Yaqut made the announcement during a meeting in Jakarta held by the ministry’s Muslim Community Guidance Directorate General, but it has been met with a mixed response from religious groups and observers alike, with many questioning the reason for the move.

“We agreed from the start that we want to make KUAs into centers of religious [affairs] services for all faiths. KUAs should be able [to register] marriages of people from every religion,” Yaqut said in a statement issued by his ministry.

“As things stand, our non-Muslim brothers and sisters have to register their marriages at a civil registry office, despite the fact that [marriage registration] falls under the auspices of the Religious Affairs Ministry,” he stated.

The 2013 Civil Administration Law requires Muslim couples to register their marriage at a KUA, while non-Muslim couples must register marriages at a civil registry office, which falls under the Home Ministry’s Population and Civil Registration Directorate General.

While details on the expanded service remain sparse, it also includes opening the function halls at KUAs as temporary places of worship for non-Muslims.

“[We need] to help our non-Muslim brothers and sisters in performing [acts of] worship as well as possible,” said Yaqut, who also chairs the Ansor Youth Movement (GP Ansor) of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the country’s largest Muslim organization.