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Tag: burn

  • Indonesia Ulema Council Issues Haram Fatwa Against Illegal Land Clearing

    Indonesia Ulema Council Issues Haram Fatwa Against Illegal Land Clearing

    RELIGIOUS authorities in Indonesia have declared the burning of land forbidden among Muslims in a fatwa or edict aimed at curbing illegal land clearing.

    According to Channel News Asia, the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) issued the fatwa in its bid to influence social change as part of a moral movement.

    “The act of burning forests and land, which can cause damage, environmental pollution, economic losses, affect health, and other negative impacts is haram (forbidden),” Professor Huzaemah Yanggo, chairperson for fatwa from the Indonesian Ulema Council, was quoted as saying.

    Huzaeman, who was speaking at a media conference on Tuesday, said the council was confident that the ruling can help change attitudes towards the illegal burning of land.

    SEE ALSO: Indonesia: Haze investigators held captive, threatened with death

    The council denounced the traditional practice, saying it goes against Islamic teachings, and instructed clerics and religious teachers to spread the message.

    Indonesia’s Environment and Forestry Ministry had in January asked the council to explore the possibility of issuing the ruling on forest fires.

    The request led the council to conduct research and assessments before issuing the edict this week.

    Prior to the decision, the council consulted various stakeholders and referred to verses in the Koran to substantiate the fatwa.

    “We understand that material punishment is not enough, what more with formal punishment. What is more important is moral (pressure),” Indonesia’s Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar said.

    Last year’s fires were the worst since 1997, spreading across over 261,000 hectares (2,610 square kilometers).

    SEE ALSO: Indonesia urges neighbors to stop complaining about haze

    Haze largely caused by illegal slash-and-burn agricultural policies in Indonesia has affected the Southeast Asian region annually for decades.

    Uncontrolled burning from fires in Riau, South Sumatra, and Kalimantan causes the smoke to spread hundreds of kilometers across the region to Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and the Philippines, resulting in major deterioration in air quality levels, health problems, and economic losses.

    However, the Indonesian government has been taking proactive steps to reduce the number of fires by 75 percent from last year as there were only 2,256 fires this year compared to 8,247 between Jan and Aug 2015.

     

    Source: https://asiancorrespondent.com

  • Thousands Flee Aceh After Church Burning

    Thousands Flee Aceh After Church Burning

    Thousands of people, mostly Christians, have left Aceh Singkil regency, Aceh, for neighboring regencies in North Sumatra after an Islamic group attacked a village and set fire to a church.

    The attackers, grouped under the Aceh Singkil Islamic Care Youth Students Association (PPI), arrived in Suka Makmur village, Gunung Meriah district, Aceh Singkil, in several trucks on Tuesday afternoon and set alight the Huria Kristen Indonesia (HKI) Church, which they considered to be unlicensed.

    Hundreds of police and military officers who had earlier been deployed to the village failed to prevent the attack as they were outnumbered. One of the attackers, identified as Samsul, was shot dead when Christians, the majority in the village, tried to defend their church.

    Samsul, 21, a resident of Bulu Sema village, Suro Makmur, died from an air rifle wound, while three other attackers were injured and were taken to the regency’s general hospital for treatment.

    The church was one of 10 in the regency that was protested by the Islamic group. At a recent meeting at the regency office between the protesters, the churches’ board members and local officials, it was reportedly agreed that the churches would be demolished on Oct. 19.

    After the attack, about 75 percent of the villagers moved to other areas, with many houses in Suka Makmur left empty and locked up.

    “We are still afraid that an incident could occur again if [the situation is] not handled properly,” congregation member Silaban said on Wednesday.

    The police recorded that 3,433 people had moved to Central Tapanuli regency and 976 to Pakpak Bharat regency, both in North Sumatra.

    Many parties have denounced the attack in Aceh, the only province in the country to implement sharia.

    “Stop violence in Aceh Singkil. Any act of violence, whatever the reasons behind it, not to mention if it is related to religion and faith, will kill diversity —Jkw,” President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said on Wednesday on his Twitter account @jokowi.

    Jokowi has ordered Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan and National Police chief Gen. Badrodin Haiti to take immediate action to stop violence and promote peace in the regency.

    Badrodin acknowledged that the National Police had foreseen such an attack but had not readied enough security personnel on Tuesday to protect the church from the attackers, estimated to have numbered 500 to 700 people.

    “We knew [about conflict involving the church] from four months ago. This is why I truly regret the fact that the arson happened,” Badrodin said on Wednesday.

    The police have questioned 45 people connected to the incident.

    The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) also denounced the attack and discouraged Muslims in Aceh from taking part in any activities that could incite a larger conflict between Islamic and Christian communities in the region.

    “First of all, the burning will never be justified. Even if the church committed a violation, let the local authorities solve the problem according to the existing rules,” MUI chairman Ma’ruf Amin told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

    The Wahid Institute recorded 158 incidents of religious rights violations throughout 2014, with 78 percent enacted by non-state actors.

    Meanwhile, Setara Institute research director Ismail Hasani condemned the incident as a violation of human rights which was facilitated by the local administration.

    Ismail argued that similar incidents in Aceh, namely in 1979, 2001 and 2012, were caused by a discriminatory 1979 agreement between Muslim and Christian communities that stipulated there would be only one church and four small Christian houses of worship in Aceh Singkil.

     

    Source: www.thejakartapost.com

  • Katy Perry Burns ‘Allah’ in Latest Music Video ‘Dark Horse’

    Katy Perry has a recent trend toward elaborate and cartoonish cultural appropriation that hasn’t exactlyendeared her to members of those communities. She was called out after performing “Unconditionally” at the AMAs with a regressive representation of Japanese culture, and now finds herself even deeper in controversy over a scene in her new video for “Dark Horse.”

    A movement has built on Twitter—and spilled over to a Change.org petition with over 15,000 signatures—to have the video banned on YouTube because of a scene where a man wearing a chain with the Arabic spelling of “Allah” on it disintegrates into dust.

    You can see it happening clearly in the video below if you know what you’re looking for. At the 1:15 mark, Perry zaps a man with lightning. He is wearing two chains (let’s assume that in itself is not symbolism), both of which are easily recognizable: One, over the center of his chest, is the logo of Rick Ross’ Maybach Music Group. The second, to the viewer’s left, is the Arabic word for Allah.

    Western depictions of Islam have a long history of being viewed as disrespectful by Muslims, and though the sight of the word “Allah” burning may not escalate up to death threats against Perry—who may not even be aware that it occurs in her video—a la South Park, it’s certainly an argument for the hazards of viewing other cultures as themes.

    Source: Fuse.TV