The Jakarta Post
JAKARTA: Muhammadiyah is trying to live up to its commitment to making
cigarette smoking haram, starting with its upcoming congress in July. Muhammadiyah, Indonesia’s second-largest Islamic organization after
Nahdlatul Ulama, will deploy sharia police to enforce the ban on
smoking at the national gathering in Yogyakarta, whose main agenda is
to elect new leaders. “It’s right, we’re readying the Aceh-style sharia police that we
call the cigarette police,” deputy chairman Sudibyo Markus told detik.com. “The upcoming congress must be free of cigarette smoke and
sponsorship.” Participants caught puffing will be “politely
reprimanded”, he said.The congress will be attended by an estimated 5,000 Muhammadiyah leaders from across the country. — JP...