Indonesia’s Islamic council calls for LGBT movement to be treated as terrorism

Majelis Ulama Indonesia (MUI) chairman KH Anwar Iskandar urged the Indonesian government to adopt “extra‑hard, uncompromising” measures against the LGBT movement, urging the country to follow Russia’s example of classifying LGBT activism as terrorism. He said, “If Russia can do it, why can’t Indonesia? We should at least match Russia’s stance,” and argued that LGBT groups pose a political, security and cultural threat to national stability.

Iskandar called for concrete legal enforcement, including criminal penalties for anyone who promotes or violates Indonesia’s marriage law, which defines marriage exclusively as between a man and a woman. He cited Russia’s 2024 decree and a 2023 Russian Supreme Court ruling that labelled LGBT activism as extremist, presenting them as a model for Indonesia’s own legislation.