Moslem ulemas come up with suggestions to curb AIDS
Moslem ulemas come up with suggestions to curb AIDS
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesian Moslem scholars and leaders attending
a five-day special discussion on AIDS in Bandung have come up
with various suggestions on ways to curb the deadly disease.
The 100-odd ulemas called yesterday for concerted efforts by
government, ulemas and the public alike to fight the disease and
raise awareness about AIDS and the Human Immunodeficiency Virus
(HIV) that causes it.
The ulemas meeting, which will conclude today, also agreed
that the most effective way to fight AIDS is by "encouraging
people to go back to religious behavior".
"Religious teaching is the strongest fortress against the
onslaught of AIDS," the deputy chairman of the influential
Indonesian Council of Ulemas (MUI), Ali Yafie, told the meeting.
From outside the meeting arena, suggestions also poured in.
Chairman of East Java branch of MUI Misbach called on the
authorities to screen incoming foreign tourists and issue special
"AIDS-free" certificates.
"The screening procedures could be conducted by either foreign
or domestic authorities. This is a necessary step, because AIDS
first entered Indonesia through tourism areas," he said in
Surabaya yesterday.
Misbach, as quoted by the Antara news agency, acknowledged
that the government is faced with a difficult situation. "There's
the question of tourism as a national source of income, while
there's also the question of the public being harmed by AIDS," he
said.
"It's a tough decision to make, but if we want to protect the
nation from AIDS and HIV, then this tight screening procedure has
to be conducted," he said.
From Medan, North Sumatra, a professor at the local State
Institute for Islamic Studies (IAIN), Ridwan Lubis, called for a
drive to instill in young people a sense of the sanctity of
sexual relationships.
"A sexual relationship should always be seen as a sacred
thing, something to do only within marriage," he said. "The drive
will help those who see sex as something to experiment with, to
realize their mistakes," he said.
In Jakarta, legislator and leading anti-AIDS campaigner
Nafsiah Mboi disclosed the results of a recent poll conducted at
two universities here which reveal the low level of AIDS
awareness among academics and students.
"Many students are ignorant about AIDS," she said.
Students, for instance, instantly brand female HIV or AIDS
patients as prostitutes, even though they may have contracted the
disease by non-sexual transmission, Mboi said.
On Tuesday, Minister of Health Sujudi admitted in the ulemas'
meeting that large-scale campaigns for use of condoms to protect
against AIDS are not always effective.
"It is true that campaigns for use of condoms have reduced the
prevalence of venereal diseases, including HIV infection, among
high-risk groups," he said. However, "infection among low-risk
groups, has also increased".
Sujudi explained the trend could result from the fact that the
high-risk groups, such as patrons of brothels, have spread the
disease to the low-risk groups.
Official records currently put the number of HIV/AIDS cases at
355, with 269 people known to have tested positive on HIV and 86
people suffer from full-blown AIDS. Jakarta, with 118 cases,
ranks first, followed by Irian Jaya with 96 cases. (swe)