The Level of People's Obedience to MUI Fatwas (COVID-19.
Bank Interest, and Interfaith Marriag.
M Sofwan Jauhari & Abdul Ghoni Abstrak: Majelis Ulama Indonesia (MUI) merupakan wadah bagi para AoulamAAo yang memberikan pembinaan bagi umat Islam dalam bentuk fatwA tentang situasi tertentu yang dapat diandalkan oleh masyarakat.
Terkait pandemi COVID-19 sejak Maret 2020.
MUI mengeluarkan fatwA tentang cara menghadapi pandemi tersebut.
Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengukur tingkat kepatuhan masyarakat terhadap fatwA.
Untuk mendapatkan pengukuran yang akurat, penelitian ini juga melibatkan dua fatwA MUI lainnya - fatwA terkait bunga bank dan fatwA terkait perkawinan beda agama - dengan cara membuat perbandingan.
Penelitian ini menggunakan metode campuran yang memadukan metode kuantitatif dengan SPSS dan metode kualitatif.
Penelitian tersebut menemukan bahwa pemuda Muslim yang belum menikah, kebanyakan berusia di bawah 25 tahun, memiliki tingkat kepatuhan tertinggi terhadap fatwA terkait COVID-19.
FatwA terkait perkawinan beda agama merupakan fatwA yang paling banyak ditaati, dan fatwA terkait COVID-19 merupakan yang paling sedikit di antara tiga fatwA dalam penelitian ini.
Kata kunci: FatwA MUI.
FatwA COVID-19.
Bunga Bank.
Nikah Beda Agama AHKAM - Volume 20.
Number 2, 2020 - 233 234 - M Sofwan Jauhari & Abdul Ghoni Abstract: Indonesian Ulama Council (MUI) is an organization for Muslim scholars who provide guidance for the Muslim community in the form of fatwAs on a particular situation on which the community can rely.
In the ongoing situation relating to the COVID-19 pandemic since March 2020.
MUI released a fatwA as to how to face the pandemic.
This research is aimed to measure the level of peopleAos obedience to the fatwA.
To obtain an accurate measurement, this research involves two others MUI's fatwAs - a fatwA related to bank interest and a fatwA related to interfaith marriage Ae by way of making a comparison.
This research uses mixed methods which combined the quantitative method using SPSS and the qualitative method.
This research finds that the young unmarried Muslim, mostly under-25year-old university students, have the highest level of obedience to the fatwA related to COVID-19.
The fatwA related to interfaith marriage is the most obeyed fatwAs, and fatwA related to COVID-19 is the least one among three fatwAs in this research.
Keywords: FatwA of MUI.
FatwA on COVID-19.
Bank Interest.
Interfaith Marriage AHKAM - Volume 20.
Number 2, 2020 The Level of People's Obedience to MUI Fatwas - 235 Introduction World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed the status of COVID-19 or Coronavirus as a pandemic spread worldwide In the beginning, the virus was detected at the end of 2019 in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei Province, but then spread all over countries.
Not until March 2020 was the virus first confirmed to infect somebody in Indonesia (Ihsanuddin 2.
At the 14th of March, 2020, there were 144.
833 COVID-19
cases worldwide.
According to Worldmeter 2020, this number went up to 5.
938 cases at the 30th of May 2020, precisely at 23.
WIB (Western Indonesian Tim.
The Coronavirus can spread among humans (Unhale 2020:.
This is the basis on which the policy of social distancing, which in turn was renamed physical distancing, was The policy prompts an individual to keep at a safe distance from others in an effort to halt the spread of the virus.
The term Ausocial distancingAy was replaced by the term physical distancing because the former was considered to lead to a culture clash over Indonesian cultures, of which social harmony its characteristic (Yahya, 2.
It is hard for social creatures like humans to implement physical distancing, for the policy means that someone cannot physically gather around in performing any activity, including religious rituals, in which according to Islamic teachings, collective actions in performing five daily prayers are 27 times better than individual ones .
l-BukhAr, 2014:.
However, the government still implemented their policy, the Large-Scale Social Restriction (PSBB), which governs all public activities: schools and colleges are enclosed, learning activities are conducted online, activities involving a considerable number of people are terminated, and a large gathering is inhibited.
In sum.
PSBB governs three practices: the enclosure of schools and workplaces, religious-ritual restriction, and the ban on activities conducted in public facilities (The Government 2.
In response to this policy.
MUI issued some fatwAs .
on the conduction of religious rituals, especially those to be conducted in mosques, during the pandemic (MUI 2020.
This fact encouraged us to research peopleAos reception and obedience to MUIAos fatwAs.
The research subjects include three MUIAos fatwAs, one of which was the fatwA of MUI No.
14/2020 on performing religious AHKAM - Volume 20.
Number 2, 2020 236 - M Sofwan Jauhari & Abdul Ghoni rituals during the COVID-19 pandemic (MUI 2020.
Another two policies were the fatwA No.
14/2005 on interfaith marriage (MUI 2005.
and the fatwA No.
1/2004 on bank interest (MUI 2.
FatwA No.
14/2020 is a fatwA on religious affairs.
FatwA No.
4/2005
is a fatwA in social practices and the fatwA No.
1/2004 deals with a social structure.
