Immoral activities?

Immoral activities?

"Councillors of Muslim-based parties (PPP, PAN and PK)
demanded the Jakarta administration close nightspots during
Ramadhan. In their opinion, if the nightspots remain open it will
only disturb Muslims' solemnity in performing their Ramadhan
prayers. PAN councillors want to close nightspots for good
because all of those activities are immoral." (The Jakarta Post,
Nov. 8, 2000)

Activities in nightspots usually take place in closed rooms
without any sound emanating to disturb the residents in the
surrounding areas, especially those nightspots located in
nonresidential areas. It is not right therefore to say that
nightspots will disturb the solemnity of Ramadhan prayers.

The activities in a discotheque, for example, will be
entertainment in the form of music, dancing, dining and drinking
in the accompaniment of escort girls and/or disc jockeys. Nothing
more. Are these activities immoral?

What moral standard do councillors of PAN use to say that the
activities of nightspots are immoral? Do they think that Islamic
figures the caliber of the late Subchan ZE, who did a lot in the
extermination of the Indonesian Communist Party, are immoral? The
moral standard that PAN applies is the Fiqh law, which, according
to Dr. Nurcholish Madjid, is now fossilized and worth using as
decoration only. (Post, Aug. 21, 2000).

It is true that at nightspots there are some people using
ecstasy or picking up prostitutes for the night. These actions,
however, are simply excesses. Even in Islamic schools with
dormitories, I have seen with my own eyes such excesses as sodomy
and adultery.

If they fully believe that Islam is rahmatan lil'alamin (a
blessing for the universe), they should honor the freedom of
people professing another religion, those having different
beliefs and even infidels. Man is destined to be varied and does
not need uniformity. What a boring place this world would be if
all creatures were uniform.

M. IKHSAN

Jakarta