Vice President Ma’ruf Amin has brushed aside a call for the dissolution of the Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI) after one of its members was suspected of being involved in a terror act.

“Only recently, a handful of people demanded that MUI be dissolved. The demand is very irrational,” he said in a statement released on Tuesday.

Amin, who is also chief of MUI’s Advisory Council, said MUI is a socio-religious organization that comprises more than 60 Islamic organizations and its members include intellectuals and ulemas.

“This means that MUI is an organization which is made up of so many representatives and leaders of mass organizations. In the principles of its struggle (it) relies on what is called the government’s partner besides it serves a public servant,” he added.

MUI has long issued a fatwa stating terrorism is a forbidden act and is not jihad, he pointed out.

“This fatwa later serves as a reference for various efforts to control and fight against terrorism,” he said.

The Vice President made the remarks in response to the arrest of MUI Fatwa Commission member Ahmad Zain An Najah and two Muslim clerics by the National Police’s Counterterrorism Squad, Densus 88, in Bekasi, West Java, on November 15, 2021.

According to the results of an investigation conducted by Densus 88, Ahmad Zain An Najah is chief of the Sharia Council of Amil Zakat Baitul Mal Abdurrahman bin Auf (LAM BM ABA) foundation, which is a wing organization under the Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) terrorist group.

Source: Antara News