Playboy Indonesia Faces Islamic Protest

JAKARTA — Indonesian Muslims do not want the bunnies in their backyard. According to a report in the Jan. 13 edition of The Jakarta Post, the Muslim group Majelis Mujahidin Indonesia announced it plans a major coordination of protests if the magazine hits shelves as scheduled in March.

Indonesian businessman Avianto Nugroho, who late last year bought the rights to publish the local version of Playboy in Indonesia, told the Post the new magazine would resemble Playboy’s recent foray into India and would not contain nude photos.

“[Majelis Mujahidin] does not need to worry,” he said, promising that Playboy Indonesia would be significantly more conservative than Playboy’s U.S. edition.

Nugroho’s assurances apparently fell on deaf ears, however, as a statement from Majelis Mujahidin’s group chairman Irfan Awas clearly indicated the group was not appeased by his promises.

“Different or not, Playboy is Playboy. It is a porn magazine,” Awas said. “Those are the words of the businessmen. The magazine will damage the morality of the nation.”

Though Indonesia is a predominantly Muslim country, it is known for being fairly moderate. Other risqué magazines such as FHM already publish successful local editions in the country.

Although pornography is illegal there, it is still widely available.