Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali has criticized Indonesia’s second-largest Muslim organization for its anti-tobacco edict, calling on it to “act more wisely” and not “cause public restlessness”.
The organization, Muhammadiyah, which has around 30 million followers across the country, last week declared smoking to be haram, or forbidden under Islamic law.
The edict has sparked protests, particularly from the country’s tobacco industry and groups protesting the perceived meddling by religious groups in private affairs.
The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) earlier issued an edict banning smoking, but only for children and pregnant women.
“This is related to many issues, not just religious but also economic ones,” Suryadharma said Monday after a Cabinet meeting on development issues at the Presidential Office.
“I hope [Muhammadiyah] acts more wisely in issuing edicts as they impact on many things.
“This [anti-smoking edict] can have an economic impact on the community and lead to restlessness among communities.”
Suryadharma added he did not agree with Muhammadiyah’s branding of smoking as haram, saying he believed Islam’s original stance on tobacco was makruh (frowned upon) but not haram.
“Unless it poses a direct threat to human health, such as by causing heart disease, then smoking should not be haram,” he said.
The minister added his office was not in a position to issue a counter-edict to Muhammadiyah’s.
In response, Muhammadiyah chairman Din Syamsuddin said the anti-smoking edict was meant to support campaigns against to-bacco and help the government attain its Millennium Development Goals as laid out by the United Nations.
One of the goals is related to health issues, he said.
“Muhammadiyah has been participating actively in efforts to combat bird flu and [the H1N1 strain of] flu, as well as tuberculosis and other lung diseases,” Din told The Jakarta Post.
He added Muhammadiyah had established partnerships with several international organizations to help Indonesia achieve its MDGs through advocacy, campaigning and educational activities.
He also said Muhammadiyah had formed a special edict committee within the framework of the organization to prop up wider calls for tobacco control in the country.
The nationwide movement includes the National Commission for Child Protection (Komnas Anak) and dozens of other organizations.
“We issued the edict following a number of procedures, and it is meant as an effort benefitting the community,” Din said.
“An edict is the viewpoint of a group of clerics basing their arguments on the Holy Koran. As such, it isn’t binding, so if you agree, fine; if not, you can always ignore it.”
Besides sparking an outcry from cigarette producers, the edict has also raised eyebrows when reports emerged that Muhammadiyah had received Rp 4 billion in grants for its anti-tobacco campaign from the Bloomberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use, founded by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
The organization’s website lists Muhammadiyah as recipient to grants totaling $393,234 between November 2009 and October 2011.
Muhammadiyah has denied the funding influenced it to issue the edict.