MUI is a social organization which houses Muslim scholars with some power and strength to the shape social practices of a Muslim In their research.
Agus Mushodiq and Ali Imron found, from the perspective of Max WeberAos social actions.
MUI has the potential to have control over public actions through fatwAs they The role of MUI seems to be more strategically crucial given that human practices over which they try to take control deals with the relationship between humans and God (Mushodiq 2020:.
In this regard, no other institution has a better position than MUI.
Religious rituals, according to Weber, are rational-valued actions, in which those are performing them hearth and soul irrespective of what they would get (Swedberg, 2005:.
In religious principles, someone tends to be an obedient servant despite any possible risk.
Given that practical guidances MUI provides for a deal with religious rituals, this helps put MUI in a strategic position to give Muslim community members spiritual direction.
FatwAs and Their Position in Islamic Law (ShariAo.
Etymologically, the term AofatwAAo derives from an Arabic word aftA - yuft - iftAAo - fatwAn, considered to be a synonym of another Arabic word bayyana Ae yubayyinu, which means explaining (Sala, 2002:.
The word al-fatwA or al-bayAn in Arabic can be considered a translation equivalent for AuexplanationAy or AuinformationAy.
Therefore, fatwAs constitute an explanation by someone, or in this case, an explanation about the legal status of a case in Islamic law.
In practice, a fatwA constitutes an answer to difficult problems, the answer to which is not found in the QurAoAn and the adth about existing problems from the perspective of Islamic law (MuafA t.
Nico JG Kaptein stated that a fatwA could be defined as an opinion on a particular topic from the point of view of Islamic Law, given by an acknowledged expert, known a muft (Kaptein 2005:.
Through AHKAM - Volume 20.
Number 2, 2020 The Level of People's Obedience to MUI Fatwas - 237 the definition.
Kaptein seemed to consider a fatwA only an opinion of the muft, be it an individual or an institution.
Unlike Kaptein.
Imam al-SyAiby stated that a fatwA a muft passed is the result of his IjtihAd .
n intellectual effort to achieve an effective and acceptable solution to the proble.
, which is an intrinsic part of the Islamic law.
For Muslim community members, a muft holds a privileged position to the extent that he is believed to be a figure after the Messenger to explain Islamic law .
l-Shatibi 1997:.
As described in hadith.
AoulamAAo (Muslim scholars expert in Islamic teaching.
are considered to be successors of messengers.
Consequently, the fatwA passed by an individual AoulamAAo or a group of AoulamAAo, especially those appointed as a muft, is of high legal standing Ae some consider it level with hadith after the era of the messenger.
Messengers leave nothing but a rich abundance of knowledge and wisdom which only AoulamAAo has as religious and spiritual heritage .
l-SijistAn t.
It is clear from the description above, the statement of al-Shatibi gives a muft greater scope than does that of Kaptein.
According to al-Shatibi, fatwAs are constitutional.
In terms of constitutionality of fatwAs, it is important for us to know that MUI has two commissions of fatwA, namely the fatwA commission and the National ShariAoat Board (DSN-MUI).
The later is to pass fatwAs in economic affairs.
Members of DSN MUI have two different common terms: opinions and fatwAs.
The former is deemed to have higher legal standing than the later.
Opinions refer to a statement of an individual member of DSN or at most that of three members of DSN recommended for being ShariAoat Supervisory Board (Dewan Pengawas Syariah/DPS) in a for-profit institution, while a fatwA is a statement or act of DSN MUI board every member must obey.
It can also be concluded that al-Shatibi showed a deep appreciation for fatwAs by considering it to result from IjtihAd.
But there must not be a misunderstanding that a fatwA of a muft can be imposed on common people in such a way that whoever challenges it can be sentenced or prosecuted.
Suppose a fatwA is considered to be an official rule of Islam, and Muslim people have to obey it.
In that case, there will be a disagreement or even division among Muslim people taking into consideration the fact that a problem may raise a number of different fatwAs.
As is known thus far, some Muslim AHKAM - Volume 20.
Number 2, 2020 238 - M Sofwan Jauhari & Abdul Ghoni community regard a number fatwAs of MUI as controversial ones such as fatwAs on interfaith marriage, bank interest, and the relative status of performing religious practices in mosques during the pandemic.
Other fatwAs thought to be controversial are fatwAs on smoking and on sending Christmas wishes.
However, this research will focus on three fatwAs mentioned earlier.
On the other hand, under KapteinAos definition, a fatwA is an opinion on ShariAoat law, not a ShariAoat law itself.
It is therefore not impossible that two similar cases occurring in different time and place may be responded with different statements of fatwAs.
What is more, fatwAs of a muft in a country are likely to differ than that of a muft in other countries.
The fatwAs passed in the future will not necessarily be the same as those passed this year.
Unlike fatwAs.
Islamic laws or ShariAoat laws are universal enough to be applied across time and space.
Ul al-Fiqh introduces a basic principle: a fatwA in a region can differ from the one in other regions, subject to time, situation, and condition (Ahmad, 1997:.
Another principle states in a similar way that the particularities .
uzAoiyy.
may have different legal statuses depending on places and situations (AoIraqi, 2004:.
Some explanation above clearly illustrates that fatwAs are not the Islamic law itself, so they are not at the same level as the QurAoan or the hadith of the Prophet.
