SURAKARTA, Indonesia – Muslim leaders in Surakarta are disagreeing over whether Muslims can celebrate Chinese New Year, locally known as Imlek, local media reported Wednesday (February 6th).

Surakarta's Indonesia Ulema Council (MUI) chief Zainal Arifin Adnan has prohibited Muslims from participating in Sunday's festivities at any level, let alone attending prayers for the celebration.

According to the Jakarta Post, he said that even if a Muslim was of Chinese descent, the best course is to avoid the holiday.

"The celebration contains portions of Buddhist spiritual teachings and it is therefore prohibited for any Muslim to participate. The best attitude for a Muslim towards this event is to ignore it," Zainal said Tuesday.

But other Muslim scholars see the celebration as a traditional rather than a religious event.

"The celebration is part of the Chinese people's way of welcoming spring, which is usually perceived as the best time of the year," said Mohammad Dian Nafi of the al-Muayyad Islamic boarding school in Kartasura, in comments quoted by the Post. "Thus it has nothing to do with religion and of course Muslims can join in the festivities, strengthening social relations with our ethnic Chinese brothers and sisters."

Masrur, an Islamic leader in Cangkringan, Sleman, Yogyakarta, told Tempo on Monday it is acceptable to celebrate, as this does not violate Sharia Islam.

"The celebration of the Chinese New Year or Imlek has become a tradition and part of the culture. It is similar to how Muslims celebrate the New Hijrah year and the Maulid prophet," he said.