TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Vice President Jusuf Kalla has stressed that the fatwa issued by the Indonesian Ulema Council is not a part of Indonesian positive law, meaning that mass organizations cannot use force to uphold it.
“The (MUI) ruling is the religious one, always for [Muslims] themselves so that its implementation is a matter of sin and hell, not by sweeping,” JK said today at the Vice Presidential Palace in Central Jakarta, as quoted by Antara.
The Vice President’s statement is made in response to mass organization Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) raids to uphold the MUI edict on the ban on using Christmas attributes.
“They can’t, mass organizations cannot do it [enforce the law], it is the police's duty,” he said.
The Vice President added that mass organizations must understand that the MUI edict is not binding, even for Muslims, because it is a matter of relationships between humans and God.
“If one violates it, one will only violate the religious law, there will be verdict: sin and hell,” he said.
Therefore, the Vice President has urged law enforcement agency, i.e. the National Police, to clamp down on mass organizations conducting raids.
Earlier on Monday, December 19, Police chief General Tito Karnavian stated that police have banned raids on shopping malls and offices by community members over the MUI edict.
Tito’s statement was made following public outrage, particularly on social media, over mass (FPI) raids on shopping malls in Surabaya, East Java, on Sunday, December 12.
ANTARA