FatwAs are merely statements of AoulamAAo (Muslim scholar.
called mufts.
They concede a reasonable possibility of being right or wrong.
The social context of a problem and the general background of a muft significantly contribute to the making of fatwAs, which causes them not to be statutory regulation for all This applies to fatwAs of MUI, in view of MUIAos being merely a mass organization, not an official legal organization of the state.
PeopleAos obedience to FatwAs of MUI is then on a voluntary basis, and disobedience to them is not a law violation or a crime.
Ethical Codes of Issuing FatwAs A fatwA is an answer to a question about a particular problem.
There are four constitutive elements as pillars .
of a fatwA, including .
mustaft, a person or persons asking for a fatwA.
muft, an authoritative person or persons issuing fatwAs.
istiftAAo, a fatwA inquiry by mustaft, and .
fatwA, an answer a muft gives.
AHKAM - Volume 20.
Number 2, 2020 The Level of People's Obedience to MUI Fatwas - 239 after applying independent reasoning (IjtihA.
about the problem, to mustaft.
Imam al-NawAw stated that Ulama holds a position of authority over enforcement after the time of the Prophet.
This illustrates the height of the legal standing of fatwA institutions is .
lNawAw, 1987:.
During the life of the Prophet, all questions were answered by the Prophet based on a divine revelation via Jibrl.
After the Prophet passed away, it is the responsibility of AoulamAAo or mufts, in this case, to answer peopleAos questions through making valid interpretation of the QurAoan and hadith or doing IjtihAd .
ndependent, thorough mental exertion in finding a solution to a legal questio.
They do IjtihAd only if they find no explicit mentions in both al-QurAoAn dan hadth to directly answer a question.
As successors of messengers and prophets.
Ulama enjoy such great divine favor that they are granted rights to answer questions of the Muslim community about their social problems based on Islamic laws.
However, weighty responsibility for issuing fatwAs prompted previous AoulamAAo .
not to issue fatwAs until they found it conducive for that Ae they had a clear-cut answer, accurate description, effective method explanation, and right time for issuing fatwAs.
Therefore Ulama set some codes for issuing fatwAs, as Imam al-NawAw did .
l-NawAw, 1987:.
Moreover, fatwAs should be given to Mustafts when they are ready to receive and then practice them.
In practice, fatwAs deal not only with the possibility of being right or wrong based on Islamic laws but also with far-reaching consequences they lead to for Mustafts and their immediate surroundings.
Therefore, it is equally important to take into consideration before releasing fatwAs to see whether they have benefit or advantage .
or disadvantage .
Ibnu MasAoud and Ibnu AoAbbas r.
AuIt is only crazy people .
who answer .
ssue a fatwA) all the questions addressed to them.
It might be for the reason of precaution that once Imam MAlik did not answer a single question of 50 questions addressed to him.
Imam al-ShafAo had almost the same reaction when asked about a question: he did not answer the question immediately until he was sure about whether replying to the question or ignoring it is better .
l-NawAw, 1987:.
AHKAM - Volume 20.
Number 2, 2020 240 - M Sofwan Jauhari & Abdul Ghoni Qualifications for Being a Muft Because of the decisive, far-reaching effect of fatwAs, issuing fatwAs is an excellent, sacred duty a muft has to carry out and bear the responsibility for it both in this real world and in the afterlife.
For this reason, not until they hold the necessary qualifications can ones be appointed as mufts.
There are at least four qualifications someone must hold to be considered qualified enough to be a muft.
The first qualification is to be mukallaf.
Mukallaf is those who, based on Islamic law, have met legal prerequisites to do discharge a legal Those mukallaf are obligated to do all obligations and keep away from all Islamic law bans.
Ones are considered to be mukallaf if they are Muslim, have common sense, and reach the age of discernment .
ulgh/ bAlig.
(Jizan, 2006:.
From all the prerequisites to be mukallaf, it can be concluded that a Muslim can issue fatwAs, for fatwAs constitute opinions on religious affairs, especially Islamic beliefs.
The second qualification is honesty and trustworthiness.
A muft must not be known as a liar because, according to Islamic teachings, telling lies is improper conduct.
Those who lie about worldly matters are likely to do so in religious affairs by hiding the truth they know and spread teachings contradicting Islamic teachings.
Therefore, honesty and trustworthiness are necessary qualities a muft has to possess (Jizan, 2006:.
The subsequent qualification to hold is a sense of justice.
This means that a muft has to be an excellent example to the rest of Muslim people by maintaining his dignity through not breaking ShariAoat laws, not being accused of committing great sins, not repeatedly committing minor sins, and not engaging improper conducts, although the conducts are not forbidden or proscribed ones.
Muft is the one who does IjtihAd and then teaches the result of his IjtihAd on Islamic laws so that his commitment to Islamic laws is obligatory.
Those who fail to obligate themselves to obey Islamic laws will have difficulty sharing their opinions on Islamic laws with others.
Therefore, it is entirely reasonable that a sense of justice .
l-Aoadala.
becomes one of the essential qualifications to be possessed by a muft (Salah, 2002:.
The last qualification is to have the necessary expertise .
A muft must have great expertise in Islamic jurisprudence .
AHKAM - Volume 20.
