Preacher Roy on trial

Preacher Roy on trial

JAKARTA: Islamic preacher Muhammad Yusman Roy went on trial
Tuesday for performing prayers in Indonesian language, which
Muslim ulemas said tarnishes the purity of Arabic-based Islam.

Government prosecutors also charged Roy, head of Itikaf Ngaji
Lelaku, an Islamic boarding school in Malang, East Java, for
creating unrest among Muslims by spreading pamphlets to promote
his teaching to the people.

Roy is accused of denigrating Islam with his bilingual
teachings, instead of sticking strictly to Arabic. If found
guilty, Roy could face a maximum sentence of five years in
prison.

In his teaching, conducted since 2002, Roy ordered to about
300 students to perform shalat -- the Islamic five-times daily
obligatory prayers -- using the Arab verses, and directly
translated the words into Indonesian.

"I was just offering a discourse to the Muslims. Winning or
losing in this trial is not a target for me," Roy was quoted by
detik.com online news service, from Malang district court.

Roy's bilingual prayers sparked controversy since April, when
the Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI) issued a fatwa, or religious
legal ruling, banning the teaching as haram, or religiously
unlawful. -- DPA