An Unnecessary Fatwa
The Indonesian Council of Ulemas, anywhere, should use its fatwa to fight the social ills affecting our nation.
December 31, 2002
PROPHET Muhammad surely never blew a trumpet to welcome the Christian New Year. So what is the point of the Balikpapan branch of the Indonesian Council of Ulemas (MUI) in issuing a fatwa, as it did last week, banning ulemas and ustad (respected Muslim religious leaders and teachers) from blowing trumpets on New Year's Eve? If the reasons for that fatwa were based on some ulemas having done so, an act which some may have considered un-Islami
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