Jakarta. The not-yet-released horror movie “Kiblat” has sparked outrage in Muslim-majority Indonesia, even drawing criticisms from the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI). 

“Kiblat” is the Indonesian word for “qibla”-- the direction towards the Kaaba in Mecca. Muslims perform their prayers in this direction. A poster of the movie shows a woman performing the prayer but with her body bent to the back instead of the qibla, thus going against Islamic teachings. The movie is set for a 2024 release, although the exact date is still yet to be announced. 

Cholil Nafis, who chairs da’wah at MUI, recently called the movie a "black campaign" against Islam. 

“[Movies] often use sensitive and controversial promotional content to get people’s attention and many viewers. But if [the movie] offends one’s religion, then we usually shouldn’t watch it. Oftentimes, businessmen play with these religious reactions to reap materialistic benefits. We cannot let this be. We must fight this,” Cholil recently posted on his Instagram. 

Cholil admitted that he had not seen the movie, although he argued that if it really offended Islam, “the movie must not be released and is a black campaign against religious teachings.”

Asrorun Niam Sholeh, the chair for fatwa at MUI, said that any religious terms must not be taken out of context or away from their true meaning. The MUI is mulling to issue a fatwa on this matter, although an internal discussion has not taken place. 

“We will issue a fatwa once we have a thorough analysis and enough data,” Niam said.