by INDRA HARSAPUTRA
In a controversial move, clerics in East Java have issued a fatwa forbidding Muslims from dying and straightening their hair, and from holding pre-wedding photo sessions.
The edict was endorsed by 250 leaders of Islamic boarding schools (pesantren) in Java and Madura, who convened for a problem-solving forum in Kediri, East Java.
Cleric Darul Azka said Friday that hair straightening was regarded as haram for women because it could lead to immoral acts if the intention was to improve physical appearance.
“In Islam, especially in the study of the kitab kuning [traditional yellow book], women wearing accessories or changing their hairstyle, in hope of attracting members of the opposite sex, is the same as revealing parts of the body that must not be exposed under Islamic law, or aurat, and this is forbidden,” Darul told The Jakarta Post.
The fatwa was issued as the clerics ended the bahtsul masail forum on Thursday, which was held in conjunction with the Lirboyo Islamic boarding school’s (Kediri) centennial anniversary. A similar gathering had previously forbidden Facebook.
Jakarta Post for more