JAKARTA: Indonesia’s top Islamic body softened its hardline stance towards Valentine’s Day today, dropping fears over outbreaks of “free sex” and dismissing it instead as a harmless fad.
“We the clerics fully understand that the Valentine’s Day celebration here is just a trend among young people,” Indonesia Ulema Council (MUI) secretary-general Ichwan Sam said.
“It’s just a way of expressing love by youngsters. It will fade away as time goes by.”
In recent years it has become customary for the council, the highest clerical body in the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country, to issue fatwas condemning Valentine’s Day as a threat to Islamic values.
It was equally customary for Indonesians to ignore the clerics and send their loved ones Valentine’s Day cards, chocolates and flowers.
Ichwan said this year’s softer tone did not mean the clerics were encouraging Western-style sexual liberation.
“It becomes sinful if they get into free sex or kissing between unmarried women and men,” he explained.
It was permissible, however, to hold a Valentine’s Day party or send a card, he said.
- AFP
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