The chairman of the Indonesian Council of Ulema on Tuesday rejected a claim by one of his deputies that saluting national symbols was against Islam.
Amidhan, the chairman of the council known as the MUI, dismissed the notion, saying there was nothing wrong with saluting the state flag or any other national symbol.
“As long as the person doesn’t worship the flag or any other object, it’s fine,” he said.
“It would only become haram [forbidden in Islam] if the person believed the flag had magical powers or was sacred.”
Amidhan added that the MUI would not issue a fatwa or edict on the matter.
On Friday, Cholil Ridwan, vice chairman of proselytization at the MUI, claimed in an article in the biweekly tabloid Suara Islam (Voice of Islam) that the practice of saluting the national flag was against Islam because it exaggerated respect for secular leaders.
He said that “saluting [national flags] is in the tradition of kafir [infidels] who exaggerate respect toward their leaders.”
“Saluting the flag is not allowed because a flag is an inanimate object and saluting it is a way of glorifying such an object,” Cholil wrote.
“Inanimate objects must not be glorified.”
He suggested that Indonesian Muslims should show their love for their country in other ways.
“[A better way to show their love would be] to respect the country in the ways Allah taught us, that is, by listening to and obeying the law,” he wrote.
However, prominent Islamic scholars have sided with Amidhan on the issue, saying there was no harm in saluting the flag.
“For me, it’s fine to salute the national flag,” said Salahuddin Wahid, the brother of former President Abdurrahman Wahid and a senior figure at Nahdlatul Ulama, the country’s largest Islamic organization.
A similar opinion was voiced by Azyumardi Azra, a professor of history at Syarif Hidayatullah Islamic State University.
“I believe it was simply a personal opinion expressed by an MUI official. The council doesn’t need to issue a fatwa on this issue,” he said.
(X the Jak Globe)
Saluting the flag----, what will they come up with next?
wo 23 maa 2011 - 17:12