MUI urges East Java governor to ban sound horeg after three deaths

The East Java branch of Indonesia’s Ulema Council is pressing the provincial government to prohibit sound horeg after three residents died in separate incidents across the region in August.

The council wants East Java Governor Khofifah Indar Parawansa to issue a governor’s regulation banning the use of the powerful sound systems. MUI East Java’s fatwa chief, KH Ma’ruf Khozin, said such a regulation had become urgent to prevent more deaths.

“Indeed, we are urging and proposing that the provincial government, the governor, issue a governor’s regulation banning sound horeg,” Ma’ruf said, according to the council’s official website.

“

Indeed, we are urging and proposing that the provincial government, the governor, issue a governor’s regulation banning sound horeg.

He said the activity could no longer be tolerated because its effects had harmed the public and claimed lives. Ma’ruf also restated the council’s longstanding position that sound horeg is haram, citing various considerations, including medical ones.

“From the beginning, MUI East Java has firmly declared sound horeg haram for various considerations, including medical ones. However, we are not the executors responsible for oversight, and that falls to the police. At present, I think oversight of sound horeg has weakened,” he said.

The call followed police action in Blitar, where officers detained and fined 15 trucks carrying large sound systems. Police also questioned several parade organizers over missing permits and other violations.

“

From the beginning, MUI East Java has firmly declared sound horeg haram for various considerations, including medical ones. However, we are not the executors responsible for oversight, and that falls to the police. At present, I think oversight of sound horeg has weakened.