In Indonesia, several meetings of the Indonesian Council of Ulamas on HIV/AIDS have been held resulting in resolutions on various issues such as condoms. The Council agreed in 1997 that condoms were permissible for sex workers so that clients would not get infected and later on, infect their wives. Groups of ulamas (religious leaders) have also visited other Muslim countries nearby to find out what was being done in those countries, and also to share their own findings.

Malaysia has had a more stop-start experience with Muslim leaders. After several failed attempts, a colloquium on Islam and HIV/AIDS was held in 1999 that was attended by 9 out of 13 state muftis (religious leaders dealing with juridical questions). The papers presented, including one by the Islamic Medical Association of Uganda on its AIDS Education through Imams Project, opened the way to much lively discussion on many issues including condoms, on which there was no consensus. A satellite symposium on Islam and HIV/AIDS held at the 5^th International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific (ICAAP) in 1999 also served to bring Islamic experts from around the region to discuss the issue.

Nothing more happened for several years until 2001 when a delegation comprising seven religious officials including a state mufti and two women were sponsored by the NGO umbrella body, the Malaysian AIDS Council, to attend the First International Muslim Leaders Consultation on HIV/AIDS (IMLC) in Kampala, Uganda. There they were able to observe not only a situation where HIV/AIDS was seriously impacting on communities but also a successful programme to address the epidemic by Muslims. Furthermore the interaction with Muslim leaders from Africa provided much food for thought for the Malaysians.

Principles of justice and compassion

The first IMLC resolved that Malaysia would host the second IMLC. In 2003, the second IMLC brought together 300 Muslims from around the world including religious officials, academics, activists, representatives of vulnerable groups such as drug users, young people and women and PLWHA under the theme "The Compassionate Ummah: Transforming the Response". Organized by the Islamic Development Department of the Prime Minister's Office (JAKIM) and the Malaysian AIDS Council, the objective of the IMLC was to put the realities of the HIV/AIDS epidemic before the religious officials in order to come up with workable responses in line with Islamic principles of justice and compassion. Although there were several controversies on issues such as sexuality, on the whole most participants found the discussions enlightening and useful.

At the same time, a project by the Economic Planning Unit, the Malaysian AIDS Council, UNDP and JAKIM to develop a training manual on Islam and HIV/AIDS also came to fruition in 2003. Developed and tested by religious officials themselves with the help of the Council, the manual has been used in four workshops around the country to train grassroot level religious leaders on the subject, with several more planned. The response has been very enthusiastic with many leaders expressing gratitude in finally having information that they can use to help their communities.

The lesson learnt from the Malaysian experience is that patience and persistence is needed in order to engage Muslim leaders in HIV/AIDS responses. Most are ignorant about the disease simply because there has been little effort to educate them. Furthermore, examples of successful programmes by their peers elsewhere is very important not only to emphasise the urgency of the issue but to also show that something can be done for prevention, care and support in line with Islamic principles.