The producers and crews of the movie 2012 may need to thank the clerics of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), who called on the government to ban the Hollywood blockbuster about the end of the world on Dec. 21, 2012, because their call seems to have piqued the curiosity of more Indonesians.
MUI South Kalimantan chairman Aywadie Syukur said the government should consider banning 2012 because it could mislead or confuse Muslims.
“Muslims should also be careful not to get carried away by anything negative or go against religious values,” he said as quoted by this newspaper last week.
Of course it is not just the call that has seen Indonesians pack movie theaters. Surely it is because of the quality of the movie directed by Roland Emmerich. Daring to mention the date of Dec. 21, 2012 — which is inspired by an ancient Mayan belief — as doomsday may be the reason many people around the globe chose to watch this Hollywood movie that cost US$200 million to produce.
But the call by the MUI clerics may spark more Indonesians to become curious about the film, in part out of fear that the government will really heed the MUI’s call.
“I need to watch it immediately because I’m afraid the government will bow to the MUI’s call to ban it,” said a resident of BSD City in Banten after watching the movie at a theater in the area.
Since the movie opened last week, many Indonesians have joined other people across the world to pack movie theaters to watch it. Because of the great demand, nearly all operators here are playing it on more than one screen. In the Senayan City shopping center in Central Jakarta, for instance, the operators are showing the movie on four screens.
The question is, is it really necessary to ban such a movie? Is there any strong reason for those clerics to worry? Of course it is the duty of the clerics to preach to their followers about anything that may lead them off the straight and narrow. But issuing a statement or edict or a call should be done selectively, so that they are not disobeyed or rejected.
The MUI’s reasoning for 2012 to be banned is questionable. Although the movies premise is inspired by a theme common to many holy books, including the Koran, what is shown in the movie is pure fiction, a made-up story that has nothing to do with religious teaching.
If we tolerate such a ban, science-based movies such as Jurassic Park and the like could also be subject to similar bans because the plot is not in line with creation theory as laid out in several holy books. Even the Japanese cartoon Doraemon could face the same fate because its main character, a robot cat, often does acts ascribed in these books only to God.
It seems religious leaders need not be too worried that people will be easily misled by such fiction. Instead, they need to be more concerned about various social problems such as rampant corruption, which clearly runs against the teachings of any religion and is a far greater source of injustice.
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