Police in the Muslim-majority nation have rounded up dozens of couples in a crackdown on romance in major cities.

TOPSHOT - Girls from a local boarding school shout during an anti-Valentine's Day rally in Surabaya, East Java province on February 13, 2017. Conservative Indonesian Islamic groups have denounced Valentine's Day, saying it is un-Islamic, promoting promiscuity, casual sex and consumption of alcohol while other groups described the day as foreign cultural influence. About 90 percent of Indonesia's 255 million inhabitants are Muslim but most practise a moderate form of Islam and have lived largely
Image: Girls from a local boarding school shout during an anti-Valentine's Day rally

Conservative Muslims in Indonesia have banned Valentine's Day, with police rounding up couples caught celebrating it in major cities.

The crackdown in the Muslim-majority nation has prompted fears that the traditionally tolerant country is taking an increasingly fundamentalist turn.

New laws have recently been introduced which could see pre-marital (including homosexual sex) criminalised and punishable with imprisonment.

Authorities in Indonesia's second-largest city, Surabaya, briefly detained roughly two dozen couples on Valentine's Day.

SURABAYA, INDONESIA - FEBRUARY 10: People look at chocolates with a Valentines design at Dapur Cokelat on February 10, 2014 in Surabaya, Indonesia. Roses, chocolates, teddy bears, toy hearts, candles, and cards are all part of the preparations for the Valentines Day and orders increase significantly in the weeks leading up to the Valentines Day that will be celebrated on February 14th. (Photo by Robertus Pudyanto/Getty Images)
Image: People look at chocolates with a Valentines designs

Although the couples are expected to released with a reprimand, tourists in the popular resort of Mataram on the island of Lombok will need to be more careful, where police have even been ordered to raid schools to hunt for passionate students.

However, romantic parties at hotels and cafes were left alone, according to authorities.

Valentine's Day "has never been declared by the government to be a celebration in the country" and the ban would prevent illicit encounters among students, said Syamsu Rizal, the deputy mayor of Makassar on the island of Sulawesi.

Indonesian Muslim students campaign against the celebration of Valentine's Day in Banda Aceh on February 13, 2016. Muslim clerics across Indonesia have warned against celebrating Valentine's Day, which they regard as Western celebration that promotes sex, drinking alcohol and drug use. AFP PHOTO / Chaideer MAHYUDDIN / AFP / CHAIDEER MAHYUDDIN (Photo credit should read CHAIDEER MAHYUDDIN/AFP/Getty Images)
Image: Indonesian Muslim students campaign against the celebration of Valentine's Day

Makassar has prohibited Valentine's Day for several years, and last February police raided shops to confiscate condoms to prevent teenagers from having sex.

"Valentine's Day reflects a culture which is not in line with [the city of] Aceh's and Islamic law," provincial governor Irwandi Yusuf said in a statement.

Clerics and conservative Muslims in Indonesia have criticised Valentine's Day as an example of Western decadence.

However, many Indonesians continue to practise a moderate form of Islam and celebrate the romantic holiday with cards, chocolates and flowers for their loved ones.

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