Jakarta – Members of the Indonesian Ulema Council, or MUI, have railed against the accusation that political parties sometimes use their influence to force the council to issue a fatwa, or edict, that benefit them.

The allegation came up after another session in Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purmama's blasphemy trial on Tuesday (31/01), when MUI chairman Ma'ruf Amin testified against the governor.

One of Ahok's defense lawyers had claimed that former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was trying to exert undue influence on the MUI chairman to issue a fatwa against Ahok.

Yudhoyono had slammed the accusation and compared the alleged wiretapping of his conversation with the MUI chairman to the wiretapping of US President Richard Nixon in Watergate.

MUI Secretary General Anwar Abbas said the council issues an edict only at the request of the public. "No political party can or has ever exerted pressure on, or tried to dictate MUI into issuing an edict," Anwar said in Jakarta on Friday.

MUI has a set of well-established procedures to issue an edict, cleric Bachtiar Nasir said, adding that, "MUI never makes its decisions recklessly."

Yudhoyono's son Agus Harimurti is competing with Ahok in the upcoming Jakarta gubernatorial election on Feb. 15.

Source: http://jakartaglobe.id/news/no-one-can-order-fatwa-ulema-council/