JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia’s top Islamic council met with government officials Wednesday to voice its opposition to two upcoming concerts by Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli, arguing that the singer’s past support for Israel is incompatible with the views of many in the Muslim-majority country.
The Indonesian Ulema Council, or MUI, the country’s highest and most influential body of Islamic scholars, demanded the cancellation of Bocelli’s scheduled performances at the UNESCO-listed Borobudur Temple in Central Java’s Magelang city on Oct. 31 and in the capital Jakarta on Nov. 3.
The council, which initially announced its opposition on Oct. 10, met with Indonesia’s Ministry of Tourism to discuss Bocelli’s Romanza 30th Anniversary World Tour Indonesia, including the Borobudur performance at one of Indonesia’s most iconic historical sites.
The council said its objection is in response to Bocelli’s past support for Israel, including his participation in a 2010 fundraiser in Los Angeles for the Israel Defense Forces and a 2022 concert in Tel Aviv.
“Giving a platform to a figure who has funded or supported military actions linked to humanitarian abuses in Gaza runs contrary to the values of the Indonesian nation and MUI’s religious guidance,” the council said in a statement.
Public sympathy for Palestinians is widespread in Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation, and the government has long supported an independent Palestinian state.
Tourism Ministry Secretary Bayu Aji said the discussions with MUI were aimed at reaching a consensus.
“The government’s stance is clear: we support Palestine, and there are directives from the MUI leaders that we will try to communicate further,” Aji said, ”But if the MUI has already made a statement, we will certainly be aligned with the MUI’s decision.”
At the local level, police in Magelang on Wednesday withdrew a recommendation to issue a permit for the Borobudur complex concert. Opposition from several Islamic groups also has intensified, adding pressure on the event organizers.
Neither Bocelli nor the concert organizers did not immediately issue a public response to MUI’s objections.
The Indonesia performances are part of Bocelli’s Romanza 30th Anniversary World Tour, celebrating “Romanza,” the album that launched the singer to international stardom and included one of his signature songs, “Con Te Partirò.”