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'Meth not prohibited in Islam': Preacher arrested for selling drugs
“The suspect believes that consuming meth will help increase [his students'] motivation to read the Quran,” the police said.
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The police said that AM would be charged under Article 114 of the Criminal Code that carries a maximum sentence of 20 years' imprisonment upon conviction. (Shutterstock/BortN66)
A
n Islamic preacher in Kwanyar, Bangkalan regency in East Java, who was arrested last week for allegedly selling methamphetamine to his students, apparently tried to justify his actions by claiming that crystal meth was not prohibited in Islam.
The preacher was identified only as AM, a 46-year-old Islamic studies teacher at an Islamic boarding school in Surabaya, East Java. The Bangkalan Police had searched for him for the past two months after they reportedly caught two people they accuse of consuming meth in his house.
Bangkalan Police chief Sr. Comm. Rama Samtama Putra said that his team temporarily lost track of AM after they traced his movements from Mojokerto, East Java to Bekasi, West Java.
Upon being arrested, police claim AM tried to justify his actions by saying that meth consumption was not prohibited by the Quran.
“The suspect believes that consuming meth will help increase [his students'] motivation to read the Quran,” he said.
During a press conference in the Bangkalan Police station, AM told Rama that the police had an incorrect perception about meth since he claimed meth was not haram.
"The country might prohibit it, but I think it’s only a wrong perception. Islam didn’t say anything about it,” AM said as quoted by tribunnews.com. He allegedly also confessed that he had consumed it for 10 years.
AM reportedly told similar things to his students, leading to some of them purchasing meth from him and consuming it at his house.
The police said that AM would be charged under Article 114 of the Criminal Code that carried a maximum sentence of 20 years' imprisonment upon conviction.
“He [allegedly] obtained the meth from a dealer who operates in Sokobanah district, Sampang,” Rama added. (dpk)
