NU rejects sharia for Criminal Code
NU rejects sharia for Criminal Code
A. Junaidi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The country's largest Muslim organization the Nahdlatul Ulama
(NU) rejected on Friday the inclusion of sharia in the planned
amendment to the Criminal Code (KUHP), saying it would create
disputes between people of different religions or even among
Muslim groups.
"The inclusion of sharia would create conflict between
religions and even among Muslims here," NU chairman Hasyim Muzadi
told The Jakarta Post on Friday.
Instead, Hasyim suggested that universal principles such as
justice and equality, which could be accepted by all religions
and groups, be incorporated in the draft KUHP.
He agreed that the prevailing KUHP, which was based on a
similar code in the Netherlands and applied here by Dutch
colonialists, should be reviewed as it was out of date and some
of its articles were no longer relevant.
NU, which has around 40 million members around the country,
has frequently opposed attempts by minority but vocal Islamic
groups to include sharia in the Constitution and laws.
Among Muslim groups there is no single interpretation of
sharia as it is based on teachings from many noted ulemas who had
various interpretations of the two main sources of Islamic law --
the Koran and Hadith (the deeds of prophet Muhammad).
Islamic groups that base their teachings on puritanism and
Wahabism (a branch of Islamic teaching from Saudi Arabia) have
grown over the past few years and are demanding the adoption of
sharia.
The groups failed to have sharia included in the amendments to
the Constitution last year, but they managed to have their
interests included in the Education Law endorsed in June this
year.
The planned review of the KUHP, which is being drafted by the
Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, is suspected to be a ploy
to include sharia.
Minister of Justice and Human Rights Yusril Ihza Mehendra
earlier admitted that the review was to accommodate particular
groups who were demanding the implementation of sharia.
Yusril, who also chairs the Crescent Star Party (PBB), has
long fought for the adoption of sharia.
The government also faces sharp criticism for its plan to
criminalize black magic and private matters related to sex,
including oral sex, cohabitation and sodomy.
Critics have suggested that the government revise some of the
"repressive" articles contained in KUHP such as on libel, which
is often used against the mass media in an effort to silence
critical voices.
Under the libel article, the South Jakarta District Court
sentenced Rakyat Merdeka daily chief editor Karim Paputungan last
month to five months in prison with 10 months probation for
printing a caricature deemed insulting to House of
Representatives Speaker Akbar Tandjung, while the daily's
executive editor Supratman faces a one-year prison term on
charges of defaming President Megawati Soekarnoputri in several
articles published by the daily.
Tempo magazine chief editor Bambang Harymurti and two
journalists are being tried for defaming businessman Tomy Winata
and allegedly spreading untruths in the magazine's coverage of a
major fire in Tanah Abang market in Central Jakarta in February.