Indonesia to issue fatwa against fake news
JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia’s highest Muslim clerical council is to issue an edict, or fatwa, declaring the spreading of fake news un-Islamic, the organization’s chairman said on Wednesday.
Indonesia has one of the world’s highest number of Facebook and Twitter users, and the biggest Muslim population, and concern is growing that fake news is fueling religious and ethnic tension.
“We will issue it as soon as possible, because the situation is worrying,” said Maaruf Amin, chairman of the Indonesia Ulema Council. “Hopefully, at least Muslims won’t be involved anymore in hoaxes.”
The council is not a government or lawmaking body and its fatwas are not legally binding. The edict is expected before a hotly contested election on February 15 for governor of the capital, Jakarta, with an ethnic Chinese, Christian incumbent running against two Muslim candidates.
Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, or Ahok as he is known, has been embroiled in a blasphemy trial in which he stands accused of insulting the Koran.
The case arose from an incorrectly subtitled video, which went viral on social media late last year, of comments that Purnama made about his opponents’ use of the Islamic holy book in political campaigning.
Hundreds of thousands of Muslims led by a hardline group have twice descended on Jakarta to protest against Purnama and call for his jailing, leading to questions in the world’s third largest democracy on the protection of minorities’ rights.
The council, with representatives from the country’s main moderate and conservative Muslim groups, frequently issues such edicts but they usually have little immediate impact.