Number 2, 2020 The Level of People's Obedience to MUI Fatwas - 241 including conflicting opinions on it, understand arguments justifying each of the conflicting opinions and in turn leading to such sharp disagreement, understand QurAoanic verses and interpretations of them, and understand hadith relating to the problem on which his fatwA is issued (Juwaini, t.
Such expertise can help him appreciate differences in the way Muslim communities understand and use theories about Islamic jurisprudence .
and then try to reconcile the differences in such a way that Muslim people can accept differences and avoid disagreement and division.
Relation between IjtihAd and FatwA IjtihAd is someoneAos great effort devoted to formulating laws .
stinba al-ahkA.
Through conducting IjtihAd, one can fully comprehend Islamic laws based on the existing arguments.
It is by IjtihAd that a mujtahid gets an opinion and statement about a particular problem.
the IjtihAd conducted deals with personal problems of the mujtahid, then the result of the IjtihAd is applicable only to the mujtahid himself.
When IjtihAd is conducted to arrive at an answer to a question asked by other people, the result of the IjtihAd he gives to those asking the question is called a fatwA.
In short, a fatwA is the result of IjtihAd.
The output or the final result of IjtihAd given to others is a fatwA (Hanbali, 1976:.
In this regard, those who want to issue a fatwA have to meet the qualifications for conducting IjtihAd and the qualifications for issuing fatwAs as well.
However, on account of fatwAsAo broader effect on social life, the qualifications for being a muft are harder to hold than those for being a mujtahid.
A Mujtahid can conduct IjtihAd for himself, while a muft always conducts IjtihAd for others.
MUIAos FatwA on Religious Practices during the COVID-19 Pandemic Through the period of March to May 2020.
MUI FatwA Commission issued some fatwAs related to the COVID-19 pandemic, one of which is the fatwA number 14/2020 about the religious practices during the COVID-19 pandemic (MUI 2020.
Another fatwA subsequently follows this fatwA, the fatwA number 17/2020 on AHKAM - Volume 20.
Number 2, 2020 242 - M Sofwan Jauhari & Abdul Ghoni prayer procedures especially recommended for medical practitioners and corps using personal protective equipment (APD) while treating patients diagnosed with COVID-19 (MUI 2020.
Shortly afterwards another two fatwAs were almost successively issued: the fatwA number 18/2020 on the procedure for treating the corpses of Muslim people infected with COVID-19 (MUI 2020.
and the fatwA number 28/2020 on the procedure and method of laudation.
AllAh Akbar .
aifiyyat al-takbi.
and Ied prayer during the COVID- 19 pandemic (MUI 2020.
Of all fatwAs mentioned above, the fatwA number 14 and the fatwA number 28 are considered to be related to the general public the most, because unlike the fatwA number 17 and the fatwA number 18 dealing with medical corps and treatments for corpses, both fatwAs are directly related to and regulating ritual prayers of Islam.
However, this research will focus more on the fatwA number 14/2020, in view of the fact that it is the most popular fatwA among Muslim citizens and regulates their daily obligation every Muslim must carry out, especially the five daily ritual prayers and Friday prayer.
This fatwA contains 9 points of legal constraints, including .
the obligation to make efforts to keep away from being infected with COVID-19.
the obligation for those tested positive for COVID-19 to put themselves in-home quarantine, causing them not to go to mosques for congregational prayers or Friday prayers.
the procedures for healthy people not infected with COVID-19 for conducting religious practices.
the prohibition on conducting religious practices in congregation for those living in a region in which the spread of COVID-19 cannot be properly controlled.
the obligation to conduct religious rituals in the normal manner for those living in a region in which the spread of COVID-19 can be carefully controlled.
a direct appeal to the government.
the method for treating corpses infected with COVID-19.
the prohibition to do particular activities during the pandemic.
an appeal for seeking closeness to God .
aqarrub ilA AllA.
and reciting Qunt al-NAzila (MUI 2020.
The Analysis of the Level of PeopleAos Obedience to FatwAs This research is conducted for the purpose of measuring the standard level of peopleAos obedience to the three fatwAs MUI issued, by including 438 respondents (N) with various demographic data.
AHKAM - Volume 20.
Number 2, 2020 The Level of People's Obedience to MUI Fatwas - 243 Table 1.
The Description of Variables of Obedience to FatwAs of MUI Minimum Maximum Mean Standard Deviation Obedience 7,00 1,346 Valid N .
The table above shows the following data: the score of the medium level of obedience .
is 7, the score of the average level of obedience .
is 6,52, and the standard deviation is 1,346.
The minimum level of obedience is 2, while the maximum level of it is 9.
With the mean level of 6,52 and the standard level of 1,346, the minimum, medium, and maximum score can be found.
This results in the fact that the maximum score is >7,866, the mean score is 5,174 Ae 7,866, and the minimum score is <5,173.
The summary of the data above, showing the level of obedience of 438 respondents of this research is described in the following table.
Table 2.
The Categorization of the Level of Obedience Categories Maximum Mean Minimum Respondents Percentage 22,1% 56,8% The table shows that of all 438 respondents, 97 respondents .
,1%) have the maximum level of obedience, 249 respondents .
,8%) have the mean level of obedience, and 92 respondents .
