Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – Indonesia's highest Islamic body is insisting that foster parents must be of the same faith as their adopted children to prevent forced religious conversions.

The demand, by the Indonesian Ulama Council (MUI), has delayed the passage of a much-awaited child protection Bill.

The MUI and several other Muslim groups met Parliament members on Thursday, when the Bill was to have been passed, to pressure the legislators to make changes in a clause to which they objected.

The contentious clause was Article 37, verse 3, in the draft law which stipulates that people who are qualified as foster parents "ought to be of the same faith as the foster children".

The MUI and several Muslim groups thought this clause was not strong enough and they demanded the word "ought" be changed to "must".

MUI secretary Din Syamsuddin pointed out that the clause was "inconsistent" with the rest of the draft law. Article 33, for instance, stipulated that a guardian appointed by the courts must be of the same religion as the child, he said. It could be the same in Article 37, he argued.

He told The Straits Times: "We are also worried that because of this clause, there would be people who would become foster parents to children who would end up renouncing their religion and become apostates." He said MUI detected "thousands of such cases in the country" but would not say which religion many of the Muslim children were forced to convert to.

But he was most likely referring to the issue of "Christianisation" of Muslim worshippers said to be observed in the 1980s, although there were no actual studies or statistic proving the cases existed.

The Bill, according to Mr Din, would trigger religious conflicts in the country, not unlike those in the Maluku islands and Central Sulawesi. "Our purpose is good, we should not add more problems to the nation, sowing time bombs among religious worshippers that will erupt in the future," he said.

Four Muslim-based factions in Parliament supported the MUI's demand but five others did not want the change. The Bill was to have been signed by President Megawati Sukarnoputri on the occasion of the National Children's Day on July 23.

It was highly anticipated as it addresses pressing issues such as child trafficking, abuse and narcotics. Parliament has now gone into recess and the Bill can only be discussed in September.

Mr Posma Lumban Tobing, head of the Parliamentarian team drafting the Bill, told The Straits Times: "I am very disappointed that we could not give this as a present to the children on their day. MUI and politicians have overlooked the core of the draft law, which is children. Religion is important and must be respected, but this is not about religion," he said.

But children's rights advocates denounced his views, saying it was more about politics and religious sentiment than about the interests of the children.