Indonesia Ulema Council (MUI) chairman Ma'ruf Amin speaks during an interview with Fairfax Media on Tuesday. Credit:Tatan Syuflana Rizieq fanned anti-Chinese sentiment by tweeting that Indonesia was at risk of being taken over by the Chinese and becoming part of the Communist state. According to Tempo magazine, Rizieq said the movement on social media was a form of solidarity to defend Islam after Ahok allegedly insulted the religion. In an interview with Fairfax Media, Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) chairman Ma'ruf Amin said he had discussed the new fatwa on hoax news with the Minister of Communication and Education, Rudiantara. He said it would state that to lie and slander is haram (forbidden).

Rizieq Shihab (with microphone) speaks at a protest in January. He has now been named as a suspect by police. Credit:Dewi Nurcahyani "We asked what the government wanted and we provided [religious] guidance so that our approach will not be in opposition to government policy. We must support each other," Mr Ma'ruf said. The MUI has come under fire recently for issuing edicts that critics claim are inciting religiously-motivated raids and having a destabilising impact on society. Indonesian Muslims demonstrate outside the court where Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, also known as Ahok, is facing blasphemy charges. Credit:Getty Images The clerical body issued a "religious standpoint" on October 11 that Ahok had insulted the Koran and religious clerics when he told voters they had been deceived by his opponents who used a Koranic verse to attack him.

This led to the formation of the "National Movement to Defend [the] MUI Fatwa", a body responsible for organising three massive anti-Ahok rallies, one of which spiralled into violence. Ahok is seen during his trial at the North Jakarta District Court on blasphemy charges. Credit:AP Ahok was named as a suspect after the second rally and is now on trial for alleged blasphemy, which carries a maximum sentence of five years' jail. The Islam Defenders Front (FPI) also visited shopping malls in Surabaya after the MUI issued a fatwa before Christmas banning Muslims from wearing religious apparel such as Santa hats and selling non-Islamic religious items. Ma'ruf Amin: Problem is not with fatwas but with those who use violence and raids to enforce them. Credit:Tatan Syuflana

"MUI fatwas have often been used as justification by people who are against pluralism and sometimes against democracy," the deputy chairman of the Setara Institute for Democracy and Peace, Bonar Tigor Naipospos, told Fairfax Media. He said a 2005 fatwa which held that the Ahmadiya community were heretical and should be banned in Indonesia had been used to persecute the sect's followers. Protesters clash with police at the end of an anti-Ahok rally in Jakarta in November. Credit:Roni Bintang Police chief Tito Karnavian warned this month that fatwas were threatening security and unity in Indonesia and there needed to be improved communication between the MUI and police. Mr Ma'ruf, who gave evidence in Ahok's blasphemy trial on Tuesday, told Fairfax Media the police had asked for religious guidance from the MUI over Ahok's statement.

Police look on at a Surabaya shopping centre as centre staff sign a document promising not to dress employees in Christmas apparel. Credit:Robertus Pudyanto "Whenever there is a movement that created unrest among the people, we were asked to issue a fatwa," he said. "We only said [Ahok] insulted, his words insulted. The situation was already tense. The [religious ruling] was actually issued so that people would not take the law into their own hands." Mr Ma'ruf said the problem lay not with the fatwas, but with organisations who sought to enforce them by conducting raids. A Santa on a sleigh is seen near a protest against Christmas apparel by members of the hardline Islam Defenders Front in Surabaya. Credit:Robertus Pudyanto "If people want to help enforce them, fine, but what we oppose is if they do sweeping or beat up people, becoming violent."

He said it was important that police did not participate in meetings to decide on fatwas because they were about religious issues. However in order to prevent chaotic situations in public when the fatwas were issued, the MUI would communicate with police so they could anticipate their release. Mr Ma'ruf said the MUI would coordinate with police ahead of the release of the hoax news fatwa within the next two weeks. He also said the MUI was preparing a declaration underlining its commitment to Indonesia and pluralism. "This is to make it clear that the mass organisations who join in MUI are not anti-Pancasila, are not anti-pluralism, are not [against] the 1945 Constitution." Mr Ma'ruf said that although many Islamic groups were represented within the MUI there was almost never a dissenting opinion when it came to issuing fatwas.

The one exception was the controversial fatwa against smoking in 2009: "We argued for two days and could not come to a solid conclusion." Mr Ma'ruf said the vote was split, with those who opposed the fatwa arguing there were many people who made money from the tobacco business. Follow Jewel Topsfield on Facebook











