Ulum, Bahrul2019-09-252019-09-252016-01-042011http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12424/232238This paper studies the fatwa of the Council of Indonesian Ulama (MUI) of 2009 on the prohibition of vote abstention. The issue of vote abstention is a new phenomenon in Indonesia general election that appeals to controversy. Although the government has assured that the general election to be conducted fairly, justly and peacefully, it seemed that vote abstention tended to transform into a movement that would threaten the 2009 general election. The author maintains that this fatwa has led to criticism and questioned the authority of MUI. Those who support, however, considered this fatwa as brilliant move to boost voters’ participant in improving the national development. As a result, this fatwa reflects the dynamics of Islamic legal thought in the socio-political context that would become a discourse in the Islamic history in Indonesia.engWith permission of the license/copyright holderIslamic LawFatwaCouncil of Indonesian Ulama (MUI)DemocracyPolitical ethicsEthics of political systemsEthics of lawRights based legal ethicsGovernance and ethicsCultural ethicsReligious ethicsSpirituality and ethicsMethods of ethicsGeneral and historicalJournal volume