%) have the minimum level of obedience.
In sum, 336 of 438 respondents .
,9%) are obedient to fatwAs of MUI.
The Level of Obedience to the Three FatwAs of MUI The comparative study on peopleAos obedience to the three fatwAs of MUI is carried out by assessing the level of obedience to each of the three fatwAs.
This process of comparison yields a result as follows.
AHKAM - Volume 20.
Number 2, 2020 244 - M Sofwan Jauhari & Abdul Ghoni Table 3.
The Level of Obedience to the Three FatwAs of MUI The FatwA on COVID-19 The FatwA on Interfaith Marriage The FatwA on Bank Interest Obedience 85,8% 94,1% 88,6% Disobedience 14,2% 5,9% 11,4% The table shows that peopleAos obedience to the fatwA on interfaith marriage is at a higher level than on the other two fatwAs.
The fatwA achieves the second rank on bank interest.
In conclusion, the peopleAos obedience to the fatwA on COVID-19 is at the lower level than on the other two fatwAs.
The high level of peopleAos obedience to the fatwA on interfaith marriage is reached actually due to the support of Law of the Republic of Indonesia Number 1/1974 on Marriage, which has been the legal basis of positive laws on marriage.
It explicitly prohibits marriage which contradicts religious principles.
Article 8 subsection .
) clearly states that the marriage of a couple with different religious backgrounds is prohibited (BIP 2017:.
In addition to the legal prohibition, in fact, it is difficult to have a happy and successful marriage with different religious backgrounds.
This hypothesis is confirmed by the evidence of amicable divorce on the grounds of different religious backgrounds Ae some even got a divorce after 27 years of married life (Kompas 2.
Different religious backgrounds become the decisive factor in such divorce, just as what happened to the marriage of Arfita Dwi Putri and Yama Carlos.
Their marriage ended in a divorce because of the problem caused by different faiths which they had acknowledged from the beginning (Suara 2.
the end of the result of his research on different religious faiths as a reason for divorce.
Martoni Febriansyah suggested that before entering into marriage, couples with different religious backgrounds rethink their plan completely (Febriansyah 2004:.
He came up with the suggestion due to his concern about the marriageAos eventually ending in a divorce.
Meanwhile, peopleAos obedience to MUIAos fatwA on bank interest is at a lower level than their obedience to the fatwA on interfaith marriage, with the percentage of 88,6%.
This results from the fact AHKAM - Volume 20.
Number 2, 2020 The Level of People's Obedience to MUI Fatwas - 245 that MUI still allows people to save their money in conventional banks because of the uneven distribution of Islamic banks.
In their fatwA, on the basis of emergency.
MUI explicitly gives permission for making banking transaction at conventional banks to people living in a region where Islamic banks cannot be found.
In other words, the fatwA on bank interest is issued with an exception, while interfaith marriage is considered to be prohibited and illegal, without exception.
Furthermore, in the fatwA on interfaith marriage, based on the strong expert opinions of Ulama qaul muAotamad.
MUI prohibits the marriage between Muslim people and people of the Book (MUI 2.
The reason why MUIAos fatwA on COVID-19 receives the least response of the three fatwAs in the discussion can be explained from some viewpoints.
In the textual analysis, the fatwA officially bans those diagnosed positive with COVID-19 from implementing religious practices in the congregation, including Friday prayers, while the healthy are still subject to the condition of their region.
According to the fatwA of MUI, those living in the region declared to be a COVID-19-free zone are obligated to conduct religious practices in the normal way while obeying the health protocol for COVID-19, and only in the region with a strong possibility for the spread of COVID-19 is implemented the fatwA of MUI.
From this viewpoint, it is clear that the fatwA is given to those infected with the virus or those living in a region where the spread of the virus is not under control so that there remains an exception in the ban on practicing prayers in congregation and Friday prayers.
In this case, the geographical scope of the concept AoregionAo is still open to a serious debate about whether what is called a region is a province, a regency, a district, a village or even a hamlet (RW) and a neighbourhood (RT).
Because of the ambiguity surrounding the concept of AoregionAo, it is debatable whether or not people in a hamlet declared to be a COVID-19-free zone can practice religious rituals in the normal way amidst the spread of the virus in other hamlets.
Such an ambiguous concept much or less contributes to the low level of peopleAos obedience to the fatwA on COVID-19.
Another contributing factor is a disagreement among AoulamAAo (Muslim scholar.
, while they occupy an influential position in Siti Khodijah Nurul Aula in her research about COVID-19.
AHKAM - Volume 20.
Number 2, 2020 246 - M Sofwan Jauhari & Abdul Ghoni concluded that a religious figure plays a strategic role in limiting or even reducing the spread of the virus.
Indeed, medical corps are in the vanguard of the handling of the pandemic.
Still, in this case, the role of Ulama cannot be underestimated, for they have a dominant influence on society to the grass-roots level.
Their high position becomes more evident when the government involves religious figures in providing society with the socialization of the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic (Nurul Aula 2020:.
If Ulama cannot reach an agreement on the fatwA of MUI differently, then the possibility that people obey the fatwA entirely is still remote.
The Level of Obedience based on RespondentsAo Domicile It is known in this research that whether the respondents live in or outside Jabodetabek has no significant influence.
