http://thejakartaglobe.com/home/indonesia-islamic-leaders-split-over-2012/341933
November 16, 2009 A vendor sells DVD copies of the film "2012" in Central Jakarta. (Photo: Trish Anderton, JG) Indonesia Islamic Leaders Split Over '2012' An Indonesian Council of Ulema branch in Malang, East Java, has issued a fatwa on the film "2012" because they consider it "improper and misleading." The disaster film is based loosely on the 2012 phenomenon, which predicts that cataclysmic or transformative events will occur in 2012, based on what is said to be the end date of the Mayan long-count calendar. The film stars John Cusack and is currently screening in Indonesian cinemas. The Malang branch of the council, known as the MUI, placed a ban on its followers viewing the film and suggested that people disregard the movie's description about the end of days. However, Amidhan, the chairman of MUI in Jakarta, said there was nothing wrong with the movie. "Personally speaking, there is no problem with the movie, as long as it is not associated with the end of the world because nobody knows about that. The movie is fiction, not real," Amidhan told detik.com. The MUI had not made a formal judgement about "2012" because they had not yet seen the movie. But they plan to review it soon, Amidhan said. JG [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
