Jakarta – Defying the stance taken by Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) leaders, moderate young activists from the nation's biggest Muslim organization say they oppose the controversial pornography bill.
Grouped in the NU Youth Forum, the activists said the House of Representatives should address issues more urgent than the much-debated legislation.
The forum urged the NU to carefully consider its support of the bill, which the critics have said does not take into account Indonesia's cultural, religious and ethnic diversity and its tradition of secularism.
In a statement, the activists accused the NU leaders of straying from the organization's original mission of promoting nationalism and human rights by supporting the bill.
"Morality does not only include religious values but also the development of society," NU Youth Forum coordinator Zuhairi Misrawi told The Jakarta Post on Monday. He said a person's moral values were personal and should not be enforced by law.
Earlier, NU central board leader Hasyim Muzadi joined the chorus of support for the bill from conservative Muslims, saying the draft legislation should be passed soon. "We must not sacrifice morality in the name of diversity, but we also cannot be too strict about morality," he said.
Hasyim said exceptions must be made in implementing the bill to accommodate tourism and other cultures. "We need to create an equilibrium of perceptions between morality and diversity."
The forum, meanwhile, called on the government and the House to prioritize efforts to resolve crucial national problems. Starvation, rampant corruption, and the state's inability to ensure people's access to an affordable education, were far more important than a morals bill, it said.
Perceptions of pornography depended on a person's individual values, the activists said. "That's why the matter should be dealt with through the education system and by religious organizations, not through laws imposing certain values on others."
The Criminal Code, the Child Protection Law, Domestic Violence Law and regulations on broadcasting, the press and films, all had articles dealing with the problem, they said.
Women were targeted of the bill because they could be arrested for how they dressed, forum member Abdul Moqsith Ghazali said. "Those who are already victims of exploitation in the pornography (industry) will undergo further scrutiny due to this law," he said.
Moqsith, who is also a member of the Liberal Islam Network (JIL), said the bill did not deal with people creating and distributing pornography.
Former NU chairman and president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid said the legislation would curb people's freedom of expression, which was protected by the Constitution. "If the bill is passed into law, I will start and lead efforts to amend the law because it would violate our Constitution," he said.