THE final debate on the Halal Product Guarantee Bill worried leaders of the Indonesian Ulama Council (MUI). They feared their authority to issue halalany object or action which is permissible under Islamic lawlabels for food, beverages and medicinal products could be done away with. Therefore, on Thursday last week, the council's general chairman, Din Syamsuddin, sent a letter to the House of Representatives (DPR) working committee discussing the bill.

After being cleared of allegations that he had ordered his subordinates to bribe lawmakers to approve his ministry's budget, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Jero Wacik now finds himself in the middle of a new corruption scandal. Last Wednesday, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) finally charged Jero, who has authored introductions to high school science textbooks, with extortion.

The meeting at the Golkar Party's office at the House of Representatives (DPR), held after lunch on Wednesday last week, was opened by Aziz Syamsuddin, deputy chairman of the Golkar Law Commission. In attendance were politicians from the six parties who supported Prabowo Subianto and his running mate, Hatta Rajasa, in the recent race for president. The meeting was to discuss the draft standing order of the DPR. Invitations were sent out from the cellphone of Setya Novanto, the chairman of Golkar's faction in the DPR, two days in advance.

The establishment of the Islamic State (IS)also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS)is inseparable from the United States' invasion of Iraq in 2003. Following the downfall of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, the country's Shia, who account for 60 percent of Iraqis, took power. A Sunni rebellion subsequently arose across the country.

In challenging Joko Widodo's victory in the presidential election, Prabowo Subianto has spoken much about a stain remover called Bayclin. The chemical, Prabowo contends, was used in East and Central Java to remove the indelible ink that stains one's fingers after voting. The charge is that many people voted more than once. "The ink disappears within seconds," Habiburokhman, one of Prabowo's lawyers, said last week.

It took some time to locate the office of the Islamic Food and Nutrition Council of America (IFANCA) in a small town just outside of Chicago, Illinois. Last March, Tempo was able to meet with the Council's president, Muhammad Chaudry, 70, who is well known among businesses dealing in halal (allowed) products. In Indonesia, he is also known for inviting officials of the Indonesian Ulama Council (MUI) to attend conference he organizes.