The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) has issued countless fatwas (religious edict) with the intention of guiding Muslims in Indonesia on what they can or can’t consume (and, to a lesser extent, what constitutes blasphemy against Islam).
During a discussion event in Jakarta, MUI Chairman Ma’aruf Amin said that the ulemas in the council are usually in agreement with most of the fatwas they have issued, with one notable exception.
“There are rarely any conflicting opinions for most other things, except for smoking,” Ma’aruf said today, as quoted by Kompas.
“There were two opinions. One said that [smoking] is haram (forbidden), while the other said that it is makruh (frowned upon but not a sin).”
In fact, MUI did issue a fatwa against smoking back in 2009, but Indonesians have since shown no desire to butt out. Studies show that two-thirds of Indonesian men smoke cigarettes, while 35% of the whole population are smokers. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that smoking-related illnesses kill about 200,000 Indonesians every year.
Perhaps many Indonesians would quit smoking if certain hardline Islamic groups raid stores for cigarettes and publicly shamed smokers every chance they got. You know, just like how some members of the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) were so intent on enforcing MUI’s no Santa hats fatwa that they tried to raid a supermarket to see if everybody observed the fatwa.
But that’s probably highly unlikely, as we’re willing to bet that many Islamic hardliners also make up the two-thirds of adult Indonesian males who are active smokers.
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