http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2013/02/18/imo-view-valentine-s-day-just-another-day.html
With the so called Valentine’s Day fast approaching, the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) has issued an edict banning the celebration, arguing it is sinful and would promote casual sex. As much as I agree that such festivity among youths nowadays is rather out of place, I find it rather silly to hold the celebration responsible for the moral decline of the young generation today as accused by some religious hardliners. The root cause is much deeper than that ranging from the bad side effects of globalization and modernization to the loosening religious as well as familial values within the society.
Personally, I don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day. Nor do I have any objection or grudge for those who celebrate it so long it doesn’t disrupt the public. It’s a matter of personal preference. You can’t just curb any personal preference or ban someone to do something that is not against the law. Further, without MUI declaring it as haram (forbidden), I know engaging in the usual hugging, kissing and intimate touching demonstrated by youths during the festival is not in line with Indonesian culture and religious norms. The same way I know that drinking alcohol and eating pork is haram. MUI is often far too generous with less essential rulings as was the case with the haram rulings on yoga and smoking while I think the council should concentrate on much more fundamental issues.
Anyway, I don’t see any point of celebrating the day. It is just another day. Love is every day celebration whether it’s parental love, friendship love, or respectful love. We deserve someone to treat us special every single day, not just once a year. There is nothing like a spontaneous love gift from your true partner compared to obligatory offering made on Valentine Day that is often forced and pre-packaged.
In addition, I don’t want to fall victim into victim of the gigantic commercial sales ads. Valentine Day is a western culture derived from ancient Rome during the era of paganism associated with feast of pagan fertility festival called Lupercalia, to its present incarnation as a commercial free-for-all driving huge sales of chocolate, flowers and jewelry. The event is promoted and nurtured modishly by greeting companies in collaboration with the candy, flower, and teddy bear companies to make more money.
The media darlings play as an ideal conductor to nourish the idea globally. The ads and pop culture in movies, songs, and poetries through the mass media help to keep the lore alive and flourish. Everything with love and romance will always captivate the tender hearts. As a result, Valentine’s Day today is celebrated worldwide. It is undeniably a huge cash machine that generates billions of dollars. Your spending will increase which means your savings will be less while the companies are growing fatter in their bellies because people like us feed them unconsciously. Now, hotels, restaurants, shopping malls, and every corner of Jakarta have much to offer to lure customers into the trap.
For that reason, it is counterproductive to issue the edict as like most MUI edicts, it would likely be ignored by the public. What is the purpose of issuing a fatwa if, finally, the edict causes confusion or fails to serve as a guide and draws less response? Instead of labeling the event as haram, in my personal opinion it would be better to educate Muslim youths and give them religious teachings so that Valentine’s Day celebrations will not become a tradition.
With the so called Valentine’s Day fast approaching, the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) has issued an edict banning the celebration, arguing it is sinful and would promote casual sex. As much as I agree that such festivity among youths nowadays is rather out of place, I find it rather silly to hold the celebration responsible for the moral decline of the young generation today as accused by some religious hardliners. The root cause is much deeper than that ranging from the bad side effects of globalization and modernization to the loosening religious as well as familial values within the society.
Personally, I don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day. Nor do I have any objection or grudge for those who celebrate it so long it doesn’t disrupt the public. It’s a matter of personal preference. You can’t just curb any personal preference or ban someone to do something that is not against the law. Further, without MUI declaring it as haram (forbidden), I know engaging in the usual hugging, kissing and intimate touching demonstrated by youths during the festival is not in line with Indonesian culture and religious norms. The same way I know that drinking alcohol and eating pork is haram. MUI is often far too generous with less essential rulings as was the case with the haram rulings on yoga and smoking while I think the council should concentrate on much more fundamental issues.
Anyway, I don’t see any point of celebrating the day. It is just another day. Love is every day celebration whether it’s parental love, friendship love, or respectful love. We deserve someone to treat us special every single day, not just once a year. There is nothing like a spontaneous love gift from your true partner compared to obligatory offering made on Valentine Day that is often forced and pre-packaged.
In addition, I don’t want to fall victim into victim of the gigantic commercial sales ads. Valentine Day is a western culture derived from ancient Rome during the era of paganism associated with feast of pagan fertility festival called Lupercalia, to its present incarnation as a commercial free-for-all driving huge sales of chocolate, flowers and jewelry. The event is promoted and nurtured modishly by greeting companies in collaboration with the candy, flower, and teddy bear companies to make more money.
The media darlings play as an ideal conductor to nourish the idea globally. The ads and pop culture in movies, songs, and poetries through the mass media help to keep the lore alive and flourish. Everything with love and romance will always captivate the tender hearts. As a result, Valentine’s Day today is celebrated worldwide. It is undeniably a huge cash machine that generates billions of dollars. Your spending will increase which means your savings will be less while the companies are growing fatter in their bellies because people like us feed them unconsciously. Now, hotels, restaurants, shopping malls, and every corner of Jakarta have much to offer to lure customers into the trap.
For that reason, it is counterproductive to issue the edict as like most MUI edicts, it would likely be ignored by the public. What is the purpose of issuing a fatwa if, finally, the edict causes confusion or fails to serve as a guide and draws less response? Instead of labeling the event as haram, in my personal opinion it would be better to educate Muslim youths and give them religious teachings so that Valentine’s Day celebrations will not become a tradition.
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