terserahlah
December in fear, December in happiness
Khairil Azhar, Jakarta | Opinion | Tue, December 24 2013, 10:46 AM
Looking at the news, the threat of religious conflict in pluralistic Indonesia seems likely to continue. It seems every December in recent memory there has been religious strife that disturbs our year-end.
Last year, Muslims were told by Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) leaders to not say “Merry Christmas” to their Christian friends or neighbors. Instead of coming up with fresh arguments based on the Koran or hadith (accounts of the Prophet), the clerics mistakenly invoked worn out arguments.
This December, the MUI said both medicines and vaccines must obtain halal certification. Deputy chairman of the council Ma’ruf Amin said that Muslims had to regard pharmaceutical products as they did food and drink (The Jakarta Post, Dec. 12).
This December, in the mosques or other places of worship, hate speech has already begun. At schools where Muslim students are studying religion, we will see and hear the teachers urging them to consciously differentiate themselves from their fellows who embrace different religions, to be extremely careful of anything that will make them defy their aqida or theology as Muslims.
Substantially, in the case of the MUI prohibiting the consumption of haram pharmaceutical products, there might not be any problems, because it’s natural for the body to advocate religiously accepted edicts for Muslims. But with its political stand, as we can see in the effects of the edicts and statements it has made in recent years, it will be always a dangerous knife with two sharp sides.
Despite being a non-governmental organization, its closeness with the state (and power) has given it unexpected dominance that often undermines the public good.
It has so far been an effective channel for the dissemination of Islamic radicalism with all of its destructive consequences.
Superficially, therefore, the advocacy of halal
Khairil Azhar, Jakarta | Opinion | Tue, December 24 2013, 10:46 AM
Looking at the news, the threat of religious conflict in pluralistic Indonesia seems likely to continue. It seems every December in recent memory there has been religious strife that disturbs our year-end.
Last year, Muslims were told by Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) leaders to not say “Merry Christmas” to their Christian friends or neighbors. Instead of coming up with fresh arguments based on the Koran or hadith (accounts of the Prophet), the clerics mistakenly invoked worn out arguments.
This December, the MUI said both medicines and vaccines must obtain halal certification. Deputy chairman of the council Ma’ruf Amin said that Muslims had to regard pharmaceutical products as they did food and drink (The Jakarta Post, Dec. 12).
This December, in the mosques or other places of worship, hate speech has already begun. At schools where Muslim students are studying religion, we will see and hear the teachers urging them to consciously differentiate themselves from their fellows who embrace different religions, to be extremely careful of anything that will make them defy their aqida or theology as Muslims.
Substantially, in the case of the MUI prohibiting the consumption of haram pharmaceutical products, there might not be any problems, because it’s natural for the body to advocate religiously accepted edicts for Muslims. But with its political stand, as we can see in the effects of the edicts and statements it has made in recent years, it will be always a dangerous knife with two sharp sides.
Despite being a non-governmental organization, its closeness with the state (and power) has given it unexpected dominance that often undermines the public good.
It has so far been an effective channel for the dissemination of Islamic radicalism with all of its destructive consequences.
Superficially, therefore, the advocacy of halal