Facebook has not only become the latest internet trend in Indonesia, but has also become a subject of hot debate in the field of Islamic law. Provoked by a ruling at FMP3’s (Pesantren Women's Discussion Forum) eleventh bahtsul masa’il (study of legal problems) at the influential Islamic Studies Academy, Pesantren Lirboyo Kediri, East Java (20th-21th May 2009), discussion on the status of Facebook according to Islamic Law has become a topic of debate in the public sphere.
I did not participate in FMP3's discussion or their process of decision making but I have read thoroughly their ruling including the theological arguments and references on which it was based. In this article, I want to explain, and comment on, FMP3s legal decision relating to Facebook and other internet and mobile phone social networking technologies.
Putting the ruling in context
In determining the legal status of something – in this case the legal status of Facebook and other new social networking technologies – Islamic jurisprudence (ushul al-fiqh) differentiates between the dzat (essence) of the thing in question and the way it is used. Inanimate (ghair ’aqil) objects or things are legally neutral. Social networking technologies, therefore, cannot of themselves be subject to Islamic Law. Legal status in Islamic jurisprudence is always related to the actions of persons subject to Islamic law (af’al al-mukallaf). Principles of Islamic jurisprudence emphasize purpose rather than method: “every problem [should be addressed] in accordance with its purpose” (al-umuru bi maqashidiha), “actions must be judged according to intentions” (innamal 'amalu bin niyyat), “the legal status of the method is the same as the legal status of its goals” (lil wasa'il hukmul maqashid), apply. Islamic jurisprudence, in other words, focus on deeds, not things.
This indeed was the approach used by those who participated in the FMP3 discussion and ruling. Rather than examining internet and mobile phone social networking technologies in and of themselves, their discussion focused on two particular legal questions related to the way these technologies are used.
The first question their discussion addressed was ”what is the law relating to communication via mobile phone (telephone calls, SMS and 3G) and internet (online chatting, Friendster, Facebook and similar technologies) between people of the opposite sex for the purpose of looking for a partner or getting to know a potential spouse better, either before or after formal engagement?”.
Using ten classical Islamic texts (kitab kuning) as their source and reference, they arrived at the conclusion that “communication via mobile phone is fundamentally the same as face-to-face communication. According to Islamic law, communication with the opposite sex is not permitted, except where is it absolutely necessary such as at engagement ceremonies or in everyday interactions. Getting to know the the character of a person and investigating the opposite sex [using this technology] … cannot be classified as absolutely necessary because there is no clear intention to marry the person in question ('azm). Communication via [this technology] is also not permissible if it leads to sexual desire (syahwat) or sinning (fitnah).”
The second legal question discussed in the FMP3 discussion was ”considering the negative effects that can occur through contact via … [internet and mobile phone social networking technologies] with a person who is not a close relative, can [these technologies] can be categorized or defined as khalwah (a non-related man and a woman meeting in a plcae where no one can see them)”? They ruled that “contact via [this technology] as described above which can lead to sexual desire (syawat) or sinning (fitnah) cannot be described as khalwah, However, it's legal status is forbidden (haram).” Again their ruling focused on the action or intention, rather than means. What is forbidden is contact which can lead to sexual desire (syawat) or sinning (fitnah). Social networking technology is only a media or tool.
The two legal problems discussed by FMP3 led to a great hullaballoo in Indonesia, on Facebook itself, blogs, mailing lists and in print media, about whether Facebook should be banned. Although FMP3's rulings on these two specific legal questions clearly related to the use of mobile phones or the internet in the interests of immoral acts, religious disobedience and other matters that are in opposition to the teachings of Islam, the message that emerged in the public sphere was that “Facebook was declared haram” by FMP3.
The limitations of FMP3's ruling
FMP3's ruling on this issue must be understood in the context of common standards for legal reasoning employed in pesantren. In accordance with common tradition, FMP3 only ruled on the specific problem that was before them. Their decision did not consider broader hypothetical assumptions or conditions.
Their decision, for example, did not consider that communication via mobile phones and internet social networking technologies, including Facebook, can be used in the interests of good and for the benefit of believing Muslims and all humanity, as a media for day-to-day forms of communication, religious mission (da'wah), spreading truth, maintaining good relations (silaturrahim), and helping others. FMP3 only discussed negative aspects of such technologies rather than the the whole picture of these technologies and their various uses. As such, their legal ruling on the use of social networking technologies should apply only to their narrow definition of this use.
We Must Critique Underlying Assumptions
FMP3's decision, raises broader questions than whether Facebook and other social networking technologies should be considered haram or not. We need to look at the reasoning underlying their decision, and think critically about the assumptions on which this reasoning is based. FMP3 reasoned, for example, that communication between people of the opposite sex via social networking technologies was fundamentally no different to meeting face-to-face. Therefore the legal status of such communication should be the same as face-to-face communication, which is constructed very strictly within Islamic jurisprudence. The reason that men and women are forbidden from meeting face-to-face in most contexts is that there is concern that such contact will lead to sexual desire (syahwat) and sinning (fitnah). What FMP3's ruling did not make clear was their definition of concepts such as syahwat and fitnah.
Among many pesantren scholars, and indeed throughout the Muslim world, there is a common view that “women are fitnah”, that women tempt men to commit sin. Such views are often reinforced by the classical Islamic texts (kitab kuning) which, after al-Qur'an and the hadîth, are the foundation of the pesantren intellectual tradition. Does this ruling therefore have particular implications for women?
Furthermore, why does FPM3's reasoning focus on "syahwat" (sexual desire), a physical and emotional state or experience, rather than actions such as zina (sexual relations outside marriage) or sexual harassment and abuse. Does FMP3 reason that sexual desire is inherently immoral? Isn't sexual desire in fact human nature, natural and normal? If sexual desire doesn't disturb or harm other people, if it is not followed by immoral acts, what's the problem? Surely it is not sexual desire itself that is a problem, but our intentions or subsequent actions.
The author is the director of the Fahmina-institute Cirebon, and a lecturer in the Faculty of Islamic Law, at the State Islamic University of Sunan Gunung Djati, Bandung. He has recently spent a year at the Australian National University, Canberra, as recipient of Partnerships in Islamic Education Scholarships (PIES). Email address:
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