Dessy Sagita – The Indonesian Council of Ulema on Monday said that the legal process against a teenager accused of stealing a pair of sandals is excessive and not in line with Islamic values.
A 15-year-old boy identified only as AAL is facing up to five years in jail for theft, after a police officer took him to court, accusing him of having stolen his sandals, worth about Rp 30,000 ($3.30). The trial has since prompted mounting public indignation and criticism.
"In Islam, a minor cannot be given the same sanction as adults. The punishment given should be educational," said Amidhan, chairman of the body known as MUI. Amidhan said that the trial of AAL at the Palu District Court in Central Sulawesi, may traumatize the boy and would not teach him anything valuable.
"For minors, being detained in a cell, even for only 15 days or one month, will traumatize them and this will have serious repercussions. In Islam, we prioritize punishment that educates and is not just any punishment," he said.
He suggested that the judges be wise and instead of punitively punishing the offender under the penal code, they should order him to learn Islamic teachings among other things.
"Judges have the authority to act and release that child immediately. It would be better for the child to be forced to learn the sacred verses or learn something else," Amidhan said.
The court case has prompted a national effort to collect sandals in an act of protest.
Amidhan also said that the MUI rejected a proposal made by two hard-line Muslim organizations, the Surakarta Muslim Force (LUIS) and the Solo branch of the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), to impose public caning on those found consuming alcoholic beverages.
"The Solo mayor should not follow that suggestion because public caning, for drinkers of alcohol in Solo, is not arranged by the law," Amidhan said.
On Monday, the muslimdaily.net Web site reported that a number of religious organizations in Solo opposed a draft law on alcoholic drinks currently being debated at the city legislative council, saying that it sided with the producers of the alcoholic drinks.
Organizations including LUIS and the Solo FPI, said that violators should be publicly canned to provide a firm deterrent. Amidhan said that although Islam prohibits the consumption of alcoholic drinks, caning could not be just implemented without a legal basis.
"In Islam, caning is not to physically hurt anyone, but is a formality. Because it is conducted in public, the one punished will be ashamed and the public will not do what he did, but even that has its own regulations," he said.
Caning is only legally allowed in Aceh, where Shariah law is accepted as part of the autonomy deal agreed in the province to end nearly three decades of separatist conflict there in 2005. "This does not mean other areas in Indonesia can follow [Aceh], especially if there's no legal basis for it," Amidhan said.