Syech Puji – Child Marriage Or Pedophile?

2  separate headlines in the Jakarta Post just caught my attention.  The headlines reads: “Syech Puji acquitted from child sexual abuse charge” and “Cleric files report over extortion”. 

Who is Syech Puji? Well he is Pujiono Cahyo Widianto aka Syech Puji. 43 year old Syech Puji is the head of an Islamic boarding school (Ponpes Miftahul Jannah) in Bedono, Jambu, Semarang, Central Java, Indonesia.

He owns PT Sinar Lendoh Terang (Silenter), a handicrafts exporter,and is considered a very wealthy man. Last August, he donated 1.3 billion rupiah (about US$130,000) to charity. He is also politically connected, being associated with Partai Amanat Nasional (PAN).

Syech Puji has a 26 year old wife. But in August 2008 Syech Puji informally married (nikah siri) Lutfiana Ulfa, 11 years and 10 months old, who had just begun studies at a local junior high school as his second wife. 

Defending his action, Syech Puji said that Lutfiana Ulfa has already entered puberty and thus can have sexual relationship.  Moreover, he disclosed his intention to marry two other girls, aged 9 and 7. Of these latter two, Syech Puji says that neither has begun menstruating, so he will refrain from interfering with them.

Syech Puji’s actions have upset many people, but he thinks he has done no wrong. In fact he asserted that what he did has a legitimate basis in Islam, considering that the Prophet Muhammad married the 7 year old Aisha.  Syech Puji said: “I’m not just doing what I like, it’s based in religion. It’s in accordance with the Prophet’s teaching. You can marry a 7 year old if you like but you can’t have relations with her until she starts menstruating”.

Does anyone support Syech Puji in this matter?  Yes. Politician Hilman Rosyad Syihab from the Islamist Partai Keadilan Sejahtera (PKS) says that marrying young girls is allowed within Islam provided the marriages are not consummated until the girls have begun menstruating. Speaking at the opening of the National Working Meeting of the Indonesian Children’s Protection Commission (KPAI) at the Vice President Residence in November 2008, Vice President Jusuf Kalla commented: “Just like Syech Puji who married a 12 year old girl, my mother married when she was 13 years old. It wasn’t something out of the ordinary then.”

But Majelis Ulama Indonesia (MUI), the Clerics’ Council, disagreed.  MUI leader Umar Shihab condemned this marriage and said: “Men should marry adults, there are a lot of other prospective brides around. Why has he married a 12 year old? The poor girl”.

The police also disagreed.  After investigations, they charged 43-year-old Pujiono Cahyo Widianto aka Syech Puji  with violating Article 81 (2) and Article 82 of Law No 23/2002 on Child Protection, and Article 290 of the Criminal Code.

But as the Jakarta Post reported a while back, the Ungaran District Court has just acquitted Syech Puji of a child sexual abuse charge for marrying an underage girl. The presiding judge Hakim Hari Mulyanto said: “Puji is acquitted from all charges and therefore, he must be released from jail.” The judge also said that the indictment was not complete and vague, thus the trial should not be continued.

The Prosecutors immediately gave notice of appeal.  Prosecutor Didik Kjoko Ady said: “We will improve our indictment and fight back.”  But Syech Puji is also fighting back.  As the second Jakarta Post report says, he has filed a report with the National Police against the Semarang Police Force for extorting money from him. He admitted paying Rp 2.4 billion (US$240,000) while in detention to someone who promised they could help set him free. He alleged that this money went to the Semarang Police Force. Syech Puji has been released from jail, but he is irked by the condition of release, which requires him to report to the police twice a week. Lawyer Teguh Samudera said: “We are filing a report over something unfair that happened to my client.”

It is not known what the judge meant by incomplete and vague indictment.  But in blogosphere there has been a suggestion that the Syech Puji has handed Lutfiana Ulfa back to her parents and feels that this returns things to their previous state and absolves him of any further legal troubles. Unconfirmed report says that the lawyers for Syech Puji and the Chair of the National Child Protection Commission indicate that the Syech Puji needs to be patient and wait until Lutfiana Ulfa is at least 16 years of age. Hence the reason for returning her to her family.

But what happened to Lutfiana Ulfa now?  One report says she continues to profess her love for Syekh Puji. Another unconfirmed report says she is pregnant. Nobody really knows the truth, other than the parties involved.

Think about it.  Girls are reaching puberty at younger age nowadays, some even below the age of 10.  But are they ready for such early motherhood?  Is Syech Puji right in saying that what he did was “based in religion” and ”in accordance with the prophet’s teaching?” And is Vice President Jusuf Kalla right in saying that what Syech Puji did “wasn’t something out of the ordinary?” Or is this the case of a child bride? Or a pedophile?