Moslem leaders against condoms in AIDS campaign

JAKARTA (JP): Moslem leaders remain steadfast in their rejection of the promotion of condoms in the anti-AIDS campaign because endorsing the latex would amount to condoning promiscuity.

They said on Saturday that they would endorse the use of condoms only as a contraceptive to be used by husbands and wives.

The latest attempt to ensure the support of Moslem religious leaders for the condom campaign to help prevent the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) was made during a one-day discussion organized by the Pelita Ilmu Foundation, a non- governmental organization.

Samsuridjal Djauzi, the foundation's medical adviser, said that the seminar held on Saturday aimed at providing basic information on AIDS and its prevention with the hope that the religious leaders could share it with their followers.

"They agreed that married couples should use condoms if one spouse has contracted the HIV, but they are still against the use of condoms by unmarried couples," Samsuridjal told The Jakarta Post after the discussion.

The religious figures fear that advocating the use of condoms to prevent the spread of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), which causes AIDS, will promote adultery and prostitution, he said.

"We realize that it is not possible to change their perception in one meeting, but I believe the seminar is one step toward a better understanding," Samsuridjal said.

Some of the religious leaders requested another discussion and have expressed willingness to participate in some of the foundation's activities, he said.

In addition, the religious figures are also keen to follow every development in the efforts to combat AIDS.

"They promised to share information on HIV and to tell the people how it is transmitted to others," Samsuridjal said.

The government has ruled out promoting the use of condoms in its anti-AIDS campaign, despite strong evidence that condoms are effective in preventing the spread of the virus which causes the syndrome. This stance is chiefly caused by the strong objections from Moslem leaders who fear the condom campaign will promote sexual permissiveness.

In July, the Ministry of Health reported that 420 people across the country had tested HIV positive. Some of them have full-blown AIDS.

Present at the meeting organized by the foundation with the support of the Ford Foundation were 30 religious figures from various Moslem organizations, mosques and Islamic boarding schools.

Addressing of the meeting were Toha Muhaimin, a lecturer at the University of Indonesia School of Community Health, and Noorwati of the Pelita Ilmu Foundation.

Samsuridjal said the religious leaders were chosen as a target of the foundation's anti-AIDS campaign because they are influential figures in this predominantly Moslem country.

He expressed concern at certain attitudes prevalent in some Moslem circles. "Some of the religious leaders said that people with HIV do not deserve protection because the disease is a divine punishment," Samsuridjal said.

During the discussion which he led, Samsuridjal explained that it is not only homosexuals or sex workers who contract the virus, but also innocent babies or wives, who get the virus from their fathers or husbands. "I know 14 married couples with HIV," Samsuridjal said.

"It's not fair to say that all people with HIV are those with low moral values," Samsuridjal said. (31)