This can be seen from the fact that the Sig.
Value is 0.
428, which is higher than 0,05.
This means that Ho cannot be rejected, meaning it is not significant.
We will have the same result when seeing each of the fatwAs in detail:
demographic factor has no significant influence.
In the analysis of demographic factors, the first fatwA achieves the Sig.
Value of 0,194, the second fatwA achieves the Sig.
Value of 0,328, and the Sig.
Value of the third fatwA is 0,722.
Therefore, all fatwAs have values higher than 0,05, which means there is no significant influence.
From the data obtained, it can be concluded that all respondents have experienced what is called the community of global village characteristic of values and ethics, which potentially become global.
According to Jan Germen Janmaat, today, the world has suffered a decrease in social cohesion between a community with other One of the determining factors behind such a decrease is stronger and stronger social polarization in coincidence with the global spread of democracy in political life (Janmaat 2011:.
This condition causes demographic factors not to have a powerful effect on individuals.
Besides, the rapid growth of the digital world has redrawn the territorial and demographic boundaries of a region.
the virtual world, people can interact with each other without any Yaman Akdeniz mentioned this in his book.
AuRacism on the InternetAy (Akdeniz 2009:.
AHKAM - Volume 20.
Number 2, 2020 The Level of People's Obedience to MUI Fatwas - 247 The Level of PeopleAos Obedience to MUIAos FatwA based on RespondentsAo Occupation Based on the occupation of the respondents, the level of obedience to the three fatwAs of MUI receives the Sig.
value of 0,000, which is lower than 0,05.
This means that Ho is rejected, and it is then Therefore, the difference of respondentsAo occupation has a significant influence on the level of obedience to the fatwAs of MUI.
However, in a more detailed analysis, each of the three fatwAs receives different Sig.
Values.
In the analysis of respondentsAo occupation, the Sig.
value of the first fatwA is 0,01, which is significant, while the second and the third fatwAs receive the Sig.
values of 0,30 and 0,055 This means that both are not significant.
Therefore, the factor of occupation has a significant influence only on the fatwA of MUI on COVID-19.
The different level of peopleAos obedience to the fatwA on COVID-19 based on the factor of occupation is shown in the following table.
Table 4.
The Influence of Occupation on Obedience to the FatwA on COVID-19 No.
Occupation The FatwA on COVID-19 University Students 95,5% Teachers / Lecturers / Islamic Scholars or Teachers 82,2% Private Employees / Civil Servants 85,8% Entrepreneurs 77,8% The table above shows that university students have the highest level of obedience than those with other occupations.
This obedience is shown by their not practicing prayers in congregation in mosques.
This shows their positive quality, considering taking into consideration their high mobility.
In contrast, in other countries, the young are the ones who are difficult to obey the policy of lockdown.
AuThe GuardianAy reported that young people refused to obey government regulation to stay at home, and still hold liquor parties in Germany, the police had to dismiss more than 60 gatherings of the young which kept taking place, especially at weekends.
In New Zealand, hundreds of university AHKAM - Volume 20.
Number 2, 2020 248 - M Sofwan Jauhari & Abdul Ghoni students kept running the annual street party on the 4th of April.
The spokesperson of the Princeton University of New Jersey stated that it was after the implementation of the policy of online learning that the number of parties university students are engaged in increases dramatically (Guardian 2.
However, it is reasonable why Indonesian university students have a different way to respond to government regulation from university students in some other countries.
University students involved in this research obey the ban on practicing ritual prayers in the congregation because doing so is a sort of loads, while those students abroad find it hard not to engage in interesting activities like parties full of pleasures.
Of all respondents, some are entrepreneurs, who in this research have the lowest level of obedience to the fatwA of MUI on COVID-19.
This resulted from the fact that the fatwA is against their economic When economic activities are stopped, it is the entrepreneurial class that suffers the effect of the stoppage the most.
In some countries, including Indonesia, the policy of lockdown is not implemented since it is likely to break the economic circle, on which the existence of a country depends.
Economic needs are necessary, so if economic activities are suspended, it is the government that is responsible for fulfilling the otherwise, mass chaos will break out.
The daily newspaper AuThe Jakarta PostAy signalled that the economic factor is the major obstacle to the implementation of lockdown.
It seems that people need to be aware that human life is much more important than economic performance (Bayuni 2.
In respect of a study finding that those from an entrepreneurial class have the lowest level of obedience to the fatwA of MUI on COVID-19, the writer asked for a confirmation by interviewing an From the interview, it is known that entrepreneursAo dependence on their economic activities for their daily needs prompted them to continue their activities irrespective of MUIAos fatwA.
Not until the government enacted the tighter government regulation did they decide to stop their activities (Saiman 2.
This clearly shows that the fatwA of MUI is not powerful enough to control Muslim entrepreneurs, while the government regulation imposes the ban so effectively that all people had better obey it, or they will suffer negative consequences on the grounds of a rule violation.
AHKAM - Volume 20.
Number 2, 2020 The Level of People's Obedience to MUI Fatwas - 249 The Level of Obedience based on Membership of The Mosque Prosperity Council (DKM) Staff In the analysis involving the questions on the status of respondents whether they are members of The Mosque Prosperity Council (DKM) or not, it is found that the Sig.
value is 0,655, which is higher than 0,05.
