Legal Provisions in MUI Fatwa on Lesbian, Gay, Sodomy and Sexual Abuse

The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) Fatwa Number 57 of 2014 concerning Lesbian, Gay, Sodomy, and Sexual Abuse explains the Islamic legal perspective on various forms of sexual activity outside of a valid marriage. In the fatwa, the MUI asserts that sexual relations are only permitted between a man and a woman bound in a marriage according to sharia. The legal provisions of the MUI Fatwa Number 57 of 2014 emphasise that sexual relations are only allowed for a husband and wife, specifically a male and female couple based on a legally valid marriage under sharia. Sexual orientation towards the same sex is described as an abnormality that must be cured and a deviation that must be corrected. Homosexuality, both lesbian and gay, is deemed haram and constitutes a criminal act (jarimah). Perpetrators of homosexual acts, including bisexuals, are subject to hadd or ta’zir punishment by the relevant authorities. Sodomy is considered haram and a heinous act that incurs a major sin (fahisyah). Perpetrators of sodomy are subject to ta’zir punishment, with the maximum penalty being the death sentence. Homosexual activities other than sodomy (liwath) are also haram, and the perpetrators are subject to ta’zir punishment. Acts of sexual abuse, defined as the gratification of sexual urges such as groping, fondling, and other activities without a valid marriage bond, committed by a person against either the opposite sex or the same sex, against adults or children, are all deemed haram.