The country’s highest Islamic authority, the Indonesian Ulema Council, issued several edicts last Sunday that, among others, partially ban smoking.

Edicts, or fatwas, on the bans were issued by the Indonesian Ulema Council during its two-day national meeting in Padangpanjang, West Sumatra. The fatwas are not legally binding but can influence government policy.
The council forbade smoking by children and pregnant women, and smoking in public places. Outside these conditions, smoking was still deemed makruh (blameworthy) for Muslims, it said.
The debate over smoking was hotly debated and revealed a split between those wanting to make it "haram", or not allowed, and others who favoured "makruh", an Arabic term whereby it would only be advised that smoking is bad and it is better to drop it.
Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), Indonesia’s biggest Islamic organisation, slammed the edicts as “excessive.” NU deputy head Masdar F. Mas’udi said that to discourage people from smoking the MUI should not use “Islamic law” as a tool. “What’s important is to inform the public of the bad effects of smoking and urge the government to enforce policies to discourage smoking,” Masdar told The Jakarta Post.
The economic importance of the tobacco industry in Indonesia had played a role in the talks and religious councils, and councils in central and east Java – both areas where the industry is a big employer – had argued against a ban.
The council also announced bans on vote abstention if “qualified” candidates existed and certain aspects of yoga that contain Hindu elements. (pi)