Wahid rejected the fatwa, urging the MUI to reconsider it thoroughly.

JAKARTA, August 6, 2005 (IslamOnline.net) – The controversial multi-fatwa issued recently by the Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI) has drawn a mix of reactions, ranging from sharp criticism to staunch support.

Former president Abdurrahman Wahid has rejected the fatwa, urging the MUI to reconsider it thoroughly.

"Just let people find out by themselves. It can be a parameter whether the people believe in the fatwa or not," he said.

The 11-point fatwa was issued by the MUI during its seventh congress late last July. The fatwa basically states that "religious teachings influenced by pluralism, liberalism and secularism are against Islam."

Mixed marriages between people of different faiths are haram, states the fatwa.

It further said that Al-Ahmadiyah is a heretical sect, and its followers are murtad (apostate).

The fatwa further says engaging, believing in and practicing shamanism and fortunetelling are forbidden. The publication and dissemination of these practices – such as through television shows – are also considered haram.

Any violation of intellectual property rights is also haram, according to the fatwa.

Professor Dawam Rahardjo, from the country’s second biggest Islamic organization Muhammadiyah, said the MUI is no position to ban Muslims from thinking.

"So, the fatwa is baseless showing MUI doesn’t understand about the different sets of beliefs," he said.

He further charged that the MUI failed to come up with ideas and approaches for Muslims to cope with today’s life.

Scholar Ahmad Syafii Maarif, former chairman of Muhammadiyah, said some points in the fatwa are good like those pertaining to property rights.

“Others, however, do not seem to have been carefully considered for their social and political impacts on the community, for example, the fatwas on Ahmadiyah and on liberal Islam, secularism, and pluralism,” he told The Jakarta Post.

Emilia Renita, a Shiite activist, agreed that MUI did not have authority to influence people's opinions, adding it can indeed issue fatwas, but they are not binding.

"MUI cannot take over the rights of Allah," Emilia told IslamOnline.net.

Professor Azyumardi Azra, from the Islamic University, further said Islam is not the one and only religion in the country, and that Muslims have to be able to live side-by-side with people of different faiths.

"I fear that hardliners will bulldoze the Ahmadiyah boarding school and drive away its supporters based on the MUI's fatwa that Ahmadiyah is a heretical sect," Azyumardi said.

“MUI will be fully respected and its edicts will be complied with if the edicts are based on fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) – not on political interests,” he added.

In July, a crowd attacked the compound of the Ahmadiyah congregation in Bogor, West Java, arguing that they were acting in accordance with the fatwa.

Organizations such as Majelis Mujahidin Indonesia (MMI), Islam Defender Front (FPI) and Hizb ut-Tahrir broadly welcomed the fatwa.

"Allah shows us that they are Muslim liberal group who collaborated with Satan," Fauzan Al-Anshori, MMI spokesman told IOL.

He claimed Islamic liberal groups have been controlling Indonesian media to circulate their ideologies and are working on undermining the fatwa.

Amrozi Muhammad Rais, secretary general of the Indonesian Committee for Palestinian Solidarity (KIS), said Indonesians should respect the fatwa, saying it was issued by “experts” who know better than lay people.

"We have to respect them anyway," Amrozi told IOL.