Are gossip shows on stars a sin?

Indonesia’s increasingly vocal Islamic clerics are considering issuing a religious edict that would forbid the watching of celebrity gossip shows.

Religious leaders say some programs -- like one that disclosed an alleged affair by a son of a former president and another that claimed a famous Olympic-winning athlete had an illegitimate child before marrying -- are sinful because they are slanderous or exploit people’s shameful secrets.

Such edicts in Indonesia are not legally enforceable, and it is unclear how many of the country’s 190 million Muslims would obey it. Fitri Komalasari, for one, says she can’t imagine life without daily updates on the marital breakdowns and affairs of the rich and famous.

“Life without gossip shows,” said Komalasari, 27, who works at a bookstore in Jakarta, “would be like vegetables without salt.”