MUI Responds After Coordinating Minister Yusril Visits Regarding Palestinian Abdul Karim

Coordinating Minister for Legal Affairs, Immigration and Corrections Yusril Ihza Mahendra met several Islamic mass organisations (ormas) at the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) headquarters on Wednesday evening (22/7) to clarify the case of Abdul Karim Raeq Miqdad.

Abdul Karim is a foreign national holding a Palestinian passport who was arrested by the Indonesian National Police on the basis of an Interpol red notice and has been deported to Cyprus.

Following the deportation, according to Yusril, various narratives emerged in public and on social media, including claims that Cyprus would hand Abdul Karim Miqdad over to Israel.

After the meeting, MUI Chairman KH Anwar Iskandar expressed appreciation to the government, through Yusril, for opening a dialogue with MUI leaders and other Islamic organisations.

“On behalf of the MUI leadership, I express my sincere thanks to Prof Yusril. We know how extraordinarily busy he is, yet he still made time to come to the MUI in person. Jazakumullah khairan, may this count as a righteous deed,” said Kiai Anwar after the meeting, quoted by Antara.

In his view, the audience was an important moment for tabayyun, or verification, so that the ulema and organisation leaders could gain a complete understanding of the deportation case without diminishing Indonesia’s constitutional commitment, which has consistently supported Palestinian independence from the outset.

The audience was also attended by Sudarnoto Abdul Hakim, Head of MUI’s Foreign Relations Division, Wahiduddin Adams, Head of its Law Division, and Zaitun Rasmin, Head of its Ukhuwah Division.

Quoting the MUI’s official website, Sudarnoto said his side welcomed the official explanation given by Yusril concerning Abdul Karim Miqdad.

He said the explanation was crucial to quelling the controversy that had been circulating over recent days due to a lack of official information from the government. He considered the direct clarification from Minister Yusril provided legal certainty and reassurance, particularly for Palestinian nationals currently in Indonesia.

“I think Prof Yusril’s explanation was very clear. Our Palestinian friends who are here, God willing, have received a very clear explanation and need not worry, because this is a personal case,” said Sudarnoto after the gathering.

Yusril’s explanation

At the meeting, Yusril affirmed that Indonesia’s commitment to the Palestinian people’s struggle remains consistent and unchanged.

“The handling of this case [the arrest and deportation of Abdul Karim] does not alter Indonesia’s commitment to Palestine,” Yusril said of the audience, on Thursday (23/7), quoted by Antara.

He said Indonesia’s commitment to the Palestinian struggle has never changed since 1948.

Therefore, Yusril said, the case of Abdul Karim is an individual criminal matter within the jurisdiction of another state and must not be linked to Indonesia’s political stance towards Palestine.

Yusril revealed that the deportation was carried out under the Interpol red notice mechanism because Indonesia does not have an extradition treaty with the Republic of Cyprus.

“The Government of Cyprus has sufficient preliminary evidence and has designated the individual concerned as a suspect over alleged criminal offences committed within Cypriot jurisdiction,” he said.

He said communication between the Cypriot police and the Indonesian National Police had been under way since 21 May 2026, well before Interpol issued the red notice on 16 July 2026.

After the notice was received by NCB-Interpol Indonesia, Yusril added, the deportation was carried out on 17 July 2026. He said the Cypriot government sent a special aircraft accompanied by a police escort to collect Abdul Karim in Jakarta.

He explained that Interpol has strict mechanisms before issuing a red notice, with one of the main requirements being that the case must not relate to religion, politics, human rights or military affairs.

“After going through the examination process, this case was declared a purely criminal matter, which became the basis for Indonesia to follow up on the request in accordance with applicable mechanisms,” said Yusril.

In response to various narratives circulating in the public sphere, he also corrected claims that Abdul Karim was a Palestinian cleric or a humanitarian activist in the Gaza Strip. Based on coordination between the Indonesian government and the Palestinian Embassy in Jakarta, that information was confirmed to be untrue.

He also dismissed rumours that Abdul Karim would be handed over to Israel after arriving in Cyprus.

On Wednesday afternoon at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta, Yusril said he had requested a direct explanation from the Cypriot Ambassador to Indonesia.

“To remove any doubt, I summoned the Cypriot Ambassador and asked for a commitment from the Cypriot government not to do such a thing, and he has conveyed the commitment that the Cypriot government has no intention of handing the individual over to Israel,” Yusril told reporters at the palace, as quoted by detik.com.

Earlier, rumours circulated on social media that Abdul Karim, who was arrested, was a Palestinian activist. That narrative cited or echoed a report by the Al Jazeera Arabic-language network titled ‘Indonesia deports Palestinian activist, raising fears of extradition to Israel’.

“Indonesian authorities arrested Palestinian activist Abdul Karim Raed Miqdad, in an action based — according to an arrest warrant also seen by Al Jazeera Net — on a request from the international investigations and police unit (Interpol),” read the report on the Aljazeera.net website on Saturday (18/7), updated on Sunday (19/7), accessed by CNNIndonesia.com on Wednesday evening (20/7).

The Middle East-based media outlet said the arrest had also drawn scrutiny from a Geneva-based human rights and liberties organisation, the Geneva Council for Rights and Liberties (GCRL).

Quoting a press release on the GCRL website, the organisation said it was closely monitoring the case of Abdul Karim, who was arrested in Indonesia on Thursday (16/7) and deported to Cyprus the following morning. It expressed concern that the process could ultimately see Abdul Karim taken to Israel.

As of the time of writing, CNNIndonesia.com had not been able to verify claims about Abdul Karim’s alleged activism as a Palestinian activist.