Another Ramadan is upon us, and with it, another plea from officials regarding “sweeping” during the holy fasting month — the term used in Indonesia to describe hardline Islamic groups illegally raiding restaurants and nightlife establishments that they feel are disrespecting fasting Muslims.
On the eve of the first day of Ramadan yesterday evening, Religious Affairs Minister Lukman Hakim Syaifuddin, in his public address to wish Muslims in the country a blessed Ramadan, slipped in a message to hardliner groups (often referred to more generally as “ormas” i.e. mass organizations) about the illegal practice of sweeping.
“There’s virtue in being able to exercise self-restraint,” Lukman said as quoted by Tempo, adding, “If [mass organizations] see things that they see are inappropriate, I hope they don’t take action by themselves or become vigilantes.”
Lukman said members of mass organizations should report to law enforcement if there are any violations regarding public order during Ramadan.
As is the case in previous years, several regions in Indonesia have passed bylaws prohibiting certain actions deemed disrespectful of fasting Muslims during Ramadan, such as eateries having to obscure any displays of food. Such a rule has been imposed in Jakarta’s satellite city of Depok this year, for example, and the city’s administration has also banned karaokes, spas and nightlife establishments from operating during the holy month.
Even without mass organizations carrying out sweeps, however, the presence of these bylaws has led to a number of controversial incidents in which authorities themselves have been accused of being inhumane in their enforcement. One notable incident from 2016 involved an elderly woman’s warung in Serang, Banten, which was raided by the city’s Civil Service Police Unit (Satpol PP) for serving food during the day. The officers threw out her food, despite her desperate pleas that they were destroying her livelihood. After video of the incident went viral, her story ended up having a happy ending when hundreds of Indonesian netizens, including President Joko Widodo himself, donated hundreds of millions of rupiah to help her recover.
