Clerics take on corruption with fatwa on accountability

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Thu, 07/29/2010 9:01 AM 

Charismatic Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) cleric Sahal Mahfudh has been re-elected chairman of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), which wrapped up its national congress Wednesday with a number of new fatwas.

Some fatwas, including one concerning the need to apply the retroactive accountability principle in tackling corruption, have been lauded by the public as “progressive”, while others are said to be controversial.

Sahal, also chairman of NU’s lawmaking body, has held the position since 2000. Wednesday’s election will make him the longest serving leader of the MUI, which was jointly set up by representatives from the country’s major Islamic groups in 1975.

His predecessor, Ali Yafie, has chaired the council since 1990. 

“The election for the members of the next MUI’s executive board began Tuesday night and finished at 7 a.m. 

[Wednesday] morning,” Ichwan Syam, a member of a team tasked with forming the executive board, said as quoted by Antara.  

The four-day congress also re-elected Din Syamsuddin, who was recently mandated to lead Muhammadiyah for the second time, as Sahal’s deputy. NU and Muhammadiyah are the country’s two largest Islamic groups.

The council produced seven fatwas during the congress. A fatwa is a legal opinion produced by a single or group of Muslim scholars. It is not legally binding and could be ignored as long as one has strong arguments to refute it. 

One fatwa was made to push the law enforcers to apply the retroactive accountability principle. The council said Islam upheld presumption of innocence. In certain cases where an individual is alleged to have amounted wealth illegally, they are required to prove their innocence, the clerics said. A similar fatwa was issued by Muhammadiyah during its centennial congress in Yogyakarta early this month.

The MUI called for the revision of the country’s legislations to enable law enforcers to track down wealth from questionable origins of high ranking officials. Currently, when an official reports his wealth, the Corruption Eradication Commission, for example, cannot ask the person to explain the sources of accumulated wealth.

The council also urged housewives to ensure their husbands get their money through legal means.

“Women’s role is very strategic in many aspects of life, including in corruption eradication efforts,” the council’s propagation department head Amrulllah Ahmad said as quoted by detik.com. 

Hasril Hertanto, a legal expert from the University of Indonesia said, “[The MUI] must provide arguments from the Islamic perspective, strengthening its calls using religious principles.”

People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) deputy speaker Lukman Hakim Saifuddin also commended the council for supporting the nation’s anticorruption drive.

Responding to a recent controversy on if the government should censor gossip shows, the council declared watching them as forbidden according to Islam. The NU issued a similar fatwa in 2009 and Muslims apparently ignored it as so-called “infotainment” remains popular.

The clerics also issued fatwas banning sex changes and sperm banks. They also issued fatwas allowing pilots to break their fast while on duty as long as they pay compensation and the usage of breast milk banks.