65% of Indonesian Muslims Support Boycott of Pro-Israeli Goods

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A pollster Populix released its latest survey results on the public sentiment towards the edict or fatwa of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) No. 83 regarding support for Palestine amid the relentless Israeli bombardment. The study found that the fatwa attained a high level of awareness in Indonesian society, reaching 94 percent.

“Among both Muslim and non-Muslim communities,” the pollster’s chief of social research, Vivi Zabkie, said in a written statement on Wednesday, February 21.

According to her, the fatwa has led to strong calls for a boycott of products affiliated with Israel. “This could happen because this is a humanitarian issue that does not recognize religious barriers,” Vivi said.

Companies and brands associated with Israel have indeed been affected by the boycott movement.

The survey, which involved 1,058 respondents, was primarily composed of upper-middle-class millennials and Gen Z. About 80 percent of the respondents resided in Java, while Sumatra and other islands accounted for 11 percent and 9 percent, respectively. Of the respondents, 87 percent were Muslim, with the remainder belonging to four other religions.

The study found that 65 percent of Muslim respondents complied with the MUI fatwa to show solidarity with Palestine and address humanitarian issues in the region, as well as to protest against Israeli military aggression and to support boycotts as an economic and political tool.

However, the fatwa was not fully accepted by all Indonesians, as at least 26 percent of the respondents remained undecided, expressing uncertainty about the practical implications of the boycott and feeling insufficiently informed to make a decision.

Meanwhile, the remaining nine percent opposed the MUI fatwa because they lacked confidence in the effectiveness of boycotts to overcome social and political problems, and expressed a desire to have autonomy in product selection.

Vivi assessed that the dynamic reflected society's views on the Palestine-Israel issue and showed that different views need to be further understood.

ANWAR SISWADI (CONTRIBUTOR)

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