MUI Responds to Quran Recitation-for-Alcohol Stunt at Music Festival

August 11, 2026 | 08:15 pm

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) has condemned a marketing stunt that offered free alcoholic drinks to people who could recite Ad-Duha, a chapter of the Quran, at The Sounds Project music festival in Jakarta earlier this month. A video of the incident has since gone viral on social media.

MUI Fatwa Division Chairman Asrorun Niam Sholeh said promoting alcoholic beverages through a Quran-recitation challenge was unacceptable from religious, ethical and legal perspectives.

“From a religious, moral and ethical, as well as legal perspective,” Niam said in a statement cited by the MUI website on Tuesday, August 11, 2026.

He called on those behind the challenge to take responsibility, saying the Quran, regarded in Islam as the word of God, is sacred and its recitation is an act of worship.

Alcoholic beverages, meanwhile, are prohibited for consumption under Islamic teachings. Niam said linking Quran recitation to a free alcoholic drink prize demeaned the sanctity of the religion.

“Using Quran recitation as a gimmick with the promise of alcoholic drinks as prizes is a form of disrespect toward the sanctity of the Quran,” he said.

Consumer Protection Body Calls for Ethical Marketing

Separately, National Consumer Protection Agency (BPKN) Chairperson Muhammad Mufti Mubarok said businesses should consider ethics, appropriateness, consumer protection and religious and social sensitivities when developing marketing strategies.

He said religious values should not be used as marketing gimmicks.

“Businesses must understand that promotion is not merely about making a product go viral. There are social and ethical responsibilities that must be upheld,” Mufti said on Tuesday.

How Govt Responds to MUI's Call for Corruptor Death Penalty

5 hari lalu

The Flawed Logic of State Threats

27 hari lalu

Hajj Costs: MUI Calls for Return to Ability Principle

31 hari lalu

What Minister Yusril Says About the Proposed LGBT-Related Bill

32 hari lalu

MUI Says No Problem with Prabowo's State-Funded Sacrificial Cattle

28 Mei 2026

MUI: US Businesses Risk Losses Without Indonesia's Halal Label

24 Februari 2026

MUI Affirms US Goods in Indonesia Require Halal Certification

21 Februari 2026

Prabowo-Initiated Tower for Islamic Institutions to Be Built from Scratch

10 Februari 2026

Prabowo's MUI Building Plan Seen as Political Co-optation

10 Februari 2026

Prabowo Quotes Quran Verse While Calling for People's Unity

7 Februari 2026