Will West Sumatra’s new law lead to more Islamic conservatism in Indonesia?
- West Sumatra’s new law recognising that the province’s customs are based on Islamic law could expand Islamic conservatism in Indonesia, activists warned
- In 2019, there were at least 700 Sharia-inspired local regulations and laws in Indonesia, up from 300 in 2014
The legislation, passed on June 30, contains an article that acknowledges three special characteristics of the province. One of them is that the culture and customs of Minangkabau, the region’s native ethnic group and by far its largest tribe, “are based on philosophical values, adat basandi syara’, syara’ basandi Kitabullah … which shows the religious character and the height of the customs of the people of West Sumatra”.
The phrase adat basandi syara’, syara’ basandi Kitabullah translates to “Minangkabau customary rules are based on Sharia, and Sharia is founded upon Al-Quran”, meaning that whatever the Sharia says, the customary rules will follow.
Of the province’s 5.5 million people, about 130,000 are non-Muslims, including a community in the Mentawai Islands whose residents are largely Christians.
Guspardi Gaus, member of the parliament’s Commission II that deliberated the provincial laws with the government, told This Week in Asia that the new law would not “deny the rights” of religious minority groups in the province.
Guspardi said while most West Sumatrans were of Minangkabau ethnicity, it did not mean other groups would be “denied their rights because we also have Christians in the Mentawai, we have Batak, Javanese, and Sundanese tribes”. He added: “We are a pluralist society.”
Guspardi also claimed that the application of the philosophical values “will still be in line with the [state-ideology] Pancasila and the republic”.