Veil of sharia law falls on Aceh
While the majority of Acehnese simply want to survive the impact of war between separatist rebels and government troops, the bureaucracy has chosen to implement sharia law in strongly Muslim Aceh.
Acehnese intellectuals and leading Muslims say imposing Islamic law is an unnecessary diversion from more pressing issues such as achieving justice and ending the impunity of brutal government troops.
'We never needed Jakarta to tell us how to be good Muslims,' said an Acehnese activist. 'But Jakarta thinks that by giving us sharia it will make us be quiet. And it will make our struggle look like a fundamentalist Muslim struggle, when in fact we are in political, not religious, opposition to Jakarta.'
Aceh's earlier generation of leaders, including the charismatic Daud Beureueh, helped fuel both the independence struggle against the Dutch and the post-independence struggle for special treatment of Aceh with strong Islamic conviction.
'But the problem now is quite different. Back then, Acehnese wanted an Islamic state. But now the biggest problem is the injustice applied by the central government,' said Suraiya Kamaruzzaman, from the Acehnese women's group Flower Aceh.
'All the law in Aceh doesn't work, so why talk about sharia law?' she asked.
She and others explain that the Acehnese people do not reject Islamic law outright, but their confidence in their own faith makes the symbolic wearing of headscarves by women or long pants by men irrelevant.
'For myself, the implementation of sharia law is part of the political technique of central government.
'The Government is trying to move the issue away from human rights into an issue about Islamic law, and to make us appear as fundamentalists to the outside world,' said Ms Suraiya.
There have been no incidents of chopping off hands for thefts or stoning to death for adultery yet. But almost every woman in the capital, Banda Aceh, now wears a full headscarf before going outside their homes. A few exceptions are seen, mainly ethnic Chinese or rural women.
Since a few Acehnese women had eggs and tomatoes thrown at them for failing to wear the jilbab - the scarf which covers neck and shoulders but not the face - most women now toe the line.
Analysts concur that the issue of Islamic law has become part of the political competition between the separatist rebels of the Free Aceh Movement and the Government, each seeking to curry favour with Muslim constituencies
Military officers and police patronise karaoke bars where alcohol and drugs are available along with prostitutes, who now wear jilbabs too. Some communities such as that near Lhok Nga beach have torched bungalows said to be used by adulterers.
The double standards and hypocrisy go unchecked by local government leaders, who have so far firmly supported the drive to impose sharia law as part of their bid to gain political currency.
'We need more stress on morality and religion in education. And we want to institutionalise the implementation of Islamic law - such as getting traders to pay alms to the Government, setting up sharia courts and stopping gambling, prostitution and drugs,' said Aceh's Vice-Governor, Aswar Abubakar.
'It is not political bargaining with the people,' he said. 'But you can see that only 30 per cent of students nowadays know how to recite the Koran whereas in the past Aceh was the source of the greatest religious teachers.'
Explaining that the only route towards a peaceful settlement of Aceh's long secessionist war lies in bringing justice and law back to Aceh, Mr Aswar said the justice system remained weak. Only one case of military brutality has ever been brought to trial, and that was derailed by the mysterious disappearance of a key witness.
'We must still try. I am helping 1,500 families, trying for reconciliation and helping them to cover their daily needs. This is justice in Islam,' said Mr Aswar.
Editorial - Page 15
Graphic: VAUDGWK
