West Java's Cianjur tries out 'sharia' system

Jonas Viering, Contributor, Jakarta

The patriarch sat on his mattress on the floor of the traditional wooden Sundanese house. Now shrunken by age, his wrinkled body was too small to fill out his T-shirt. Still, he sat there with the poise of someone sitting on a throne, the gilded cap on his head serving as his crown.

The voice of the honorable K.H.Mh. Kosasih was barely louder than the whisper of the palm tree leaves in the evening breeze outside. But his words as a Muslim leader count here in Cianjur, a city that is proud of its tradition as a Muslim stronghold.

Three years ago, sharia (traditional Islamic law) was "formalized" in Cianjur after the advent of regional autonomy. The Golkar-backed regent did that, along with some of his colleagues in places like Tasikmalaya, also in West Java, and Banten.

The decision brought plaudits from some, but raised concerns among others in an officially secular state.

"Of course we are in favor of the formalization of sharia, it's good for improving morals," Kosasih's son Mumuh Rozi said. In his 40s, he joined his father on Cianjur's Majelis Ulama, the Muslim clerics board.

Then again, he said, "some politicians just want to use the issue of sharia to collect votes, you know: much talk and little change".

Some were disappointed by that lack of implementation, but he said that he and his father agreed that it was all right if economics were at the forefront of the issues in the presidential elections instead of religion (although the candidacy of incumbent President Megawati Soekarnoputri as a woman did become entangled in a religious furor).

"This is just like in any other country," he said.

Still, some citizens of Cianjur, such as Gondo Atmoko, a teacher at the local Protestant school and a member of the interreligious council, are a bit worried.

"If sharia is to promote better life, of course that's OK," he said. "But to me, even after three years, it's not really clear what sharia is about.

"In my opinion, sharia should start at the top," he explained. "If a public servant would come on time to work every day, that could be sharia," he said, adding that it was not the case.

He has some other concerns, too. At the beginning of the introduction of the law, he said some of the female members of his community were asked to wear the head scarf, but after discussions with other religious figures it ceased.

"Most of the ulama here stem are from the NU, we have good relations," he said, referring to Nadhlatul Ulama, the country's largest Muslim organization. "At Christmas, their militias even guard the Christian places of worship."

The person in charge of the formalization of sharia in the city of Cianjur is Mohammad Qusoy.

"Islamic law cannot be enforced in multiethnic Indonesia, it has to develop step by step," he said, believing it did not impinge on the rights of other religions. "It's a 10-year program."

About 1,000 volunteers have been trained to spread the message.

Sharia means acts like inciting people to pray and giving alms to the poor. Smiling broadly, the distinguished man said that raising Islamic values aims at preventing crime, "because, you know, we all don't want to see some thieves get their hands cut off".

Up to now, though, most of it is theory. The struggle of ideologies in Cianjur is as peaceful as the one between the still widely used horse carriages and the roaring ojek motorcycle taxis.

Of course, some things have changed in Cianjur. Signboards have been put up on the street, with beautiful Arabic calligraphy above Indonesian translations, instructing citizens to "Do virtuous acts, keep away from wrongdoing", or "the head scarf is a sign of the civilized woman".

Also, attacks on bars and discotheques as a means of private enforcement of sharia, quite common before its formalization, have almost ceased.

Still, putting up the signs "made people cynical, because it's just symbolic", one local said. And the discotheques, well, they are still there, which does not please citizen such as Ahmad Mulyadi.

The 30-year-old vendor of soccer T-shirts has started a petition for the authorities to close down a disco in nearby Cipanas. "They do nothing", he complained, saying he suspects the dance club is full of drugs and teenagers meeting to have sex.

But he said that he was no zealous fundamentalist -- "I like women with or without jilbab". He said he only cited sharia in his petition because students from the local Islamic boarding schools demanded he do so before they would sign.

There is also "Nunuk", an 18-year-old who went against the coaxing of her teachers and her peers at her state school to wear the head scarf. Her mother was called in by the principal, but Nunuk still refused.

"I am too young to be religious," she said. "Some of my friends wear it, but they open up their clothes for their boyfriends. To me, that's hypocritical."

She is no wild child, she added, spending her money on books, not on drinks at the local disco. And, yes, she is proud to be Muslim, but considers practicing her faith to be a private issue.

"But Islam belongs into the mosque," she said.