MUI Drafts Academic Paper for LGBT Campaign Criminalisation Bill
The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) is officially drafting an academic paper for a proposed Criminal Bill on LGBT activity. The move is intended to fill a gap in Indonesia’s positive law regarding criminal sanctions against both perpetrators and those campaigning for LGBT activities.
In an official statement posted on the central MUI’s Instagram account, the council said that drafting the academic paper is a strategic step so that Indonesia has a firmer legal basis for handling the issue.
“The MUI is officially drafting an academic paper for the proposed Criminal Bill on LGBT,” the council wrote in the post, quoted on Saturday (1/7/2026).
The MUI explained that there is currently no national criminal regulation that specifically provides legal certainty in the form of sanctions for perpetrators or those campaigning for LGBT activities. A new regulation is therefore considered necessary to address the existing legal vacuum.
The academic paper being drafted is intended to serve as a foundation for the bill to enter the National Legislation Programme (Prolegnas) of the House of Representatives (DPR RI).
According to the MUI, such a law is needed so that handling on the ground is no longer partial — for example, relying only on guidance from regional heads — but instead carries legally binding force nationwide.
In addition, the MUI proposes that legal sanctions against the movement and its campaigns be regulated firmly. According to the council, such regulation is expected to have a deterrent effect while serving as a legal bulwark in upholding the values of morality, public health and human nature recognised in Indonesia.
In the post, the MUI also affirmed that drafting the academic paper is part of a comprehensive effort to push for a national regulation.
“This comprehensive step is being prepared to encourage the regulation’s inclusion in the National Legislation Programme (Prolegnas) at the DPR RI, so that Indonesia has a strong legal umbrella and definite, nationally applicable sanctions for perpetrators and campaigners alike,” the MUI wrote in its statement.