Indonesia’s police chief vowed yesterday to crack down on any vigilantes trying to enforce religious rulings before Christmas, saying religious edicts do not amount to law in the nation.
His remarks came as religious hardliners attempted to stop retail workers from wearing Santa hats inside malls, saying the festive garb is against their religion.
Indonesia’s highest religious council issued a fatwa — or religious edict — making it sinful for businesses to force their non-Christian staff to wear Christmas attire.
The ruling inspired dozens of hardliners to rally outside malls in Indonesia’s second-largest city Surabaya at the weekend, earning a sharp rebuke from police chief Tito Karnavian.
“I have ordered my officers to arrest those doing sweeps in an anarchic fashion, because it is a violation of the law,” he told reporters.
He also reprimanded two police units caught passing on the ruling to their officers, telling them fatwas “are not a reference for positive law”.
The Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), the prominent group behind the weekend’s action, defended its conduct.
The FPI has urged followers on social media to report any cases of non-Christians being forced to wear Christmas attire.
Protesters from the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) demonstrate outside a shopping mall in Surabaya, in a rally to stop retail workers from wearing Santa hats inside malls.
