Islamic body opts not to ban smoking in Indonesia

Indonesia is one of the largest tobaco's market in the world with about 85% of the population are Muslims. Recently, the public concern about an Islamic edict on lighting up has become a national issue, since it invites a deadlock end. On one hand smoking is detrimental to health which is according to the principle of fiqh must be haram. However, on the other one, the tobaco plantation and cigarette business absorbs hundreds of thousands of workers that by all means contributes to the progress of national economy. No wonder the discussion on a possible banning of smoking will seemingly come up in smoke. This situation is aptly reflected in an Indonesian proverb: "Bagai makan buah simalakama; dimakan ibu mati, tidak dimakan bapak mati" (it is like eating a simalakama fruit; if it's eaten the mother will die, if not the father will).












By Olivia Rondonuwu





PADANG PANJANG, Indonesia, Jan 25 (Reuters) - Indonesia's top Islamic body decided on Sunday not to ban smoking for Muslims in a country which is the world fifth-largest tobacco market and Southeast Asia's biggest economy.

It instead issued a fatwa placing more limited restrictions on tobacco use.

Officially secular Indonesia has the world's largest Muslim population and about 700 people, including Muslim clerics and theological experts, had gathered in West Sumatra for the National Edict Commission meeting, which could have issued fatwas on a range of areas from polygamy to doing yoga.

The debate over smoking revealed a split between those wanting to make it "haram", or not allowed, and others who favoured "makruh", an Arabic term whereby it would only be advised that smoking is bad and it is better to drop it.

In the end, after a heated debate at the meeting of the Ulema Council, known as MUI, the council said a decision could not be reached and only forbade smoking in public or smoking by council members of MUI, children and pregnant women.

Fauziah Fauzan, headmistress of the Diniyyah Putri Islamic girls' boarding school, where the meeting was held, said she regretted the decision.

"Makruh means something that God hates, so how come the ulemas still smoke? I am sure those men wouldn't have the heart to see their daughters and wife smoke, so why didn't they just make it forbidden?," she questioned.

The economic importance of the tobacco industry in Indonesia had played a role in the talks and ulemas, or religious councils, in central and east Java -- both areas where the industry is a big employer -- had argued against a ban.

"Haram has a relation to sin and so the mosques built by cigarette factories would also be haram, because they were funded by something haram," said Syafiq Nashan, the head of the ulema in the city of Kudus, a centre for the tobacco industry.

Some clerics also argued that there was no Islamic tenet that bans smoking.

At around $1 a pack, cigarettes in Indonesia are among the cheapest in the world. Some cities, including Jakarta, have banned smoking in public places, but the rules are widely flouted.



BIG INFLUENCE

The MUI has carved a key role for itself in Indonesia and its pronouncements on everything from Islamic banking to halal food can have a big influence. The fatwas are not legally binding but can influence government policy.

The meeting also discussed whether Muslims should avoid yoga because of a view it uses Hindu prayers that could erode Muslims' faith.

The council issued a fatwa, but stopped short of a ban and said Muslims could do yoga as long as it is was only for physical exercise and did not include chanting, mantras or meditation.

The meeting also decided that underage marriage was not forbidden, except if it was "disadvantageous", without elaborating.

Under Indonesian law, men can marry at 19 and women at 16, although under some Islamic laws there is no age limit, and marriage is allowed when the couple is ready for reproduction.

The council, established in 1975, also banned Muslims from abstaining from voting in elections, unless there were no eligible candidates who were deemed honest, faithful, devout, reliable and defended Islamic interests.

A ban on vasectomy remained in place and the council urged the government to implement sharia banking and pornography laws. (Editing by Ed Davies and Charles Dick) (olivia.rondonuwu@reuters.com; Reuters Messaging: olivia.rondonuwu.reuters.com@reuters.net; Tel: +6221 384 6364))