The Legal Status of Interfaith Marriage from the Perspectives of Positive Law and Islamic Law

A Case Study of the Practice of Legal Submission in Tondon Mamullu, Tana Toraja Regency

Abstract

Abstrak

Penelitian ini bertujuan mengkaji penundukan hukum terhadap perkawinan beda agama serta status hukumnya berdasarkan perspektif hukum positif Indonesia dan hukum Islam dengan studi kasus di Tondon Mamullu, Kecamatan Makale, Kabupaten Tana Toraja. Penelitian menggunakan pendekatan kualitatif deskriptif dengan metode normatif-empiris. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa dalam hukum positif, penundukan hukum dilakukan melalui berbagai strategi adaptif. Sebelum terbitnya Surat Edaran Mahkamah Agung Nomor 2 Tahun 2023, pencatatan perkawinan beda agama umumnya dilakukan melalui penetapan pengadilan negeri. Setelah berlakunya SEMA tersebut, yang diperkuat oleh Putusan Mahkamah Konstitusi Nomor 24/PUU-XX/2022, praktik tersebut tidak lagi dimungkinkan sehingga sebagian masyarakat beralih pada konversi agama administratif untuk memperoleh legalitas perkawinan di KUA. Dari perspektif hukum Islam, mekanisme penundukan hukum tidak dibenarkan karena perkawinan beda agama dipandang bertentangan dengan syariat sebagaimana ditegaskan dalam Fatwa MUI Nomor 4/MUNAS VII/MUI/8/2005. Penelitian ini merekomendasikan harmonisasi regulasi dan penguatan pengawasan administratif guna menjamin kepastian hukum.

Kata Kunci: Pernikahan Beda Agama; Penundukan Hukum; Hukum Islam.

Abstract

This study aims to examine the practice of legal submission in interfaith marriages and its legal status from the perspectives of Indonesian positive law and Islamic law, using Tondon Mamullu Village, Makale District, Tana Toraja Regency, as the case study. Employing a descriptive qualitative approach with a normative-empirical method, the study finds that legal submission under positive law has been pursued through various adaptive strategies. Prior to the issuance of the Supreme Court Circular Letter (SEMA) No. 2 of 2023, interfaith marriages were commonly registered through district court determinations. However, the Circular Letter, reinforced by Constitutional Court Decision No. 24/PUU-XX/2022, prohibited such registrations, prompting some couples to undertake administrative religious conversion to obtain legal recognition through the Office of Religious Affairs (KUA). From the perspective of Islamic law, legal submission is not recognized because interfaith marriage is considered religiously prohibited, as affirmed in the Indonesian Ulema Council Fatwa No. 4/MUNAS VII/MUI/8/2005. The study recommends harmonizing national regulations and strengthening administrative oversight to ensure legal certainty and prevent legal circumvention.

Keywords: Interfaith Marriage; Legal Subordination; Islamic Law.