Nurfika Osman – Devout Muslims should not spend Sunday gazing at their sweethearts across a romantic, candle-lit dinner, the Indonesian Ulema Council has recommended, declaring celebrations of Valentine's Day as forbidden in Islam.

Amidhan, head of the council, also known as the MUI, told the Jakarta Globe that celebrating Valentine's Day was tantamount to spreading Christianity.

"We have to ban Valentine's Day because we are celebrating another religion's holiday," the outspoken cleric said. "Santo Valentino was a Christian, so it is not allowed in Islam. People who celebrate Valentine's Day are spreading Christian beliefs."

Muslim leaders in the Islamic stronghold of East Java have already called on their congregations not to celebrate the holiday, arguing that it was sinful and would promote casual sex.

The MUI also ruled against aerobic exercises in "sexy" attire, and expressed reservations about Koranic verses used as cellphone ringtones. "Overenthusiastic aerobic moves with sexy attire, such as tight pants, can arouse sexual desire," Amidhan said.

"Besides, women are not allowed to wear such attire as they reveal their aurat," he said, referring to parts of the body that must be covered. The MUI's South Sumatra chapter on Friday declared that most workout clothing was un-Islamic and that aerobic exercises involved movements that could ignite sexual desire.

MUI leaders in Tasikmalaya, West Java, also declared Koranic ringtones inappropriate because it would "degrade" the holy book if phones rang in the bathroom or at places such as discotheques.

Soleh Mahmud, deputy secretary general of the hard-line Islam Defenders Front (FPI), supported the MUI's advice. "We have seen the degradation of morals among Muslims in this country as they are adopting Western lifestyles," he said. "The MUI should be the moral compass for the country's Muslims."

But Azyumardi Azra, a prominent academic who advises the vice president, said the MUI was going overboard with its fatwas, or religious decrees.

"They should weigh the issues they want to ban carefully as we have to see it in the social, cultural and political contexts," he said.

If the MUI continues to issue edicts and bans without considering the broader context, Muslims will just end up ignoring them, Azyumardi said.

"The substance of Valentine's Day is love, and love is the basis of Islam," he said. "We don't have to relate this to faith, as that's just going overboard. It seems to me that those ulemas who issued the fatwa are narrow-minded."