Interfaith Marriage in Indonesia: The Controversy between MUI Fatwa and Surabaya District Court Decision

Abstract

This article is motivated by the issue of the Surabaya District Court's decision to legalize interfaith marriage. This issue has garnered a lot of opinions and criticism because it is considered to be not in line with the MUI fatwa that has been established. Therefore, the focus of this study is firstly on the legal basis of the MUI in establishing interfaith marriage, secondly on the considerations of the Surabaya District Court judge in deciding on interfaith marriage, and lastly on the legality of interfaith marriage in law and human rights. Using a sociological and normative approach, it can be concluded that the Surabaya District Court decision was rejected by various groups, especially the MUI, which was deemed to be no longer in line with the fatwa that had been established since long ago. Regarding this issue, the MUI will hold a meeting with the legal commission to discuss this issue. Nevertheless, the Surabaya District Court remains on the decision they issued because they have a basis for the decision. This study obtained data sources from secondary data by processing data from primary legal materials and secondary legal materials in the form of laws, civil procedure law books, and opinions of legal experts and theses. The results of this study are that interfaith marriage is recognized by state law if it is recorded in civil registration, as stipulated in Article 37 of the Population Administration Law, but it is not valid according to religion.