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The Jakarta Post/Asia News Network



In a controversial move, clerics in East Java have issued a fatwa forbidding Muslims from dyeing and straightening their hair, and from holding pre-wedding photo sessions.

The edict was endorsed by 250 leaders of Islamic boarding schools (pesantren) in Java and Madura, who convened for a problem-solving forum in Kediri, East Java.

Cleric Darul Azka said last Friday that hair straightening was regarded as haram for women because it could lead to immoral acts if the intention was to improve physical appearance.


"In Islam ... women wearing accessories or changing their hairstyle, in hope of attracting members of the opposite sex, is the same as revealing parts of the body that must not be exposed under Islamic law, or aurat, and this is forbidden," Darul told The Jakarta Post.
-Jakarta Post/Asia News Network