TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Ridwan Kamil, MUI to probe controversial West Java 'pesantren'
The West Java governor and the Indonesia Ulema Council (MUI) have launched separate investigations into allegations of sacrilegious goings-on at the Islamic boarding school in Indramayu.
Change Size
Several ‘santri’, or Islamic boarding school students, head out for prayers in this undated file photo. (-/-)
A
s controversy over allegedly sacrilegious teachings continues to engulf Pondok Pesantren Al-Zaytun in Indramayu, the West Java administration and the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) have launched separate investigations into what has been going on at the Islamic boarding school.
“The West Java administration will form an investigative team for a seven-day fact-finding mission starting on Tuesday to look into the controversy surrounding Al-Zaytun,” West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil said on Monday.
As the school had more than 5,000 currently enrolled santri (Islamic boarding school students), Ridwan said his administration had no choice but to take action, while he asked “Al-Zaytun to cooperate with the investigation.
Discourse about the boarding school emerged in April, when photos of Al-Zaytun’s atypical Idul Fitri prayers surfaced on social media, showing congregation members standing apart from each other and female worshippers standing alongside males, both of which contradicts Islamic convention.
The unconventional arrangement led to the unearthing of other past allegations of sacrilegious practices against the boarding school.
For example, while Al-Zaytun still frowns upon zina (adultery), the school reportedly teaches its students that they can be absolved of the illicit practice by donating money. Some have also criticized the boarding school for its haphazard teaching approach to the Quran.
Last week, a local mass organization calling itself the Indramayu Accuses Forum held a protest outside the boarding school, demanding that the Religious Affairs Ministry and the MUI take action.
