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n a country where the celebration of St. Valentine'€™s Day is considered taboo among many conservative Muslims, young people across the archipelago are looking to use the opportunity to promote and express love in much broader contexts, including clean governance, arts and local culture.

Valentine'€™s Day falls on Feb. 14 and is celebrated in countries around the world, with couples expressing their love by exchanging gifts, eating together or simply saying, '€œI love you.'€

In Indonesia, the world'€™s largest Muslim-majority country, Valentine'€™s Day, however, is greeted stonily by the authorities, with religious organizations, local governments and even schools calling on students and local residents to eschew open celebration of the day, citing various arguments, including that it falls outside Islamic and national tradition and, in some extreme cases, accusing the holiday of promoting promiscuity.

Gorontalo-based activist Steven Polapa is familiar with such attitudes.

Steven believes, however, that Valentine'€™s Day, which has strong appeal to youth, can be used to promote important public causes, including the anticorruption movement.

Supported by local social media users and anticorruption activists, Steven is organizing a jomblo (singles) festival for Sunday, with the city'€™s youth given the chance to express support for the anticorruption movement.

'€œValentine'€™s Day is usually associated with flowers and chocolates. Why not try to identify it with something else, like anticorruption efforts?'€ he said on Friday.

The event, Steven added, would feature various programs, including games, stand-up comedy and a joint declaration in support of the national anticorruption movement.

'€œWith this declaration, we are trying to place the expression of love in a broader context,'€ he said.

In Sleman, Yogyakarta, a separate jomblo festival is set to be held on Sunday featuring art and cultural performances and photography competitions.

Janet Cynthia, one of the event'€™s organizers, said the event was aimed at encouraging young people to develop their creativity in the face of the struggle of everyday life, including relationship problems.

'€œEvery person has skills that can be developed,'€ Janet said.

'€œThis event will remind young people that they can do something positive despite their relationship problems.'€

As in previous years, a number of local administrations, including in Makassar, South Sulawesi, and Kediri, East Java, have banned students from celebrating Valentine'€™s Day this year, arguing that the event is unethical and inimical to teenagers'€™ morality.

Makassar Mayor Mohammad '€œDanny'€ Ramdhan Pomanto has also sent a circular to local stores and pharmacies reminding them not to sell condoms to underage consumers in the provincial capital.

Meanwhile in Manado, North Sulawesi, the arrival of Valentine'€™s Day has been warmly welcomed by local residents, with local malls and stores thronged with gift-buyers.

In Palu, Central Sulawesi, the local Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) chairman, Zainal Abidin Ishak, said that there was no need to ban Valentine'€™s Day celebrations, as long as they were carried out in accordance with Sharia, religious and moral norms.

'€œIslam teaches us to love others as well as love ourselves,'€ he said.