AIDS campaigners accept Moslems' stance on condoms
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)
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)