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Indonesian Ulema Council ( id, Majelis Ulama Indonesia, ar, مجلس العلماء الإندونيسي, abbreviated MUI) is Indonesia's top Islamic scholars body. MUI was founded in Jakarta on July 26, 1975 during the New Order era. The council comprises many Indonesian Muslim groups including
Nahdlatul Ulama Nahdlatul Ulama (, , NU) is an Islamic organization in Indonesia. Its membership estimates range from 40 million (2013) to over 95 million (2021), making it the largest Islamic organization in the world. NU also is a charitable body funding sch ...
(NU),
Muhammadiyah Muhammadiyah ( ar, محمدية; 'followers of Muhammad'); also known as the Muhammadiyah Society ( id, Persyarikatan Muhammadiyah) is a major Islamic non-governmental organization in Indonesia.A. Jalil HamidTackle the rising cost of living longer ...
, and smaller groups such as, Syarikat Islam, Perti, Al Washliyah, Mathla'ul Anwar, GUPPI, PTDI, DMI and Al Ittihadiyyah. The Ahlul Bait Indonesia (
Shi'ite Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, most ...
) and Jemaat Ahmadiyyah Indonesia ( Ahmadiyya) were not accepted as members. In 2005, MUI released the
fatwa A fatwā ( ; ar, فتوى; plural ''fatāwā'' ) is a legal ruling on a point of Islamic law (''sharia'') given by a qualified '' Faqih'' (Islamic jurist) in response to a question posed by a private individual, judge or government. A jurist i ...
to prohibit Ahmadiyya as deviant sect of Islam and lobbied the President to ban the expelled religious sect. An important function of MUI is to provide
halal ''Halal'' (; ar, حلال, ) is an Arabic word that translates to "permissible" in English. In the Quran, the word ''halal'' is contrasted with ''haram'' (forbidden). This binary opposition was elaborated into a more complex classification kn ...
certification for products (including but not limited to foods, cosmetics, pharmaceutical and clothing).


Roles

The government, at the creation of the MUI stated three broad goals for the MUI: #Strengthening religion in the way the Pancasila describes to ensure national resilience. #Participation of the Ulama in national development. #The maintenance of harmony between the different religions in Indonesia.“Islamic state or state Islam? Fifty years of state-Islam relations in Indonesia”, in: Ingrid Wessel (Hrsg.), Indonesien am Ende des 20. Jahrhunderts. Hamburg: Abera-Verlag, 1996, pp. 19-34. Beside the three goals, nonetheless, there were two specific agendas of MUI's establishment. First, it aimed to help Suharto in communism repudiation. Second, it was an umbrella organization for political Islam canalization. Since the collapse of Suharto's regime in 1998, MUI has changed its approach in the state-religion relationship by envisioning a more active role to protect Muslim's interests while started a new position as a critical partner of the Indonesian government. The MUI, thus, acts as an interface between the
Indonesian government The term Government of Indonesia ( id, Pemerintah Indonesia) can have a number of different meanings. At its widest, it can refer collectively to the three traditional branches of government – the executive branch, legislative branch and j ...
and the Islamic communities. The changes in civil society after the fall of Suharto have both widened the role of the MUI and made it more complex. The MUI gives fatwas to the Islamic community; through this they dictate the general direction of Islamic life in Indonesia.Gillespie, P 2007, "Current Issues in Indonesian Islam: Analysing the 2005 Council of Indonesian Ulama Fatwa N0. 7" ''Journal of Islamic Studies'' Vol 18, No. 2 pp. 202-240. Fatwa (or plural form ''Fatawa'') represents Muslim's ethical response, legal interpretation, and contextual feedback on a particular social issue(s). The MUI now has twelve commissions and ten divisions that work together in behalf of Muslim's interest through various responsibilities such as fatwa, education and leadership training, women and family, law and regulation, research and development, inter-religious engagement, international relations, economic betterment and many more. Each commissions is led by professional and Islamic scholars. The MUI (particularly since the fall of Suharto) have given opinion and issued fatwas on a large variety of issues, from the role of the
Indonesian Army The Indonesian Army ( id, Tentara Nasional Indonesia Angkatan Darat (TNI-AD), ) is the land branch of the Indonesian National Armed Forces. It has an estimated strength of 300,000 active personnel. The history of the Indonesian Army has its r ...
in government to the public acceptability of the dancing of pop star
Inul Daratista Inul Daratista (born Ainur Rokhimah on January 21, 1979) is a dangdut singer and performance artist from Pasuruan, East Java, Indonesia. She became nationally famous in 2003, and is known for her suggestive style of dancing that caused major c ...
to the (sin of) deliberately burning forests to clear the land for growing crops. In 2019 presidential election, the sitting MUI leader
Ma'ruf Amin Ma'ruf Amin (born 11 March 1943) is an Indonesian politician, Islamic cleric, and lecturer who is the List of vice presidents of Indonesia#Vice presidents, 13th and current Vice President of Indonesia, vice president of Indonesia. Aged nearly ...
was elected as the vice president of
Joko Widodo Joko Widodo (; born 21 June 1961), popularly known as Jokowi, is an Indonesian politician and businessman who is the 7th and current president of Indonesia. Elected in July 2014, he was the first Indonesian president not to come from an elite ...
.


List of Chairman

* Abdul Malik Karim Abdullah (1975-1981) * Syukri Gozali (1981-1984) * Hasan Basri (1984-1990) * Ali Yafie (1990-2000) * Sahal Mahfudin (2000-2014) *
Din Syamsuddin Sirajuddin Muhammad "Din" Syamsuddin ( ar, مُحَمَّدُ سِرَاجِ ٱلدِّينِ شَمْسِ ٱلدِّينِ, Muḥammad Sirāj ad-Dīn Šams ad-Dīn, born in Sumbawa, West Nusa Tenggara, ), is an Indonesian politician and formerly ...
(2014-2015) *
Ma'ruf Amin Ma'ruf Amin (born 11 March 1943) is an Indonesian politician, Islamic cleric, and lecturer who is the List of vice presidents of Indonesia#Vice presidents, 13th and current Vice President of Indonesia, vice president of Indonesia. Aged nearly ...
(2015-2020) * Miftachul Akhyar (2020-present)


Conflicts

MUI is a government funded organisation that acts independently but there have been examples of the MUI being asked to legitimise government policy. A particular example of this that caused friction within the MUI was request that the MUI support the government's birth control program. The government needed the support of the MUI and aspects of the program were objected to by many in religious circles.


See also

* Halal certification in Australia


References


External links


MUI official website
{{Islam in Indonesia Islamic organizations based in Indonesia