Weighing the benefit of sharia as a solution to Aceh's problems

Nurrohman, Bandung

The Indonesian Muslim Congress (KUUI) convened ahead of the Asian-African Summit last month failed to attract a lot of coverage as the media seemed more interested in covering the preparations for the Asian-African Summit.

The congress resulted in the "Jakarta Declaration", which was made up of fourteen points.

The first point of this declaration is interesting as it advocates the overcoming of Indonesia's problems through the application of sharia. More or less, the first point of the declaration proclaims that Islamic sharia is the best instrument for resolving the various problems faced by this nation.

The question in Aceh is whether sharia can be used to overcome the problems in that province? Why after more than four years of sharia in Aceh do the problems there remain unresolved?

The present conflict in Aceh has nothing to do with religion. It is a conflict based on injustices perpetrated by the central government. But it would also be unwise to discount religion in dealing with Aceh's problems.

If we go back to the early days of Indonesian independence, it is clear that the Acehnese people were disappointed with Sukarno, the first Indonesian president, for his failure to fulfill his promise to guarantee them the right to fully implement sharia law in all aspects of life.

The first Perda (bylaw) issued by provincial legislative Council rejected the central government's Law No.1 of 1963 on Islam in Aceh. This occurred in the Sukarno era. In the Soeharto era, a similar rejection occurred -- this time of law No.6/1968 on sharia.

Until recently, all discourse on sharia implementation was considered taboo. But this did not mean that the demand for the implementation of sharia in Aceh had vanished. What should be remembered is these accidents caused growing resentment toward the central government among the Acehnese people.

The fall of Soeharto's authoritarian regime brought new hope. Acehnese people again spoke about sharia. President B.J. Habibie supported their demand through Law No.22/1999 on special autonomy for Aceh, including the right to implement sharia. The law was amended by Law No. 44/1999. This law clearly stipulated four aspects that could be regulated by Aceh province based on sharia.

First, the governing of religious life based on sharia.

Second, the bringing of adat (customary law) into line with sharia.

Third, the provision of general and religious education based on Acehnese aspirations.

Fourth, the playing of a more decisive role by ulema in government decision-making.

This law was then followed by Law No. 18/2001 on special autonomy.

After various amendments to the law on Aceh autonomy, the question now is whether the Acehnese people have been guaranteed the right to freely implement sharia in all aspects of life? Unfortunately the answer is not yet. Regulations produced by the local legislative council (DPRD) can still be annulled by the central government and decisions handed down by the Aceh courts can be overturned by the Supreme Court.

ARticle 27 of Law No. 18/2001 says that disputes concerning the respective jurisdictions of the sharia and national courts shall ultimately be decided on by the Supreme Court. So, how can we put sharia at the center of the search for solutions to Aceh's problems?

There are at least two ways in which sharia can be given a more meaningful role in the effort to deal with Aceh's problems.

The first involves a revision of the Aceh Autonomy Law . This revised law should give guarantees to the Acehnese people so that sharia regulations set out in qanun (bylaws) can be implemented without any fear that they will be annulled by the central government or the Supreme Court.

Secondly, considering that the Acehnese people believe in respect for human rights and the fact there are many problems connected with human rights violations, especially as a result of military operations, sharia regulations in the form of qanun enacted in Aceh should also guarantee that there will be no bylaws that violate the rights of vulnerable groups, such as women and the non-Muslim minority.

This means that the form of sharia applied in Aceh should be inclusive in character, and uphold justice, democracy and equality among all Acehnese people. Sharia that is contextually and democratically reformulated rather than sharia that is rigidly imposed or which leads to discrimination. If this can be accomplished, the Aceh people will finally be free to govern their own affairs.

But before all of these can succeed, reconciliation between the victims and perpetrators of gross human rights violations in Aceh needs to be addressed. We are talking here of reconciliation that is capable of halting war. Of course, reconciliation must also provide restitution, compensation and rehabilitation to victims or their families, and be based on the principles of truth and justice.

The writer is a lecturer in sharia, and has conducted a study on the implementation of sharia in Aceh. He is now the secretary to the Islamic law unit of the Bandung State Islamic Institute's postgraduate program.