ASEAN ulemas issue declaration on AIDS<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): A declaration by 28 Islamic religious leaders
\nand experts from six Southeast Asian countries was issued Tuesday
\nduring a workshop here, and contained 15 guidelines on HIV\/AIDS
\nand people living with HIV\/AIDS.<\/p>\n
Named the Jakarta Declaration, it stated, among others, that
\n\"a married couple must use protective devices (condoms)\" or other
\nmethods to prevent HIV transmission whenever one of them is
\nalready HIV positive.\"<\/p>\n
It also declared \"the obligation as Islam leaders to support
\nboth the national and regional HIV\/AIDS programs as long as the
\nprograms' activities are not against Islamic teachings and
\nprincipals.\" The ulema acknowledged that information and
\neducational activities from national AIDS programs had not yet
\nreached the regions' majority Moslem population.<\/p>\n
They also declared that \"it is prohibited to perform
\neuthanasia, either passive or active, on AIDS patients.\"<\/p>\n
The ulema from Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia,
\nPhilippines and Brunei Darussalam also stated that while marriage
\nbetween people living with HIV was permitted, \"marriage between a
\nHIV negative individual and a HIV positive individual is makruh
\n-- not prohibited, but avoiding it is preferable and rewarding in
\nIslam.\"<\/p>\n
It also stated that if a pregnant woman is already infected
\nwith HIV or has AIDS, she is not allowed to have an abortion.<\/p>\n
Another guideline was that pregnant women who are HIV positive
\nor have AIDS because of extramarital sex, and those who were
\ninfected through the injection of illegal drugs by contaminated
\nneedles were to be well taken care of, but had to be made fully
\naware of their sins and be guided to ask forgiveness from Allah.<\/p>\n
At the opening of the first workshop of Southeast Asian ulema
\non the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and the Acquired Immune
\nDeficiency Syndrome (AIDS), President B.J. Habibie urged ulema to
\nhelp explain the dangers of the virus and how to avoid infection.<\/p>\n
\"We realize the ailment has become a serious threat to
\nsocieties in Southeast Asia,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The Human Development Report of the United Nations Development
\nProgram released in September revealed that Southeast Asia and
\nAsia have five million HIV positive people, \"with an average of
\nalmost 3,000 new infections per day in Southeast Asia\".<\/p>\n
Minister of Religious Affairs Malik Fajar told the workshop
\nwhich ends Thursday, that the ministry's policy is to prevent the
\nvirus by strengthening religious values, given that \"the spread
\nof HIV is not so easy\" if one adhered to such values. He cited
\nsexual behavior as a related cause to 85 percent of new cases of
\nHIV. The national AIDS prevention program also advocates safe sex
\napart from instilling religious values.<\/p>\n
As of Oct. 31 of this year, Indonesia had 776 recorded cases
\nof HIV\/AIDS, and is predicting at least 2 million cases by the
\nyear 2000, the minister said. (anr\/prb)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/asean-ulemas-issue-declaration-on-aids-1447893297",
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