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.
Indonesia's anti-vaxxers: Between religion and lack of information
Anti vaccine communities are growing on and offline, spreading their beliefs to an increasing number of Indonesians.
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
Indonesia's anti-vaccine movement is the result of a combination of religious beliefs and lack of trust in the government. (JP/Muhammad Iqbal Kusumadirezza)
M
uhammad Irfan Sembiring no longer boasts long dark hair, a ripped black T-shirt and jeans. Instead, he is occasionally seen donning a robe and skullcap or turban when performing as a vocalist/guitarist with the Jakarta-based thrash-metal legend Rotor, which formed in 1991 and is still going strong, though less active than it used to be.
He is also one of a growing number of Indonesians who reject vaccination for religious and political reasons.
Irfan, born in 1970, was like many Indonesians whose relationship with religion was only on paper but rarely practiced it. It wasn’t until 1997 that he delved deeper into Islam, the religion he was born into, after reading a biography of the Prophet Muhammad at a bookstore in Jakarta. This happened shortly after he and the rest of Rotor returned from San Francisco, where they had traveled in a bid to conquer the US metal music industry.
Ever since then, while remaining a force in the heavy metal scene as a musician, Irfan’s image has gradually shifted to that of a prominent Islamic preacher. He often preaches about keeping healthy through Islam, obtained primarily through wudu (ablutions), a form of self-purification ritual using water.