This means that Ho cannot be rejected, and therefore the factor of being a member of DKM has no significant influence on all the fatwAs of MUI involved as the objects of this research.
In a more detailed analysis of the membership of DKM staff, the Sig.
Value of the first fatwA is 0,726, that of the second fatwA is 0,688, and that of the third fatwA is 0,112.
The overall Sig.
Values are higher than 0,05, meaning that H0 is accepted and there is no significant influence among variables.
The finding of the analysis above is in line with concrete facts, one of which is that members of DKM are not necessarily those who have expertise in Islamic laws.
many of them mastering other academic disciplines instead.
It is quite natural that people outside DKM members with a good background in Islamic principles have a higher level of obedience.
The Level of Obedience based on the Marital Status The marital status of respondents has a significant influence on their obedience to the fatwAs of MUI in general.
This can be seen from the fact that the variable achieves the Sig Value of 0,037, meaning that Ho is rejected.
Thus the marital status has a significant influence on respondentsAo obedience to the fatwA of MUI.
To go into detail, the Sig.
Value of marital status on the fatwA on COVID-19 is 0,000, the Sig.
Value of marital status on the fatwA on interfaith marriage is 0,135, and the Sig.
Value of marital status on the fatwA on bank interest is 0,527.
Therefore, the marital status has a significant influence on respondentsAo obedience to the fatwA on COVID-19.
AHKAM - Volume 20.
Number 2, 2020 250 - M Sofwan Jauhari & Abdul Ghoni Table 5.
The influence of Marital Status on Obedience to the FatwA on COVID-19 No.
Marital Status The FatwA on COVID-19 Unmarried 97,4% Married 81,9% Widowed 77,8% Based on the table, unmarried respondents have the highest level of obedience to the fatwA on COVID-19, and then married ones follow in the second rank.
Meanwhile, the obedience of widowed respondents, either widow or widower, is at the lowest level.
This result corroborates another analysis of the influence of occupation on the respondentsAo obedience which reveals that university students, most of whom are unmarried, have the highest level of obedience to the fatwA on COVID-19.
In a more in-depth analysis the status of being unmarried is characteristic of young people who are by nature disinclined to spend longer time being in mosques, so that it is reasonable that they instantly obey the ban on religious gatherings written in the fatwA on COVID-19.
This fact subsequently encouraged Ahmad Jumhan to research how to stimulate performing prayers in congregation, especially in order to draw the interest of young generations to come to mosques (Jumhani 2019:.
Married people, meanwhile, are in the second rank in the level of obedience, as they need to be at home to accompany their family.
Euis Kurniati, in her research on parental roles during the pandemic, stated that parents have strategic roles to play while staying at home during the pandemic, that is, to foster religious values of their family and to be the role model in it (Kurniati 2020:.
This is absolutely a positive action to be taken that instilling moral and spiritual values is a part of parentsAo responsibility in managing their household .
l-Tarm:.
On the other hand, being widowed is one of the signs of the great age or the absence of family to take care of.
The old-age encourages people to commit themselves, heart and soul, to mosques, because no more families needs his care and love.
AHKAM - Volume 20.
Number 2, 2020 The Level of People's Obedience to MUI Fatwas - 251 The Level of Obedience based on RespondentsAo Age Humans are getting older and older every day.
The question is whether or not their obedience level increases over time.
Through an analysis of the level of its significance, the variable of age receives the Sig.
value of 0,04.
This means that Ho is rejected.
it can be concluded that respondentsAo age has a significant influence on their obedience to the three fatwAs of MUI discussed in this research.
In a more detailed analysis, the Sig.
Value of the factor of age on the fatwA on COVID-19 is 0,04, the Sig.
Value of the factor of age on the fatwA on interfaith marriage is 0,63, and the Sig.
Value of the factor of age on the fatwA on bank interest is 0,28.
This leads to a conclusion that respondentsAo age significantly affects their obedience to the fatwA on COVID-19 because of the Sig.
value of 0,04 is lower than 0,05.
The following table shows the detail of the analysis.
Table 6.
The Influence of RespondentsAo Age on Their Obedience to the FatwA on COVID-19 No.
Age The FatwA on COVID-19 Under 25 years 97,4% Between the ages of 25 Ae 40 years 81,9% Over 40 years 77,8% Based on the table on the influence of age on the level of respondentsAo obedience to the fatwA on COVID-19, 97,4% of all the respondents under 25 years old obey the fatwA on COVID-19.
In comparison, those between the ages of 25-40 years and those over 40 years accounted for 81,9%, and 77,8% respectively.
Therefore, respondents under 25 years old have the highest level of obedience The researcher found a coincidental similarity between some variables, including the factors of age, marital status, and occupations.
As many as 97,4% of respondents aged under 25 years with the status of being unmarried are found obedient to the fatwA on COVID-19.
Similarly, those with the data of occupation as university students reach the highest level of obedience by 95,5%.
Through more careful exploration by conducting interviews with respondents with the three AHKAM - Volume 20.
Number 2, 2020 252 - M Sofwan Jauhari & Abdul Ghoni demographic data, the researcher found that their obedience to the fatwA of MUI is due to their belief that Ulama or Muslim scholars possess such a great intellectual capacity to issue a fatwA that the quality of their fatwA is of high quality.
