world of Moslems (as they see them).
Attempts at banning books, films, etc, have never achieved the desired outcomes. If anything, they create interest in the banned products for many to see what they're not allowed to. Human nature is like that, irrespective of one's religious persuasion.
Pompous bigots are everywhere. The fewer there are, the better off everybody else will be.
miauchang (not verified) — Sat, 02/07/2009 - 5:00pm
The film is about Indonesia in 80's
The film is about rural Pesantren, with very traditional Javanese perspective
The film is about male who oppress women by rules and tradition
The film describe how Ulema justify the above using religion
The film is about how Islam is misinterpreted to discriminate women
The film is not about Islam
So, there is no slander against Islam in this film.