The Perspective of Puritan Moslem on the Family Planning Program: The Case of Salafimovement in Semarang, Central Java, Indonesia

Abstract

Family Planning Program is one of the policies in Indonesia related to the issue of population and family
development that has been widely considered as successful. However, some obstacles emerged during
the process of policy implementation, one of which was related to religious believes on family planning.
An Islamic group called the Salafi Movement, for example, believes in pro-natalism and forbids the use
of contraception. One of the sub-districts in the City of Semarang, called Banyumanik, has experienced
a significant growth in the number of this group’s members. Using a qualitative approach with in-depth
interviews to collect data. Most members of this group have more than two children. Interestingly, many
of them hope to have many more children in the future. Most informants considered the Family Planning
program is limited to control or restrict births using particular contraceptives. The value of the Family
Planning program challenged by the Salafi movement is related to the issue of limiting the number of
children. The government should extend the scope of the campaign, especially dialogues with them.