Antara, Jakarta – The Religious Affairs Ministry plans to incorporate education on preventing the spread of what it describes as "LGBTQ culture" into religious education curricula and establish a special task force to coordinate the initiative, a senior government official said.
Deputy Religious Affairs Minister Romo Muhammad Syafi'i said the ministry aims to make the issue part of formal religious education rather than limiting its response to public statements.
"The prevention of LGBTQ culture will become part of the ministry's work through educational materials for children," Syafi'i said in Jakarta on Tuesday, according to state news agency Antara.
He said the ministry would prepare official educational materials for use in Islamic boarding schools (madrasah and pesantren) and religious higher education institutions. A dedicated team will also be formed to develop teaching materials, coordinate public outreach, and oversee implementation.
Syafi'i added that religious counselors, Friday sermons, mosque study groups, and other community religious forums would also be used to disseminate the ministry's educational campaign.
The announcement follows the government's decision to classify the "spread of LGBTQ culture" as a non-military threat under Presidential Regulation (Perpres) No. 111 of 2025 on the General Defense Policy for 2025-2029.
The regulation, signed by President Prabowo Subianto in October 2025, lists the spread of LGBTQ culture alongside other non-military threats such as terrorism, radicalism, illegal online gambling, cyberattacks, illegal trafficking, drug abuse, and information warfare. However, the regulation does not explain why the spread of LGBTQ culture is included in that category.
Separately, Indonesia's House of Representatives (DPR) said it is open to reviewing a draft bill on LGBTQ-related issues currently being prepared by the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI).
Deputy House Speaker Saan Mustopa said Parliament would examine the proposal only after receiving the official draft and its accompanying academic paper.
"As a public proposal submitted by MUI, we will first review the substance of the draft," Saan told reporters at the parliamentary complex in Jakarta.
No timeline has been set for deliberations.
According to MUI, the proposed bill is not intended to criminalize a person's sexual orientation or private same-sex attraction. Instead, it would focus on conduct that the organization considers deviant and activities it says promote such behavior. The academic paper and draft legislation are still being prepared before being formally submitted to Parliament.
Under Indonesia's current legal framework, consensual same-sex relations between adults are not explicitly criminalized. However, Article 292 of the Criminal Code criminalizes same-sex sexual acts involving minors, carrying a maximum prison sentence of five years.
Indonesia's new Criminal Code, contained in Law No. 1/2023 and scheduled to take effect in 2026, also provides criminal penalties for same-sex acts involving violence, coercion, or pornographic conduct. Sexual orientation or same-sex attraction by itself is not a criminal offense under Indonesian law.
Source: https://jakartaglobe.id/news/indonesia-plans-antilgbtq-lessons-in-religious-schools-universitie