AIDS campaigners accept Moslems' stance on condoms

JAKARTA (JP): Anti-AIDS campaigners are not overly concerned about Moslem leaders' rejection of the use of condoms as a means to check the spread of the disease, saying the ulemas could help in other ways.

Zubairi Djoerban of the Indonesian AIDS Society said he could understand the leaders' reluctance of promoting condoms to help in preventing the spread of AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) for fear that it would amount to condoning promiscuity.

"It's against their principles," Zubairi acknowledged. However, "their role in promoting family values is also helping the anti-AIDS campaign."

"But they should also be well-informed about the syndrome," Zubairi said. "Knowledge about the disease is vital for their activities in shaping public opinion about the disease. If Moslem leaders have misperceptions about AIDS, then their followers will also be misled."

Dede Utomo from the Gaya Nusantara Organization on AIDS also appreciated the role of Moslem leaders in the anti-AIDS campaign, but said that people should not expect too much from them.

Citing an example, he revealed that some Moslem leaders from the Nadhlatul Ulama Moslem organization in Surabaya accepted people with AIDS in their boarding schools, treated them equally as "normal" people and taught community members how to bathe and prepare the bodies of people who died of AIDS for burial.

Dede accepted the refusal of Moslem leaders to promote condoms as a way to prevent the spread of AIDS. "If they don't want to promote condoms, that's fine. But it doesn't mean that everybody should agree with them," Dede said.

People should be able to choose their own method of preventing AIDS, he said, including using condoms.

He criticized certain approaches in the Moslem leaders' campaign against the spread of the AIDS.

"Many Moslem leaders only say that in order to prevent AIDS, people have to be faithful to their spouses," Dede said. "It's good advice for people who are already religious. But for those who engage in high-risk (sexual) behavior, the call is not effective."

"People engaging in high-risk behavior need a special approach, or they will run away (from the Moslem leaders)," he said.

The government has ruled out promoting the use of condoms in its anti-AIDS campaign, despite strong evidence that condoms are effective in preventing the spread of the virus, which causes the syndrome. This stance is chiefly caused by the strong objections from Moslem leaders who fear the condom campaign will promote sexual permissiveness.

However, various Non-Governmental Organizations have taken the initiative to promote condoms as part of their anti-AIDS drive. Some took their campaigns to red-light districts, distributing condoms for free.

In August, the Ministry of Health reported that a total of 438 people across the country had tested positive for the Human Immunodeficiency Virus, the virus that causes AIDS. Some of them have full-blown AIDS. (31)