There is no need to doubt its Additionally, obedience to the fatwA of MUI is instrumental in keeping others away from potential dangers, as is enshrined in Islamic PeopleAos coming to mosques to practice congregational prayers is likely to put themselves and other people in danger, namely, to transmit the coronavirus or be infected with it (Anugrah, 2.
The Level of Obedience based on Academic Backgrounds RespondentsAo academic backgrounds have no significant influence on their obedience to all the fatwAs of MUI.
This conclusion is derived from the fact that the Sign.
value is 0,370, which is higher than 0,05.
Therefore.
Ho cannot be rejected, and thus there is no significant influence on variables correlated.
In this regard, academic backgrounds do not affect the level of someoneAos obedience to a fatwA.
Having better academic credentials does not necessarily make someone obey the fatwA of MUI and vice versa.
Suppose analyzed more in-depth, the Sig.
Value of academic backgrounds on the fatwA on COVID-19 is 0,213, which means it is not significant.
The Sig.
value of academic backgrounds on the fatwA on interfaith marriage is 0,417, which means it is also not significant.
Similarly.
Sig.
Value of academic backgrounds on the fatwA on bank interest is 0,316.
Therefore, academic backgrounds do not affect the level of someoneAos obedience to the three fatwAs.
This research arrived at the conclusion that the level of academic credentials does not significantly influence the level of peopleAos This conclusion differs from the results of other research revealing that the level of academic credentials significantly affects someoneAos obedience to a particular regulation.
For instance.
Erica Kakunsi in her research on taxpayers in Tahuna.
North Sulawesi, concluded that the higher the academic credentials of people, the higher the level of their obedience to the obligation to pay taxes (Kakunsi, 2017:.
In her research on the relationship between academic credentials and obedience to the diet of patients in RSUD Jepara diagnosed as having Diabetes Mellitus.
Yulisetyaningrum came AHKAM - Volume 20.
Number 2, 2020 The Level of People's Obedience to MUI Fatwas - 253 to the same conclusion as Erica Kakunsi.
A patient with a low level of academic credentials had great difficulty accepting advice about healthy lifestyle, while those with a better level of academic credentials could take the advice more easily (Yulisetyaningrum, 2018:.
Conclusion MUI is an organization with supreme authority to give Muslim community members practical guidance on religious affairs.
Such authority comes from their position as a house which represents a huge variety of Muslim community in Indonesia.
Besides.
MUI deal with religious obligations which all Muslim people will carry out heart and soul without any hope to yield potential benefit from them.
They will take every possible risk to fulfill their obligations.
No other institution can occupy such a strategic position that only MUI with their ultimate authority can issue the regulation and procedure for practicing religious activities during the pandemic.
Therefore, it is only normal that the government fosters collaboration with MUI in educating people to establish a new habit, especially the habit of practicing religious activities.
It is necessary to see the level of peopleAos obedience to a fatwA every time MUI issue it.
Through research involving 438 respondentsAo reception to 3 fatwAs of MUI, it can be known that peopleAos obedience to the fatwA on covid-19 is at the lower level that their obedience to another two fatwAs.
In detail, peopleAos obedience to the fatwA on interfaith marriage reaches the highest level by 94,1%, and peopleAos obedience to the fatwA on bank interest is at the second-highest level by 88,6%.
Meanwhile, their obedience to the fatwA on COVID-19 occupies the lowest level by 85,8%.
The level of peopleAos obedience to the three fatwAs is in line with the clarity of legal rules embodied in each of the three fatwAs.
The clearer the legal rule in a fatwA, the higher the level of obedience to The fatwA of MUI on the ban on interfaith marriage makes no exception, and thus attains the highest level of peopleAos obedience.
Such exceptions as the absence of Islamic banks in an articular regions make the fatwA on bank interestAos status of being forbidden reach a lower level of peopleAos obedience than the fatwA on interfaith marriage.
Meanwhile, the fatwA on COVID-19 reaches the lowest level of peopleAos obedience AHKAM - Volume 20.
Number 2, 2020 254 - M Sofwan Jauhari & Abdul Ghoni due to the fact that it allows some exceptions in it, which open up reasonable possibilities for vast disagreements among Ulama as to the fatwA of MUI.
It is the disagreement among Ulama that provokes the same disagreement among common people.
In this regard, the statement that the clearer a fatwA, the higher the level of obedience to it is true.
The result of this research suggests that future research focus on how to reconcile differences among Ulama and help them arrive at a broad agreement on how to respond to the fatwAs of MUI, such as the fatwA on COVID-19.
Hopefully, by reaching an agreement before giving their opinion to the general public, they can avoid any potential disagreement among the Muslim community, which can automatically generate considerable, horizontal friction at the grass-roots level.
Furthermore, the demographic data show that of all Muslim community members involved as respondents in this research, those with the occupation as university students .
,5%) aged under 25 years .
,4 %) and having the status of being unmarried .
,4%) have the highest level of obedience to the fatwA of MUI.
In other words, young generations reach the highest level of obedience.
Some variables, including respondentsAo academic backgrounds, membership of DKM, and domicile, are proved not to have a significant influence on the level of their obedience to the fatwA on COVID-19.
References