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MUI suggests special ID cards for native faith folowers
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A number of native faith followers who filed a judicial review against the 2013 Civil Administrative Law welcome a ruling that grants acknowledgment of their faiths at the court on Nov. 7. (Antara/Hafidz Mubarak)
F
ollowing its strong rejection of a Constitutional Court ruling that grants the acknowledgment of native faiths, the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) has issued a recommendation suggesting the government issue special ID cards for native faith followers.
“The MUI suggests the ID cards be made specially [for native faith followers] so as to not spark issues, while also following the court ruling,” MUI chairman Ma’ruf Amin said on Wednesday as reported by tempo.co.
Ma’ruf rejected the idea of native faiths to be stated in the religion column of ID cards. He also said the rights of native faith followers should be overseen by the Education and Culture Ministry instead of the Religious Affairs Ministry.
There are around 187 groups of indigenous faiths with 12 million followers across the archipelago, according to data from the Education and Culture Ministry.
Read also: NU, Muhammadiyah welcome wider rights for native-faith followers
Special ID cards for native faith followers would also make the budget more efficient, Ma’ruf claimed.
The Constitutional Court said in its landmark ruling on Nov. 7 that despite religion and faith being different, they were equal. The MUI has voiced its rejections over the ruling, saying that native faiths should not hold the same status as the officially recognized religions. (rin)
