: Fatwa Attempts To Stop Indonesian Pop Star’s “Drilling”

Indonesia has been rocked by Aceh separatists, repercussions from the independence of East Timor, and the Bali terrorist bombing, but nothing has riveted the headlines like the latest controversy over drilling. No, not drilling for oil, gas, or gold (all of which are indeed contentious issues in Indonesia), but “drilling”, a native pop dance that has enjoyed a resurgence with the rise of 24-year old Inul Daratista, a master of the dance. Predictably, her star rose even higher when the Indonesian Council of Ulemas issed a fatwa calling her moves pornographic, and Rhoma Irama, Indonesia’s “King of Dangdut” music (dangdut being the local genre of music that you “drill” to) forbade Inul from singing any of his songs. A swift backlash ensued, with over 80% of the Indonesian public supporting Inil against the Council, including current president Megawati Sukarnoputri as well as former president Abdulrahman Wahid (who is also the former leader of Nahdlatul Ulama, the nation’s largest Islamic organization.) While Wahid is nearly blind and therefore can’t, uh, see things from the viewpoints of other clerics, he said that Inul had a right to “drill” under the principle of free expression. Her newfound fame means that people around the world will be able to see what the big deal is about when she embarks on a world tour later this year.

Shahed Amanullah is editor-in-chief of altmuslim.com.