AIDS marriages to be discussed

AIDS marriages to be discussed

JAKARTA (JP): Leading ulemas will discuss next month whether
the marriage of people with Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
(AIDS) could be considered "defective" and can, therefore, be
nullified.

Members of the East Java chapter of the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU)
Moslem organization will gather in Situbondo regency on June 8
and June 9 to discuss 18 contemporary problems from a religious
point of view. They will debate, for instance, whether AIDs
patients "may marry" and whether a marriage conducted through the
Internet violates shariah.

"For instance, what if the bride, the groom, witnesses and the
wali or parents of the bride are located in far away places, but
they conduct the ceremony through Internet linkups?" said
secretary of the organization Fuad Anwar as quoted by Antara on
Monday.

The meeting, called bahsul matsail, will also discuss whether
wiping oneself with toilet paper can be considered "clean" so
that the person can be allowed to then pray. Islam teaches its
followers to wash themselves with clean water after they go to
the bathroom.

The ulemas will also discuss whether the religion sanctions
activities such as busking on buses or trains. "We'd like to see
whether the street singers should be considered workers or
beggars," Fuad said.

The routine meeting will also discuss how religion handles the
question of sorcery and murder attempts that supposedly involve
black magic.

"We'd like to know whether a person attempting murder through
sorcery can be legally pursued as committing a crime, how to
prove the crime, and how long their punishment should be," Fuad
said.

Finally, the ulemas will also discuss the contentious draft
law on juvenile court, currently being deliberated by the House
of Representatives. (swe)