It used to be normal to see cattle and goats being slaughtered on Jakarta’s sidewalks during the traditional Islamic rite of qurban, which falls on Eid al-Adha every year. But, for the sake of public health and hygiene, the Jakarta provincial government banned qurban on sidewalks in 2014 and required the ritual to be held in specially designated areas.
The sidewalk ban is once again becoming a topic of debate in the lead up to this year’s Eid al-Adha (which falls on September 1), with qurban sellers threatening to fight the government’s regulation if they’re not allowed to sell and slaughter livestock on sidewalks. Many of them argued that it has been their tradition for years and that it shouldn’t be a problem because it’s an act of religious worship.
The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), the country’s top clerical body, is siding with the Jakarta provincial government in the matter, reminding Muslims in the country that sidewalks were made exclusively for pedestrians.
“In Islam, traders are not allowed to disrupt public order,” said MUI head Muhyiddin Djunaedi, as quoted by Tempo yesterday.
Jakarta Governor Djarot Saiful Hidayat also warned the public not to sell qurban on sidewalks, and said that he has instructed city officials to enforce the ban while providing designated areas for qurban sales and slaughter.
Former Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama – now in jail for blasphemy of Islam – introduced the first version of the sidewalk qurban ban in 2014. Being a minority Christian of Chinese descent, the ban became one of many issues that Islamic hardliners used to criticize Ahok as the leader of the capital based on his religion and ethnicity. In fact, hardline group Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) accused Ahok of robbing them of their constitutional right to religious worship because of the ban.
Hardline Islamic groups have not yet commented on MUI’s support for the sidewalk qurban ban.
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