Moslem leader calls for end to `True Lies' debate

JAKARTA (JP): A prominent Moslem leader called on ulemas and the national censorship board to sit together and resolve once and for all the controversy over a film allegedly insulting to Islam.

The uproar over the movie, True Lies, featuring American film star Arnold Schwarzenegger has created an impression of conflicts among the ulemas, an unwelcome picture for Indonesian Moslems, Lukman Harun said.

The former leader of the Muhammadiyah organization told The Jakarta Post yesterday that the continuing war of words over the film by members of the Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI) is only serving as free promotion for the film importer.

"The question is not only whether or not the movie insults Islam, but also how long this controversy among ulemas can go on before it alienates Moslems," he said.

Lukman himself has not watched the movie, but said he had become impatient with the prolonged debate over the action- comedy, which has become an overnight top box office success here.

Following wide reportage of the controversy, movie houses in Jakarta reported a sudden surge in the size of their audiences in the past two weeks.

"I call on MUI to take a stronger, uniform stance on the issue and stop the squabbling among themselves," he said.

Meanwhile, the Film Censorship Board's chairman, Soekanto, has strongly denied that his office has two different versions of the movie as some people allege.

"The film that is screened for the public is the same as the one we screened for the ulemas," he was quoted as saying by the Antara news agency yesterday.

The censorship board decided to invite a number of MUI leaders last week to see the film and pass judgment.

But one of the leaders, who said he had seen the film in a movie house, pointed out that the version shown to the ulemas was not the same as the one shown in movie houses and that some of the parts that were censored in the special showing were, in fact, being shown to the public.

Soekanto said yesterday that the board has its own set of procedures which are based on the Laws on Movies.

"We have to make formal reports when we want to pass even one film for public screening," he said, adding that the 45-person board reviews around 50 titles daily.

"We are in a no-win situation here," he complained. "If we cut too much of a movie, the public is enraged, if we don't, they are still angry." (swe)