Fatwas of the Indonesian council of ulama and its contributions to the development of contemporary Islamic law in Indonesia

Abstract

This article addresses the contributions of the fatwas of the Indonesian Council of Ulama (MUI) to the transformation of contemporary Islamic law and the development of Islamic law in Indonesia, from 1975 to 2011. It aims to respond to the existing papers claiming that the MUI's fatwas were likely to be compliant with the government's wishes and dependent. This paper also wants to demonstrate another fact that the MUI has been inconsistently using their own guidelines for the determination of its fatwas. The present study found that over 26 years the MUI's fatwas contributed positively to the transformation of contemporary Islamic law in Indonesia. During the period, the MUI produced 137 fatwas and 50 decisions, either addressed to Muslims and the Indonesian government. Therefore, the MUI's fatwas, as among the elements of Islamic law in Indonesia, also contributed to the development of contemporary Islamic law in Indonesia.