Fatwa on Religious Pluralism, Liberalism, and Secularism

In July 2005, Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), a semi-official Islamic clerical body of Indonesia, issued a fatwa, or an Islamic legal opinion, against religious pluralism, liberalism, and secularism. The issuance of fatwa garnered substantial controversy and scholarly attention. The fatwa addressed the reformist trend of Islam which had been popular among the broad Indonesian society over the past 25 years. Such trends advocated for a more substantive reading of the Quran and Hadith, instead of literalist approaches taken by the majority of ulamas (Islamic clerics). MUI considered such ideas as incompatible with Islamic teaching, releasing the fatwa to promote a more literal reading of the Islamic scriptures. The fatwa was heavily criticized by progressive Muslim intellectuals.