MUI Fatwa Recommends DPR and Government Not Legalise LGBT Community

The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) Fatwa Number 57 of 2014 on Lesbian, Gay, Sodomy, and Obscenity not only contains legal provisions but also a number of recommendations to the government and the House of Representatives (DPR). The MUI has requested that the state draft regulations that do not legalise homosexual communities or other forms of sexual orientation deemed deviant (LGBT).

The fatwa recommends that the DPR and the government immediately formulate legislation stipulating that the existence of homosexual communities, both lesbian and gay, as well as other communities with deviant sexual orientations, is not to be legalised.

This MUI fatwa recommends severe punishment for perpetrators of sodomy, lesbianism, gay activities, and other deviant sexual acts, which can serve as zawajir and mawani (deterrents to make perpetrators repent and to instil fear in those who have not yet committed such acts).

The MUI also recommends that deviant sexual activities be categorised as a general offence and a crime that tarnishes the noble dignity of human beings. It further recommends preventing the spread of deviant sexual activities within society through socialisation and rehabilitation.

The MUI asserts in its fatwa that the government is obliged to prevent the spread of sexual orientation deviations in society by providing rehabilitation services for perpetrators, accompanied by strict and firm law enforcement.