Acehnese, Islam and foreigners: Clearing up the misapprehension
Acehnese, Islam and foreigners: Clearing up the misapprehension
Aguswandi, London
Do the Acehnese hate foreigners? Do they want the many foreign
aid workers laboring to help them to leave their villages? Are
the Acehnese, you may ask, fanatical Muslims?
The departure of some foreign aid groups and all foreign
troops from Aceh signaled the supposed end of what the government
called the emergency post-tsunami period (not to be confused with
the civil emergency still in place ion Aceh), and given some of
the mendacious statements made about the foreign presence in Aceh
in this period, it is important to offer some clarification about
the Acehnese, Islam and their view of foreigners.
Without such clarification the path is left clear for
incorrect assessments, like last month's statement by Indonesian
defense minister Juwono Sudarsono in Washington D.C. Juwono
reportedly hinted that Christian groups needed to leave Aceh
because the locals were uncomfortable with their presence.
The same could be said of the actions of members of some
militant Islamic groups being allowed into Aceh. In a mosque in
Banda Aceh, members of these groups have urged the Acehnese to
rise up against foreigners. They have also been very active
writing graffiti such as "Foreigners out of Aceh" in some areas.
Some groups have also spread rumors that foreign aid workers are
attempting to Christianize local people.
However, in a refugee camp in Aceh Besar, an image quite
contrary to these sentiments could be seen. A banner raised by
Acehnese stated, "Don't leave Aceh", in an appeal to foreign aid
workers. Even more interestingly, in western areas in Aceh,
people prefer to seek medical aid from foreign posts than from
the nearby government post. In many places the locals have
greeted foreigners with a warm welcome. Many of those asked have
stated that they are very grateful for the presence of numerous
foreign troops and foreign aid workers.
So while we are hearing statements about the Acehnese hating
foreigners from non-Acehnese groups claiming to speak on behalf
of the locals, we can also see quite clearly that the locals
actually feel very comfortable with the presence of so many
foreigners in their villages. What is dangerous is if outsiders
have little or no knowledge about Aceh, as they may believe that
the locals really do not want a foreigner presence as they are
fanatical Islamists.
Misrepresenting the Acehnese as fanatical and claiming that
they hate foreigners, and Christian groups more specifically, is
just one of the cheap propaganda lines being put out about Aceh.
It is quite easy to present the local community as hostile to
non-Muslims as the Acehnese are predominantly Muslim. In this odd
world of ours today, being a devout Muslim is seen as synonymous
with fanaticism or, even worse, terrorism. But in the case of
Aceh, as in many others, this is absolutely wrong. The people of
Aceh are not fanatics.
It is a historical fact that the Acehnese are immensely
tolerant of foreigners, regardless of their religion, skin color
or ethnicity. This is in part due to the geographical location of
their island, which promoted high flows of travel to and from
foreign lands. Historians have made special note of the high
level of Acehnese interaction with other peoples, notably during
the golden age of Aceh's sultanate. As sociologist Otto
Syamsuddin has said, this historical mobility gave the Acehnese a
very cosmopolitan legacy.
The ongoing conflict in Aceh has also prompted many Acehnese
to broaden their understanding of the meaning of their
relationships with other peoples. Those of different religions or
skin color can be friends, while those that supposedly share
their beliefs may not necessarily be friends.
This has led to a more flexible definition of us and them,
foreign and non-foreign, infidel and devoted. Ordinary Acehnese
use the word kafir (infidel) in reference to those who visit
injustices upon them, regardless of their religion. This word can
also apply to Muslims. Infidels may be friends, irrespective of
their religion, as long as they do not visit injustice on the
locals. The issue here is not one of Christianity, Judaism or
Islam, the only infidel is a perpetrator of cruelty.
As a result of the lack of Muslim solidarity for the plight of
the Acehnese, many Acehnese distrust Muslim nationalists in
Indonesia. A clear indication of this fear can be seen in the
many demands by Acehnese groups for the international community
to help them resolve the conflict in Aceh. The Acehnese
understanding of what it means to be Islamic has become
increasingly inclusive. The province's Islam is becoming somewhat
unique; friendly to those that have different beliefs, and deeply
suspicious of some of those who claim to share the same religious
values as them.
It was, therefore, an absurdity when in 2001 the central
government imposed sharia (Islamic) law in Aceh. They suggested
that it would be a route to solving the conflict in the province.
Yet the locals had not been asking for sharia, they had been
asking for justice to be done and for those that had committed
crimes against the Acehnese to be, regardless of their religion,
brought to justice. The present conflict in Aceh has nothing to
do with religion. It is a conflict based on injustice practices
and policies from a central government -- which happens largely
to be Muslim as well.
People of different faiths are not a problem for the locals
because the most important thing is not the name of their faith,
but what these people are doing in Aceh. This was clear even
during the 1998 riots across Indonesia where Chinese and
Christian communities were targeted -- yet this did not happen in
Aceh. Those groups felt safe in Aceh. There has never been any
conflict between Muslims and non-Muslims in Aceh. There have been
no incidents caused by religion disputes. There are two major
Christian churches in Aceh, and not only did they survive the
tsunami but they have been protected by locals from any harm.
Islam has often been used by interested elements,
predominantly non-Achenese, to distract people from the real
issues in Aceh. Now, once again, the fact that the Acehnese are
Muslim is being used to drive a wedge between those that would
help and those that need help. This must be challenged and
prevented from undermining the reconstruction and the longer-term
peace process in Aceh.
The writer is an Acehnese human rights activist working for
the Indonesia Human Rights Campaign in London. He can be
contacted at agus_smur@hotmail.com.