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)