SHARIAsource

In its preambular statement, this regional regulation states that in order to create a safe and orderly Jembrana regency, efforts are necessary to prevent and eradicate lewd behaviour and prostitution, which constitutes amoral conduct. In its elucidation, the regulation states that prostitution, and the facilitation thereof, is contrary to religious laws, state laws, morality, and the morals of the Pancasila ('five principles' - Indonesian state ideology). Accordingly, pursuant to art 3, all persons and bodies/organisations, are not permitted to conduct themselves in a lewd manner or to solicit prostitution. Contravention of this prohibition carries a maximum penalty of three months' impriosnment or a fine of IDR 50 million (art 6).

The broader significance of this regional regulation is that, while it states that prostitution is contrary to religious laws, rather than Islamic laws, Jembrana is a predominantly Hindu regency, with a minority Muslim population of 79,857 people from a total population of 311,995, according to official figures (http://www.jembranakab.go.id/?module=kependudukan). Therefore, this is a regulation that, arguably, seeks to Islamise public life, but also invokes state laws and the Pancasila, thereby legitimising it for a Hindu majority (224,618 people).

This qanun makes provision for the drafting of qanun. Pursuant to art 2(2), qanun may not contravene:

1. Islamic shari'a;
2. the 1945 Constitution;
3. the Helsinki Memorandum of Understanding of 15 August 2005;
4. the Law on the Administration of Aceh and other legislative instruments that grant the Government of Aceh authority;
5. Acehnese custom;
6. the public interest;
7. eco-conservation; and
8. other qanun.

Chapters on nominate contracts (endowment, sales, options, barter/ mu‘āwaḍa, hire and lease, partnerships -shirka, muzāra‘a, musāqāt, muḍāraba-, reward/ju‘āla, deposit, fungible and non-fungible loan, agency, financial and personal guaranty, assignment, settlement, pledge, gift), shuf‘a, wills, inheritance, marriage and divorce, mahr, and alimony took almost all of its substance from prominent Shi’i fiqh treatises. Other chapters (classification of properties, easement, usufruct, general rules of obligations and contracts, nationality, registration of civil status, domicile, engagement, guardianship, and evidence) are mainly influenced by Swiss and French Civil Codes and Swiss Code of Obligations.