It wasn’t at all long ago that a TV ustaz (Islamic preacher) in Indonesia came under fire for his now infamous “sex parties in heaven” sermon, but over the past few days, there have been at least three more controversial sermons that have been broadcast on TV or the internet, leading the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), the country’s top clerical body, to announce that they would make efforts to standardize the quality of preachers in the country.
https://www.facebook.com/CoconutsJakarta/posts/1986220884998524
That might be a wise move by the MUI considering that one of the sermons involved a preacher, named Zulkifli Muhammad Ali, dangerously declaring that cesarean section births was an attempt by the devil to create chaos.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNk6JFnzaxE
“I can convince everyone who has had the cesarean section that these people experienced disturbances by the jinn (Islamic genie) inside their tummies, in their reproductive organs,” he said in the sermon.
The preacher mentioned that medical professionals often suggest c-sections when natural birth poses a risk of death to either the mother or her baby, but he told many anecdotes, some of which involved his own wives, in which potential birth complications were actually the result of “whispers” from the devil, and they just disappeared after reciting prayers and rubbing the mother’s pregnant belly.
This video went viral online recently, with many condemning the preacher for giving misleading, potentially deadly, medical information. Some mothers criticized the preacher for being insensitive, as they too would’ve liked to have given birth naturally if it didn’t mean jeopardizing theirs and their babies’ lives.
Also on the topic of misleading medical information, there was another controversial sermon broadcast recently in which a preacher said that many women these days have trouble getting pregnant because they wear sanitary pads and high heels. Seriously.
susah hamil karena sering pakai pembalut & sepatu hak tinggi. bener nggak nih dok? @ryuhasan @blogdokter? pic.twitter.com/prsUucRR4i
— Rangifertarandus (@ran9ifer) August 6, 2017
This sermon was given on the Trans TV Islamic program ‘Islam Itu Indah’ (Islam is Beautiful), which is the same program that produced the “sex parties in heaven” controversy last month. This time, the preacher, named Febri Sugianto, said that women who wear sanitary pads are more likely to experience vaginal health issues. He asserted that letting menstrual discharge be absorbed by the pad while women carry on with their activities allows bacteria from the discharge to cause unclean vaginas, and eventually, health and pregnancy complications.
Febri then made the ridiculous suggestion that women should wear homemade pads made from cloth and clean them straight away after absorbing menstrual blood.
Furthermore, he said that high heels can also prevent pregnancy because “the center of the reproduction system” is found in the heels.
Responding to the most reasonable sounding of Febri’s ridiculous claims, obstetrician Laila Nuranna of Jakarta’s Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital said that there is no link between sanitation pad use and pregnancy.
“Wrong, it’s not true. If the pad is correct and clean, it won’t make someone have difficulties in conceiving,” she said, as quoted by Liputan 6.
Last, but not least, is a recent sermon by famous preacher Mamah Dedeh on the Indosiar TV program ‘Mamah dan Aa’. In it, Mamah Dedeh said that Muslims shouldn’t become veterinarians in order to avoid contact with dogs and pigs, which are forbidden by their religion, or, if they have to become veterinarians, they should avoid contact with dogs and pigs.
Her sermon was deemed as insulting to the Association of Indonesian Veterinarians, who visited her residence on August 3 to demand a clarification and apology from the celebrity preacher.
“The person who asked and the person who answered (regarding the veterinarian topic) are laymen,” she told the veterinarians, as quoted by Kumparan.
“I apologize and I will take the biggest lesson from of this.”
In light of these controversies, the MUI said they are working with the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI) to introduce new guidelines to standardize the quality of preachers in Indonesia, particularly those who give sermons in the media.
“Those who give sermons on TV at the very least will have undertaken standardized training before appearing on TV,” said Cholil Nafis, head of the Da’wah (preaching) commission at the MUI, as quoted by BBC Indonesia.
Broadcasting standards for sermons actually already exist under the KPI’s guidelines, but the commission said they need MUI and the Ministry of Religious Affairs to give their expert opinions on certain cases.
“If KPI tackles this alone, there might be clashes in interpretations. Indonesia is so pluralistic, so there could be differences of interpretation among different groups. We don’t want to give sanctions or suspensions to programs that could create further tension among the public,” said KPI Commissioner Dewi Setyarini.
