LEGAL PLURALISM IN PROTECTING THE RIGHTS OF CHILDREN BORN OF INCEST IN URBAN MUSLIM COMMUNITIES IN INDONESIA: PERSPECTIVES OF RELIGIOUS DOCTRINE AND STATE LAW
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32332/akademika.v31i2.13510Keywords:
Legal Pluralism, Children Born of Incest, Maintenance Rights, wasathiyyahAbstract
This article examines the legal status of children born of incest and its implications for custody (haḍānah) and maintenance rights within the framework of legal pluralism in urban Muslim communities in Indonesia. Grounded in the premise that multiple legal systems coexist and interact, the study argues that the regulation of children born of incest is marked by enduring normative tensions between Islamic law and state law, which ultimately leads to legal uncertainty and inadequate protection of the child's best interests. Employing a qualitative, library-based socio-legal approach, the study analyzes primary legal sources—including Law No. 1 of 1974 on Marriage, the Compilation of Islamic Law, the Indonesian Civil Code, and Constitutional Court Decision No. 46/PUU-VIII/2010—alongside relevant academic literature. The findings indicate that traditional Islamic jurisprudence restricts legal lineage strictly to the maternal line in incestuous cases, whereas state law, particularly in the wake of the Constitutional Court ruling, conditionally permits the recognition of civil relations with the biological father through scientific proof. Such divergent frameworks split existing legal norms, fostering ambiguity over a child’s legal standing, maintenance obligations, and the broader scope of their civil rights. Within urban Muslim communities, these tensions are negotiated through selective legal compliance, religious moral considerations, and persistent social stigma, all of which frequently obstruct the full realization of these children’s rights. The study contributes to socio-legal scholarship by demonstrating that legal pluralism is not merely a passive coexistence of norms, but a dynamic arena of ongoing negotiation over legal entitlements. Effective protection therefore requires not only legal harmonization but also targeted sociocultural interventions that can bridge the gap between formal rules and lived social practices
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