Indonesian Muslim scholars ask man who name means God to change it or face sanctions

INDONESIA'S Council of Muslim Scholars has told a man whose name means God to change his name or risk being denied social services because his choice of name offends their religious sensibilities.

 

In a first such case of its kind, the 42 year old carpenter simply called Tuhan, the Indonesian word for God, has been asked to at least add a prefix to his name. Bukhori Abdussomad, the head of the Indonesian Council of Muslim Scholars urged Tuhan to change his name entirely or add the prefix Abdu so that his name would translate to Servant of God.

Sheikh Abdussomad said: “We suggest the name change to avoid an interpretation that could lead to idolatry. Besides, the name Tuhan is unseemly from a religious point of view.”

He urged authorities to suspend Tuhan’s identity card and halt social services for him until he changed his name. Tuhan, from Banyuwangi district, said he did not know why his parents gave him the name and wondered why it had only become controversial now.

 

Indonesia has the highest number of Muslims in the world but in the main is a very liberal and tolerant country. Indonesia's Muslims live peacefully with their compatriots of other faiths and eschew the militant and radical Islam prevalent in the Middle East, Afghanistan and Pakistan.