Kampanye Pilpres Dimajukan, Ada Apa?

Kampanye pilpres dimajukan dari jadwal semula. Tanggal 2 Juni mendatang akan digelar deklarasi kampanye damai sebagai tanda dimulainya masa kampanye pilpres.

Dalam jadwal sebelumnya, kampanye digelar tanggal 12 Juni. Jadwal dimajukan karena penetapan capres-cawapres juga dimajukan, yakni 29 Mei, dari yang sebelumnya 9 Juni. Dalam UU Pilpres dikatakan, tiga hari setelah pasangan calon ditetapkan kampanye harus dimulai.

Rencananya kampanye ini akan
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After Facebook, NU targets mobile phone calls between sexes

Many have been shocked to learn that 1,700 Muslim clerics of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) — the largest Muslim organization in Indonesia — have issued an edict banning communication between sexes using mobile phones, and online social networks such as Facebook.

For Jani Sularto, her BlackBerry is an essential part of keeping connected with business partners and friends.

"The nature of my work requires that I continually check for incoming emails because many of our business partners are overseas," she said Friday.

"It all depends on individuals. I stay online 24 hours, but only log in to Facebook for two hours a day to get in touch with old friends," said Jani, who found her elementary school friends using Facebook.

"For me, this gadget has more advantages than disadvantages."

Jani is among the many mobile phone and Facebook users who may be affronted by the new edict.

NU spokesman Abdul Muid Shohib said communication using mobile phones was prone to adultery, especially between the sexes.

"Communicating through mobile phones could lead to extramarital affairs," Abdul told The Jakarta Post through his mobile.

The only communication allowed between different sexes is that which spreads Islamic teachings, he said.

"We have banned social networking such as Facebook, Friendster and others because they are not used to spread Islamic teachings, but for gossiping," he said.

"The edict is to warn Indonesian Muslims, because many of them including our santri [students] are using Facebook and Friendster. We are very concerned that cyber pornography is infiltrating these networks."

Ulemas requested social networking operators block online pornography, Abdul said.

"If nothing changes in a month, we'll demand the government block access to Facebook, Friendster and other networks."

Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) East Java chapter head Abdussomad Buchori acknowledged he had no idea about online social networking, but would support the edict if it prevented adultery.

"The MUI would never ban Internet use provided it is for learning or information seeking purposes."

Re-edited from thejakartapost Klik Untuk Baca Selengkapnya

Facebook Haram.... Why?

Muslim clerics are seeking ways to regulate online behavior in Indonesia, saying the exploding popularity of social networking sites like Facebook could encourage illicit sex.

Around 700 clerics, or imams, gathered in the world's most populous Muslim nation on Thursday were considering guidelines forbidding their followers from going online to flirt or engage in practices they believe could encourage extramarital affairs.

Facebook says Indonesia, a nation of 235 million, was its fastest-growing country in Southeast Asia in 2008, with a 645 percent increase to 831,000 users - outpacing China and India. And with less than 0.5 percent of Indonesia's citizens wired, there is a huge potential for growth.

"The clerics think it is necessary to set an edict on virtual networking, because this online relationship could lead to lust, which is forbidden in Islam," said Nabil Haroen, a spokesman for the Lirboyo Islamic boarding school, which is hosting the event.

Though followers could still be members of the networking site, guidelines dealing with surfing the Web and Islamic values are urgently needed, he said.

Facebook officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Ninety percent of Indonesians are Muslim, though most practice a moderate form of the faith.

An edict by the clerics would not have any legal weight. But it could be endorsed by the influential Indonesian Ulema Council, which recently issued rulings against smoking and yoga. Most devout Muslims adhere to the council's rulings because ignoring a fatwa, or religious decree, is considered a sin.

Amidan, who heads the Ulema Council, said the growing number of Facebook users in Indonesia was a controversial subject among Muslim leaders and that he favored a ban because of possible sexual content.

"People using Facebook can be driven to engage in distasteful, pornographic chatting," said Amidan, who was monitoring the two-day conference in the town of Kediri, in eastern Java.

Many clerics are concerned that "inappropriate content" on Facebook could be accessed by children, said Amidan, who, like many Indonesians, goes by a single name.

Facebook is the top ranked site in Indonesia, ahead of search engines Yahoo and Google, according Alexa.com, which tracks Internet traffic. Nearly 4 percent of all Facebook visitors are from Indonesia, making it the largest source of visitors after the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Italy.

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