rejected Valentine`s Day celebrations
The rejection among others came the local branch of the Council of Indonesian Ulema (MUI) of Pamekasan, East Java province, MUI of Bangka district in Bangka Belitung province, chairman of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) Aceh province chapter, students in Riau and Sukabumi district, West Java province.
Nahdlatul Ulama is the largest Muslim organization in Indonesia.
The local branch of the Council of Indonesian Ulema (MUI) in Pamekasan has called on the Muslim community to refrain from doing anything to observe Valentine`s Day, saying it was not a Muslim tradition.
The clerical organization issued the call because in past years certain segments of the population in Pamekasan had taken part in activities to celebrate the day and engaged in improper activities.
"After all, Valentine`s Day is not an Islamic tradition," KH Lailurrahman, chairman of the MUI`s Pamekasan branch, said here on last Thursday.
"Also, Valentine`s Day celebrations tend to be marked by frivolous, extragavant behavior or even improper activities," he said.
He said, filling one`s life with love was actually in accordance with Allah`s command. But Valentine`s Day which falls on February 14 had pagan connotations, and therefore celebrating it would be a deviation from the Islamic faith.
In Indonesia, the day is mainly observed among the younger generation of certain population groups in urban centers.
But KH Lailurrahman said when one studied the origin of Valentine`s Day, it would become obvious it had nothing to do at all with Islam and Islamic cultural values.
"So, it is only proper for MUI to forbid Muslim youths to observe the day," he said.
In Pekanbaru, Riau provice, more than one hundred students from various schools grouped in the Islamic Students of Pekanbaru rallied against the celebration of Valentine`s Day here on Saturday.
The students conducted the rally after school hours by parading which ended at the Radio Republic Indonesia station on Jalan Jenderal Sudirman.
Along the way they callled on Moslems in particular the younger generation in Riau not to participate in the celebration because the tradition is against the Islamic teachings.
"The Velentine tradition is not found in the Islamic teachings and therefore we as Islamic students call on all Moslems not to participate in the celebration," Hasan Ikhlas said in his oration.
He said the celebration tended to lead to free-sex behavior not recognized in Islam.
"Moslems must not be provoked by the celebration because according to history the day is the time for offering to gods after men and women conduct a free-sex party," he said.
Irsan who spoke at the oration at the Radio Republic Indonesia station, which was also reported by the state radio also called on mass media not to report the celebration massively.
"We hope mass media both electronic and print would not blow it up as it would affect the faith of the younger Islamic generation in the country," he said.
After conducting orations the students dispersed orderly under police guard.
In addition, the city administration of Gorontalo in northern part of Sulawesi province also banned people especialy younger ones to celebrate the valentine day.
"The city admistration will not allow people especially teenagers to hold entertainment on the valentine`s day," head of the city development affairs division, Deddy Kadullah said last Tuesday.
Valentine`s Day celebration is not a moment that must be implemented, so the government could prohibit the public to celebrate it, he disclosed.
"Valentine`s Day celebrations can be said as illegal ones, so we have the authority to dissolve all forms of activities associated with the celebrations," the official said.
On the other hand, the Manado city administration also in North Sulawesi, will conduct mass marriage for a total of 1,267 couples on Valentine`s Day.
Head of the Population and Civil Registration division of Manado city administration, Steven E. Liow said in the city on Saturday that the mass marriage is a form of government attention and concern to the residents, in order to obtain marriage certificates for free.
Participants of the mass wedding are new couples and the couples who have children but they did not legally get married as husband and wife because they had no marriage certificates.
"We will provide marriage certificates and family cards, the Christian couples get marriage certificates from the church, and the Islamic marriage certificates can be obtained from the Office of Religious Affairs (KUA)," he said.
In the meantime, hotels in Makassar city in South Sulawesi province began to prepare a number of interesting programs for Valentine`s day.
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